Who else is getting tired of portable drives that are enclosed in the kind of bland black or silver case that just begs to be hidden? If you’re reaching for some sky, Verbatim’s slick InSight is a USB drive you’ll enjoy having on your desk. Its lovely piano-like finish and curvy lines are just plain classy, and at 5.99x3.37x 0.66 inches and 5.8 ounces, it’s very slim and light.
Verbatim's svelte InSight drive would look perfect with a glass of bubbly perched on top.
On its front, an always-on cholesteric display indicates the drive’s name and remaining space, though that info only updates when you mount or dismount the drive. A blue drive-access light flickers beneath it, and on the front right edge is the drive’s only input, a mini USB port. It’s a strange spot for a port, and the included USB cable can tangle awkwardly around the drive as a result. (Why not place the input in the rear? Sigh.) But that inconvenience is made minor by the fact that the InSight also draws power through the USB port, so no power cord is needed, making this drive an extremely convenient traveling companion.
As far as performance goes, the InSight emerged unscathed from our benchmarks, clocking in a respectable 31.13 MB/sec when writing to disk and 34.16 MB/sec when reading. Less scientifically, it felt just a whisker slower than our MacBook Pro’s internal drive, moving approximately 1–1.5 GB/min depending on what else we were up to at the time. That’s not especially slow or fast, and the InSight capably moved around huge batches of songs, pictures, and movies at a normal pace.
The slim, trim, and good-lookin' InSight is a sharp portable drive that's easy to use and works great.
InSight
COMPANY: Verbatim
CONTACT: www.verbatim.com
PRICE: $94.99, 320GB (tested); $118.99 for 500GB
REQUIREMENTS: OS X 10.1 or higher; USB port
No power cord--it draws juice from USB. Elegant case. Handy always-on label.
USB input is awkwardly positioned. Label sometimes hard to read. Backup software is Windows only.
