Western Digital Passport 120GB

WD’s Passport is an all-around decent product, with a lot of storage and handy software, but fails to distinguish itself from similar Maxtor and Seagate products in any meaningful way.

We have no beef with the Passport’s capacity, as 120GB is more than enough storage for us. We don’t even mind the formfactor that much. The chassis is the same size as Maxtor’s, and a smidge longer than Seagate’s, making it too big for a pocket, but just fine for refuge inside a laptop bag. The rounded edges look a bit odd to us, and we don’t like that we have to pull down a rubber cover to access the USB port.

As far as performance goes, it’s close enough to the other drives to call a draw. Where the drive fails to keep up with the Joneses is in the software department. Although the included WD Sync software seems quite capable in isolation, it pales in comparison to the software shipped with the other drives here. It’s more difficult to use, more limited in its scope, and not as user friendly as we’d like.

Month Reviewed: October 2006

+ PASSPORT, PLEASE: Great capacity; rubberized shell.

- PAPERS, PLEASE: Annoying USB port cover; so-so software.

VERDICT: 8

URL: www.wdc.com