SimpleTech by Hitachi Signature Mini 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive FS-U25/500E (Espresso)

by SimpleTech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001CGDUGC
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: FS-U25/500E
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 10, 2008

Product Description

Capacity: 500 GB | Color: Espresso

Manufacturer Product Description

Introducing the Signature Mini family of bite-size drives, bursting with tasty ingredients. Supple and resilient to the touch, with a positive velvety grip, they're designed by our friends at Pininfarina, the icon of Italian sports car design since 1930.

High speed USB 2.0 "Y" cable included provides power without extra cables

Perfect for the Consumers who own a laptop or desktop computer looking for a stylish, simple way to store, backup, and carry their files.

Just plug one in, and inside you'll 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, while Fabrik Ultimate Backup (2 GB free) provides secure, online storage that's 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 they're stored. Online or on any drive, you'll see all your stuff on a single screen and easily share it with friends and family everywhere.

Features and Benefits:

• Sleek pocket-sized design by Pininfarina
• Velvety smooth texture for a secure grip
• Durable and made for travel
• Express yourself – choose from multiple colors and capacities
• All-in-one high speed USB 2.0 "Y" cable (included) also provides power
• Simple, automatic backups with Fabrik Local BackupTM
• Complete, unbeatable protection with Fabrik Ultimate BackupTM online service (2 GB free)
• JoggleTM digital content manager for easy tracking, sharing and publishing of photos, music, and videos
• Free technical support
• 3-year warranty

What’s in the Box
Signature Mini USB 2.0 Portable Drive USB 2.0 Cable Fabrik Local Backup™ Software Fabrik Ultimate Backup™ Service (2GB free)† Joggle™ Digital Content Manager Free technical support

Product Description

SimpleTech 500GB Signature MiniTM USB 2.0 portable drive, the dark roasted brew from the SimpleTech Signature Mini family, brings all new flavor to your life on the go. Supple and resilient to the touch, with a positive, velvety grip, it is designed by our friends at Pininfarina, the icon of Italian sports car design since 1930.

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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