Why the SSD is my favourite external storage medium
23.9.2016
Translation: machine translated
External storage has become an integral part of our everyday lives. From the usually permanently installed NAS at home to the ultra-portable USB stick, we want to back up our data everywhere and have it to hand at all times. Let me explain why I have a clear favourite.
It's clear that the cloud is becoming increasingly important, especially in everyday life, and will probably replace traditional storage solutions completely at some point. But we're not quite there yet. For various reasons, many of us still rely on physical, often portable storage to back up and transport data.
For many years, a good compromise between capacity, size and price has been the external hard drive, which is still available today in a sheer number of colours, shapes and capacities. Not so long ago, however, there was an interesting alternative: the external SSD.
SSD? Exactly, Solid State Drive, the quasi-successor to the classic mechanical hard disc. Although it is now standard in the laptop and desktop sector, its use as an external storage medium is still in its infancy.
The question that now naturally arises: Does an SSD as an external storage device offer the same new feeling as an internal solution? My first thought: Probably not, as we are already used to flash memory such as USB sticks. I was therefore sceptical, as you also get (at least for now) slightly fewer gigabytes per franc than with conventional external hard drives.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I decided a few weeks ago to send my various USB sticks and external hard drives on summer holiday and opt for a Samsung T3 instead.
First things first: The T3 is "only" an external data carrier. This means that nothing changes in terms of basic handling compared to a USB stick or an external HD. (With the exception of OTG, but I'll go into that briefly later.)
Although the obvious purpose and handling haven't changed much, there are a few reasons why I stopped thinking about returning after just a short time.
The reasons are as follows:
- Size/design
Anyone who unpacks the T3 will probably be amazed for a brief moment. So much memory in such a small and pretty thing? Yep, it looks like it. Not much bigger than a matchbox, in a classy anthracite/black finish and extremely light. But the T3 can do more than just look good: - Speed
There are plenty of detailed reviews including speed tests out there on the Internet, so I would just like to briefly discuss the "perceived" speed. And it's top!
When the T3 is connected to a notebook or PC, it is immediately available. No waiting for mechanical components, no waiting for initialisation, just plug it in and save. The transfer rates are also wonderfully fast when connected to a USB 3 port. I have already tried various storage media and the T3 is definitely one of the fastest. Documents with a few MB are no longer a topic these days anyway, but photos and large video files are also transferred at lightning speed. - Robustness
The absence of mechanical components inside the T3 makes it very light. But there is another decisive advantage: no mechanical parts = nothing that could physically break. Even if you want to take care of the T3 for its looks alone, nothing will happen if you drop it
.
- USB OTG (On-The-Go)
It's hard to say how many people know, use or even need OTG. Nevertheless, I would like to briefly discuss this feature, as it demonstrates an additional advantage of the external SSD: Due to the rather low power consumption compared to a hard disc, an external SSD like the T3 can also be connected and accessed directly on a mobile or tablet as external storage. This requires an OTG-capable mobile phone and a corresponding adapter or cable.
Conclusion: I will definitely keep the T3. Even if it is a little more expensive and doesn't have quite as much capacity, the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. It's so small, light and fast that you really don't need a USB stick or an external HD.
USB OTG cable
Ramon Schmid
Integration Manager
ramon.schmid@digitecgalaxus.ch7 comments
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