SimpleTech by Hitachi Signature Mini 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive FS-U25/250C (Cayenne)

by SimpleTech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 3 x 0.6 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001CZASTU
• Item model number: FS-U25/250C
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Capacity: 250 GB | Color: Cayenne

Amazon.com Product Description

Thanks to the deliciously sleek styling by famed Italian car designer Pininfarina, the SimpleTech Signature Mini 250 GB USB 2.0 Portable Drive isn't just another external hard drive. The recipient of the same magic design touch and attention to fine details that helped turn Ferrari and Maserati into icons of the automotive world, the Signature Mini will certainly turn heads as you make your way through the day with your work files, or your latest videos, photos and songs.

The SimpleTech® Signature MiniTM offers: Slick, beautiful design by world-renown designer Pininfarina. USB bus-power that requires no bulky AC adapter. Fabrik Ultimate BackupTM for 2 GB of free secure online storage. 3-year warranty.

The curvaceous Signature Mini was designed by Pininfarina of Ferrari fame. View larger.

With just two ports, the Signature Mini is simple to use. In fact, you often only need one cable as the drive can be powered by the USB bus.

Ferrari-Inspired Ultra-Portable Design
Get used to the staring, because when you take this drive out into the public, heads will turn. With its Ferrari-inspired lines, this deliciously hot Cayenne-colored Signature Mini is as much a piece of fine art as a piece of robust hardware. Despite being a compact 3.1 x 4.9 x 0.8-inches (WxDxH), the drive won't be slipping out of your hands, thanks to its velvety texture that offers you a secure grip for your hands. And the drive's two rubber strips at the bottom will keep it from slipping across your desk.

With the included USB 2.0 "Y" cable, the Signature Mini gets its power from your computer, meaning there's no bulky AC adapter to carry around or forget. Just grab the drive and cable, plug it into a computer, and you'll be ready to go.

Powerful Local and Online Backup Options
SimpleTech includes two backup options that will keep your mind at ease about your important data. In fact, SimpleTech’s Signature Mini Drives are the first drives in the world to offer both local and online backup capabilities. With the included Fabrik Local Backup software, you can set up automatic backups from your computer to your Signature Mini. But for the ultimate in protection, the Signature Mini also offers the Fabrik Ultimate Backup solution that uploads your files to a secure, online server that will protect your data from real-world mishaps and offer near-real time protection without bogging down your computer. (Although the Signature Mini is both Mac and PC compatible, at this time the Fabrik Ultimate Backup solution is only available for Windows-based computers.)

Fabrik's Ultimate Backup allows you to store up to 2 GB for free on one of its 448-bit encrypted servers, and for just a few dollars a month, you get unlimited capacity to securely store all of your important files and media collections offsite. Acting just like the drive's local backup software, you simply set Fabrik Ultimate Backup once, and it automatically and regularly backs up your content behind the scenes. All backups, to the external drive or online service, are unobtrusive. Once your initial content has uploaded, the software performs incremental backups, so only the smallest amount of data that has been changed or modified in your files will be updated.

To keep your content private and confidential, all files are encrypted with 128-bit SSL encryption while in transit, with an option for a private encryption key. Fabrik's offsite 448-bit Blowfish encrypted servers are housed by a Fortune 500 company, ensuring file protection, security and peace of mind. So now, no matter what happens to your drive--a curious toddler, a spilled drink or natural disaster--your irreplaceable photos, music, videos and files are safe and secure both offsite and online.

Joggle Software for Easy Media Sharing
Also included is Joggle, a program that brings your photos, music, and videos together and displays it all in one easy-to-manage view. Joggle lets you view all your media files together on a single screen, and lets you access it securely from anywhere you're online. With Joggle, you can easily share your content with friends and family and embed sideshows and playlists into social Web sites including MySpace, Flickr, Facebook or personal blogs. You can even create an RSS feed for friends and family, all without making them register or login to sharing sites.

The Signature Mini is backed by a 3-year warranty and free, unlimited technical support.

What's in the Box
Signature Mini Cayenne 250 GB external hard drive, quick-install guide, and high-speed USB 2.0 "Y" cable.

Get a Signature Mini in your favorite color.

Product Description

Introducing the Signature Mini family of bite-size drives, bursting with tasty ingredients. Supple and resilient to the touch, with a velvety smooth grip, theyre designed by our friends at Pininfarina, the icon of Italian sports car design since 1930. Just plug one in, and inside youll find smart ways to protect and manage all your precious stuff. Includes both local and online backup for unbeatable, total protection. With Fabrik Local Backup software, you can set up automatic backups from your computer to your Signature Mini Drive, while Fabrik Ultimate Backup (2 GB free) provides secure, online backup thats safe from real world mishaps. It works in the background, for constant, near-real time protection without bogging down your computer. And who says the Signature Mini is just for storage. For all the photos, songs, and video in your life, Joggle helps you keep track of them wherever theyre stored. Online or on any drive, youll see all your stuff on a single screen and easily share it with friends and family everywhere.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BUYER BEWARE!, August 6, 2009

By 

Dave Gray (Ozarks) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SimpleTech by Hitachi Signature Mini 160 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive FS-U25/160BB (Blueberry) (Personal Computers)

Like a few others whose reviews I've read, I would have rated this SimpleTech 160 MG Blueberry Pininfarina VERY highly right after I bought it - it was sleek, beautiful, convenient, and worked perfectly as a USB 2.0 external HDD.

But around the time the one-year warranty expired, it decided from time to time that it was going to be a USB 1.1 device, and it would fail to run at USB 2.0, resulting in horribly slow transfer rates. That intermittent problem finally became a permanent problem.

So now I ALWAYS get the dreaded "This device can perform faster if you connect it to a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port" message EVERY time I plug it in to ANY computer. And these computers are ALL new USB 2.0 compatible, which have no problem with any other USB 2.0 devices.

(FYI, this Blueberry has never been dropped, jarred, or otherwise abused.)

I wrote to Simpletech asking for help, but they WILL NOT ANSWER! I can't even say I got bad support...because NO SUPPORT AT ALL is what you get from these people. "SimpleTech"? "SimpleMinded" or "SimplyScrewed" is what they should call themselves with this kind of product and service.

Just FYI, I've been told that the Hitachi drive inside this SimpleTech Blueberry can be placed into another external SATA HD casing with USB 2.0 circuitry and that it may work properly. That's beyond my present level of expertise, so I just bought a different brand external HD and will patiently transfer all my files off of this unfortunately flawed device. I will NEVER buy a SimpleTech product again.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Drive no longer recognized... Here is how to get it back working, January 18, 2009

By 

Sammy Jackson (Waukesha, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SimpleTech by Hitachi Signature Mini250 GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive FS-U25/250G (Ice) (Personal Computers)

We had the bubblegum 250GB Simpletech drive and one day the computers just stopped recognizing the drive. The light would turn on when connected and it SEEMED to be spinning fine, but I couldn't get any computer to see it.

After a little research, it turns out these have notoriously bad USB controllers.

I opened up the case and inside is just a standard 2.5" SATA hard drive. Mine was a Hitachi, other have reported having a Western Digial.

So, we bought an external SATA hard drive case from Best Buy for $50 and plugged in the drive and voila.......it works.

The case basically just replaces the Simpletech case and you can get your files off AND continue to use the drive.

You can buy a SATA case online for < $20 if you look hard enough, but I wanted to give it a shot so I didn't want to wait for shipping.

Hopefully this will be able to help someone else who is having the same problems. We had all of our kid pictures on it so it was critical to get the files off!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mini is Perfect for My Mac Book Pro, June 17, 2009

By 

K. Coggiola "K9er" (Pomona, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SimpleTech by Hitachi Signature Mini 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive FS-U25/500E (Espresso) (Personal Computers)

It's small, compact, quiet, fast, light weight, space saving, racy looking, different colors for easy ID, rubberized coating for a sure grip, stackable, extremely portable, with easy instructions to convert to Mac.

I have 4 Minis. I bought the first one over a year ago. I have one for my Time Machine back up, one for music, one for photos/videos, & a 500G to back up the others, that I keep in a fire proof safe.

Some suggestions for those who gave bad reviews:
1. When the drive is running, leave it alone! Don't pick it up or move it around. Just leave it sitting flat.

2. You must dismount the drive properly! See FAQ on Simple Tech's web site.

3. Don't be in such a hurry! Wait several seconds to be sure the drive has fully stopped.

4. Don't yank the USB plug out. You might create a tiny spark. Sneak the plug out gently, especially if it's windy or there's static electricity in the air.

5. As for the lack of power complaints...The shorter the USB cable, the greater the power. Try using your camera cable. At about 50+G of info, the external drive may need up to 1 Amp to get going. If the Mini is not seen by the computer, unplug everything - Mini first. Then attach both USB plugs of the "Y" cable & reconnect - Mini last. Best to get an externally powered USB hub. Belkin makes a nice little white 4 (& 7) port. Each port of the Belkin puts out ½ Amp (500mA). I can run several Minis at once, without any power problems.

6. Lastly, if your not backed up at least twice, you're not backed up at all.

Use a little common sense & save yourself a lot of grief.

The Mini is a great little product!!! Be nice to it, and it'll be nice to you.

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