Posted 11/23/09 at 08:08:46 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Data Robotics is refreshing its excellent line of Drobo automated external hard drive enclosures. The Silicon Valley startup is launching the Drobo S and DroboElite. The Drobo S is similar to the standard Drobo but offers a fifth drive bay, allowing up to two drives to fail with no data loss. The new ‘S’ version also packs a faster ARM chip and an eSATA port to go along with the FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports. Users can enable dual drive redundancy via the software control panel.

The DroboElite is intended for enterprise use. It has room for 8 SATA drives, much like the older DroboPro. The Elite now comes equipped with two gigabit Ethernet ports as the only connection method. You won’t find any iSCSI or FireWire like on the Pro. There is however, a USB port intended for device management, not everyday use. The DroboElite is definitely not something for consumers to go pick up.

The new units are shipping now. The Drobo S is going for $799 and the DroboElite for $3,499. The standard Drobo will continue to be sold for $399.

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Posted 01/28/08 at 04:23:30 PM by David Murphy

We have 300 words to tell you about the wonders of SilverStone’s DS351 external hard drive enclosure, but we need just four syllables: me-di-o-cre. It’s not that the enclosure is overwhelmingly slow, broken, or impossible to manage, but the device dips its toe enough into each of each these categories to make for a less than stellar experience.

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Posted 12/20/07 at 08:06:51 PM by David Murphy

Finally, somebody gets it right.

Although it seems impossible, we have reached an apex of technology in the exciting world of external storage. Icy Dock’s MB664US-1S hard drive enclosure is an absolute dream come true. It’s a marvel of functionality and form, a shining beacon that serves as an example to every competing product we’ve come across. It is the steel-colored Lancelot of your storage needs, the kind of friend you hope your hard drive keeps for the entirety of its life span. With the MB664US-1S, your data will stay safe, speedy, and easily swappable.

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