Seagate's Maxtor unit may be tasked with focusing on nifty storage products for the consumer space, but its new BlackArmor USB external drive could also take aim at the security-conscious in commercial and government sectors. With 160 GB and 320 GB of capacity in a 2.5-inch drive and case that fit into the palm of your hand, the BlackArmor walks a fine line between a device with mass appeal and a lower-end enterprise solution.

BlackArmor is not as sleek or small as rival Western Digital's Passport drive (which, by the way, also provides encryption capability in some units), but at its good price point, nice design and with solid, pre-loaded software, it could see cross-over support in both consumer and commercial sectors. Maxtor says the BlackArmor for now is exclusive to CDW online or Staples in-store. (CDW's exclusivity runs out at the end of the month. Staples runs out on July 21, and, a Seagate spokeswoman said, the vendor will expand its retailer lineup after that.)

The device was initially announced at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, and recently began shipping. Seagate says the device is built with Advanced Encryption Standard, government-grade encryption protection - certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Among the features is KeyErase, which can effectively delete the encryption key on the drive, wipes out the drive entirely and allows someone to either securely throw the drive out or start all over again.

The BlackArmor weighs in at just over 7 ounces, and runs 5.1 inches long by 3.3 inches wide by about two-thirds of an inch thick. Both the BlackArmor encryption setup software and the Maxtor management software are pre-loaded onto the drive. It took less than five minutes to set up the password, password hint and encryption functions. It took about the same to launch some of the other management functions.

The Maxtor Manager allows for automatic, scheduled backup of PC files into the encrypted drive; automatic synchronization of files between a PC and the external BlackArmor; and password and security management. There are also power-management features built in to the BlackArmor offering, allowing for the drive to go to sleep when its not in use for a length of time.

With the official shipment-to-market of the BlackArmor drive, Seagate ensures that the market will see a much broader availability of data encryption -- whether it's used for corporate or sensitive business data, or for family photos or videos.

Review from www.crn.com

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