Having compact, portable storage for your computer is all the rage these days, with Western Digital, Seagate, and a bevy of other manufacturers getting on board. Other World Computing (OWC) wants their slice of the pie, too, and while their Mercury On-The-Go skews toward the Mac, it'll get the job done for either PC or Mac aficionados.
They come in a wide array of connectivity options and combinations, including FireWire 400/800, USB 2.0, and eSATA (cables included). It can run off USB bus power or use an included AC adapter if your USB ports aren't up to the task, and has a built-in power switch so you can manually power on or off the drive independent of system status.
Also included in the box were backup utilities from Prosoft (Data Backup 3) and Novastor (NovaBackup), as well as Intech's Hard Disk Speedtools. There was even a carrying case in the box for the drive (feels like leather to me). The pricing is reasonable as well, considering the options. At $180 (original MSRP; typically $160 or less as of this writing, depending on where you shop), it's not the cheapest drive in the external-storage realm, as 1TB MyBooks are going for between $130 and $150 (USB only, power supply req'd), but if you need compact size and connectivity flexibility, that's naturally going to drive the price back up a little. Including all the cables, pouch, and backup software add value as well. Once you factor all that in, the price is pretty competitive.
The warranty is on par with other offerings as well, generally speaking. If you only buy the enclosure version (no drive), it's covered for one year, but the full external drive solution has a three-year warranty. Other providers range anywhere from one to five years of coverage, so OWC's coverage certainly is in the same league.
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