The latest addition to Western Digital's portable line-up is directly targeted at Mac owners. Its silver cover and black edges complement the aesthetics of the iMac and professional models very well, and it's lean, compact and light at 181g.
Its USB 2 port is handy for shuttling back and forth between a Mac and a PC, but it's the addition of FireWire that appeals to Mac owners for its boost in performance. It also allows the hard disk to be used with older Mac notebooks that limit power over USB.
The approach to FireWire, however, is unconventional as the drive's connector is the four-pin type more commonly found on devices that supply their own power, such as DV cameras. A special cable is bundled to supply power to the drive, with a six-pin connector at the Mac end. Going into the drive, it splits in two, passing data through the FireWire port and power into the mini-USB port. This unorthodox solution works, but we'd still have preferred a six-pin connector on the drive, so that any old FireWire 400 cable could be used.
Adjacent to the ports are four lights that show drive activity and, with Western Digital's Drive Manager installed, give a rough indication of used capacity when inactive. In order for you to see them, the drive has to be twisted around, but the bundled cables are too short to make them portable so the arrangement is not always comfortable. Neither the indicator's inclusion nor its position are deal breakers, and it's most likely here for parity with the My Book desktop drives, most of which have a capacity gauge.
One of the drive's best features is its sliding port cover, which protects the ports from dust and physical damage while in transit. It's thoughtfully integrated into the case and safeguards against basic hazards.
As expected, performance over FireWire was a few megabytes per second faster than USB, notching up an acceptable 28MB/sec in our sequential and random write tests over FireWire 400. Those demanding better performance should look for a drive equipped with FireWire 800, which typically costs only a little bit more.
The four-pin port is the biggest issue. Western Digital told us that a six-pin port would have added at least 3mm to the enclosure. Spare cables will be available from its online store so, provided you can live with the non-standard cable, the drive's small, stylish looks are certainly praiseworthy.
Verdict
Needs USB 2 or FireWire 400 port
Author: Alan Stonebridge
MacUser Online