Seagate Expansion 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive STAX500102

by Seagate

• Plug n' play - no software to install
• Simply drag-and-drop to save files
• USB 3.0, backwards compatible with USB 2.0
• Built-in power management ensures energy efficient operation
• USB powered,5400rpm Drive Speed

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0056YNA7U
• Item model number: STAX500102
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (191 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 7, 2011

Product Description

Size: 500 GB

From the Manufacturer

Seagate external portable drives are compact and perfect for file storage and transfers on-the-go. Instantly add up to 1.5TB (depending on model) more storage space to your computer and take large files with you when you travel.

Instantly add more storage space to your computer.
View larger

Set-up is straightforward. Simply connect a single USB cable and you are ready to go. The drive is powered from the USB cable, so there is no need for an external power supply. Plus, it is automatically recognized by Windows operating system, so there is no software to install and nothing to configure. Saving files is easy too: just drag-and-drop.

It's not just easy to use, but it's fast and energy efficient too. Enjoy fast data transfer speed with USB 3.0 connectivity, backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Built-in power management ensures energy efficient operation.

USB 3.0 for Faster File Transfers

Take large files with you on-the-go

Instantly add more storage to your computer with the Expansion's USB 3.0 interface. USB 3.0 performance offers vastly increased transfer speeds over USB 2.0, yet it's backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 ports--so it works with nearly all desktops and laptops.

What's in the Box

Seagate Expansion external portable hard drive, USB 3.0 cable, Quick Start guide, 1-year warranty.

Highlights Plug and play--no software to install Simply drag-and-drop to save files Bus-powered USB 3.0, backwards compatible with USB 2.0 Built-in power management ensures energy efficient operation Also available in a Desktop version

Seagate Expansion Portable Drive Specifications

	500GB1	750GB1	1TB1	1.5TB1
Interface	USB 3.0	USB 3.0	USB 3.0	USB 3.0
Dimensions	3.15" x 0.69" x 5.38" (80.1mm x 17.60mm x 136.65mm)	3.15" x 0.69" x 5.38" (80.1mm x 17.60mm x 136.65mm)	3.31" x 1.06" x 5.97" (84.07mm x 26.92mm x 151.64mm)	3.31" x 1.06" x 5.97" (84.07mm x 26.92mm x 151.64mm)
Weight	0.35 lbs (0.16kg)	0.35 lbs (0.16kg)	0.69 lbs (0.31kg)	0.69 lbs (0.31kg)
How Much Will it Store?
Digital Music (Hours)	8,330	12,495	16,660	24,990
Digital Photos (Files) Average file size using cameras highest resolution JPEG mode	160,000	240,000	320,000	480,000
Digital Videos (Hours)	500	750	1,000	1,500
DVD Quality (Movies) Based on standard 2 hour movie	125	188	250	362
1One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity.

Product Description

Compact, portable computer storage. It's straightforward to use, just plug in a single USB cable and you're ready to go. Automatically recognized by Windows operating system — no software to install. Simply drag-and-drop to save files. Built-in power management ensures energy efficient operation. 1-year limited warranty.System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, 7.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Works Fine Backing Up My MacBook August 4, 2011

By Shane Shogren VINE™ VOICE

Size Name:500 GB|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The first thing I did after getting this drive was to format it to work on a Mac. Why they don't say this is Mac compatible, I don't know, but it is. Once you format it, it's a Mac drive. I use this as a backup to my white MacBook which also has a 500 GB drive. I don't use Time Machine as I like Super Duper better. This drive is quiet and does it job. You can't ask more of a hard drive than that. At least I don't think so.

104 of 111 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Drive August 5, 2011

By Big Al VINE™ VOICE

Size Name:500 GB|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

USB 3.0 is a major improvement over the older 2.0 version, with speed up to 5 Gigabits/sec (versus 480 Megabits/sec of USB 2.0). Computers with USB 3.0 are still relatively rare but this SEAGATE Expansion 500 GB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive STAX500102 is backward-compatible to USB 2.0, which is what I got in my HP desktop. There was no connectivity problem. The hard drive is plug-N-play; within seconds after I plugged it in, it was up and running. A USB 3.0 cable is included. It is different in construction from USB 2.0 cables. A tiny green LED lights up when the connection is made. Like most of the portable hard drives, power is drawn from the computer via the USB cable. No AC transformer or cord is necessary. This hard drive is cool to the touch, even after prolonged usage. This drive is highly portable, measuring 3-1/4" X 5-3/8" X 5/8" thick. A backup software called Memeo is included. I did not install it. Frankly, I was leery of cluttering up my hard drive with unfamiliar programs. I don't have USB 3.0, but I can see the logic of buying a USB 3.0 drive for a computer with USB 2.0, because USB 3.0 will be the standard in a few years. I can't speak to the drive's reliability, but I own two Seagate external hard drives and they have been very reliable.

93 of 103 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad cheap external, but not amazing September 12, 2011

By Naomi (Storm) TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Size Name:500 GB|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I have quite a few external drives so I'm pretty familiar with their general specs, so honestly I wasn't expecting too much out of the Seagate Expansion drive. Other than the USB 3.0 connector, there's really nothing really "new" about this drive.

The basics - it's a 2.5" 5400 RPM "green" drive - which means the disk has a habit of going to sleep when not in use, but it also means that it's pretty light on the power consumption. It's also quiet and has a very low heat signature. Average read/write speeds (over USB 3.0): 30/25 MBps (see "customer images" for my benchmark results).

What it's good for:
At 500GB, this drive is pretty small when compared to its 2-4TB neighbors. However this drive is nice because it's completely powered via USB and has a small footprint. The portability comes in handy when a USB memory stick just doesn't have enough room. And this is where the Expansion might be the best fit - as an IT Consultant it's nice to be able to have an extra hdd portable enough to take along on business trips. It's large enough that you can hold presentations, installation binaries and even a few movies or TV shows for the long flight (or boring hotel room).

While the speed isn't phenomenal (you probably don't want to run graphically intense games directly from the drive) it is quick enough to handle playing 720p video without flicker or stuttering (I didn't try 1080p, sorry).

The Bad:
At 500GB, this thing is tiny by today's standards - and the 750GB version isn't much better. Unfortunately once you start looking at the 1TB and 1.5TB drives, they get physically larger and lose their compactness. If you're planning on using this drive as an external storage for movies, music and images, you'll probably find yourself filling it up rather quickly and wishing you bought a drive with more room for growth. I know that some people probably are looking at this drive as a possible backup drive to use in case of a hdd failure on their main drive, but keep in mind that this is also a standalone drive with no physical redundancy - and drives that you physically move around generally tend to go bad before stationary drives like those in workstations do.

Conclusion:
The Expansion drive fills a niche but it's a very specific niche. If you plan on traveling and need a drive that's "ok" on speed and uses very little power, this thing might be the perfect fit. As an generic storage dump the size hampers its usefulness and a multi-terabyte option is probably a better choice.