Top 20 Portable Hard Drives – The Best 500GB & 1TB External Hard disks

There a lot of Top External Hard drives in the market today. But finding them all at a single place is very difficult for most of us. Generally most of us will have a lot of queries while buying a portable hard drive, like what will be the size, how good the performance is and how good the service will be and etc. Keeping this in in mind, we made a list of most popular 500Gb and 1 TB hard drives with our own rating and review, so that this review will help you to choose a better hard drive. Now-a-days, most of us are confused with different variety of models available in market. All these External Hard drives will have same functionalities when compared to each other, but the prices will differ in most of the cases.

The biggest problem for any common user to buy a portable drive is its improper review. There are millions of pages which give reviews on selected hard drives in market. But the problem is, some may rate good and some may rate average and some may rate worst. Seeing all these reviews, any common man would definitely be confused before he buys a portable drive. Today, i will guide you people to select a amazing external hard drive for you both PC and Laptop with amazing features. Check out our previous article on Be Smart In Selecting a Hard drive, which helped many people to buy a better hard drive and also gave us many hits. Now coming to the Top External Hard Drives, we will give you a list of 10 best portable hard drives in each 500GB and 1TB category, which are presently available in the market.

Top External Hard Drives – 1 TB

In this first part, we will give you the 10 popular portable external hard drives with capacities of both 1 TB. So here goes the list which has a list of popular 1TB hard drives which you can trust on. Note that there will be huge difference in 1TB and 500GB when compared with each other. Not only in size, but also in the production, quality and efficiency of the drive. So choose wisely, here goes the list below.

1) WD My Passport Essential SE (WDBACX0010BBK) : The world famous WD My Passport Essential SE is very reliable. This drives ensures the safety of all your valuable data at any cost. This 1TB hard drive comes with a automatic backup feature which saves your time and money. The drive can produce a super speed data transfer of upto 5Gb/sec. It comes with the maximum drive capacity of 1TB, where most of the hard drive end up with 930GB. This super speed drive supports USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. The amazing password protection and encryption tools in the drive make it more trust worthy. Check out the specifications below. 

Brand : Western Digital
Model : WDBACX0010BBK.
Color : Black
Capacity : 1 TB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB 3.0, USB v2.0
Dimensions : 110 x 83 x 18 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.4, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 200g
Star Feature : Maximum capacity, Eco-Friendly.
Approx Price : Rs – 6800/-
Our Rating : 5/5

2) IOmega EGo SuperSpeed (35254) : The Iomega Ego 35254 is an 2.5 inch, 1 TB hard drive, which is a stylish super speed hard drive with an amazing 3.0 USB speed and data transfer of upto 5 GB/sec. This portable hard drive is very well known for its amazing design and a ruby red band. It gives a solid protection to the hard drive from physical damage. The hard drive can survive a 7 feet fall from the air with this ruby band around it. The IOmega 35254 comes with a IOmega protection suite software which includes Trend Micro Internet Security, Roxio, Retrospect express backup software, IOmega Quick Protect, Online backup service which protects your data. It has an AES 256 bit hardware encryption built into USB 3.0 port.

Brand : IOmega
Model : 35254.
Color : Ruby Red With Band, Black.
Capacity : 1TB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0 , USB v3.0
Dimensions : 13.1 x 9.3 x 2.6 cm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.5, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : 5 GB/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 230g
Star Features : 256-Bit AES Encrypted Storage Controller.
Approx Price : Rs – 6000/-
Our Rating : 5/5

3) Transcend StoreJet (TS1TSJ25H3P) : The transcend storejet series is very famous for its advanced super speed data transfer. The drive has a multifunctional button on the top, which lights up by an LED light, which indicates the data transfer.Also its compact body is made of silicon outer-shell ensuring it never slips from your hands. The drive has a Elite backup and security software which protects your hard drive from data loss and unauthorized access, the elite software comes with powerful 256 bit AES encryption to secure the data. The drive is made of durable anti-shock silicone outer shell which protects you from hard drops and vibrations.

Brand : Transcend
Model : TS1TSJ25H3P.
Color : Purple
Capacity : 1 TB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB 3.0, USB v2.0
Dimensions : 80.8 x 21.7 x 130.8 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.4, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 256g
Star Feature : Built-in Power Management.
Approx Price : Rs – 7500/-
Our Rating : 5/5

4) Seagate Expansion Portable (ST910004EXM101-RK) : The Seagate Expansion portable 1TB hard drive is very compact and easy to carry. You can easily interchange the hard drive in both Windows and Mac PC’s. This drive support only USB 2.0 port. But the data transfer is pretty good where you can just drag and drop the data into the drive. There is no need of any external power supply, which saves the power consumption. It also has an built-in power management feature for efficient energy operations. You can check the specifications of the drive below.

Brand : Seagate
Model : ST910004EXM101-RK.
Color : Black
Capacity : 1 TB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB 3.0, USB v2.0
Dimensions : 80.01 x 17.6 x 141.29 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.4, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 160g
Star Feature : Built-in Power Management.
Approx Price : Rs – 5400/-
Our Rating : 4.8/5

Highly Suggested Article: Be Smart In Selecting a Hard drive

5) Verbatim Portable (53018) : The verbatim portable is a USB 3.0 super speed drive with amazing features. The drive comes with a Nero Backitup and Burn Essentials software. The drive comes with a Green button energy saving software. The super speed data transfer speed will go up to 4800 Mb/sec. Very less weight and compact in design. Supports, all operating systems like Window, Mac, and Linux. You can check the specifications below.

Brand : Verbatim
Model : 53018.
Color : Black.
Capacity : 1TB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0 , USB v3.0
Dimensions : 127 x 82 x 20 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.5, or greater, Linux kernal 2.6 or higher.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : 4.8 GB/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 185g
Star Features : 256-Bit AES Encrypted Storage Controller.
Approx Price : Rs – 5600/-
Our Rating : 5/5

These are the top 5 portable hard drives in 1TB range. There are 5 more 1TB hard drives with amazing features, which you can check below.

6) Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (STAA1000302) : Rs: 4400, Rating: 4.8/5 (USB 3.0)

7) Silicon Power (Stream S20) : Rs: 4400, Rating: 4.8/5 (USB 3.0)

8 ) Toshiba Canvio Basics (E05A100BBU2AK) : Rs: 5900, Rating: 4.8/5 (USB 2.0)

9) Buffalo MiniStation (HD-PC1TU2/BB) : Rs: 6100, Rating: 4.5/5 (USB 2.0)

10) Imation EA APOLLO : Rs: 4700, Rating: 4.0/5 (USB 2.0)

This completes our list of 1TB popular external drives. Now, lets check out the best portable external drives in 500 GB. As mentioned above, i will review the top 5 hard drives from 500 GB and list out the remaining hard drives with model names, price, rating and USB port type. Just like above top 10 1 TB hard drives.

Top External Hard Drives – 500 GB

1) WD Essential USB Passport Edition (WDBACY5000ABK) : To be frank, the WD essential hard drive is the most amazing portable drive i have ever seen. The western digital USB passport edition is the most advanced portable drive which stands no: 1 in the top external hard drives in market today. This amazing hard drive comes with a 3.0 USB speed and needs no external power. This 2.5inch, 500GB WD essential hard drive has amazing features like simple plug and play, ultra simple portability and may more. Check out the specifications below to know more about this hard drive.

Brand : Western Digital
Model : WDBACY5000ABK.
Color : Black
Capacity : 500 GB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0 , USB v3.0
Dimensions : 110 x 15 x 83 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X v10.5, v10.6, v10.7
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : 5 GB/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 140g
Star Feature : Ultra Slim Portability.
Approx Price : Rs – 4800/-
Our Rating : 5/5

2) IOmega EGo SuperSpeed (35250) : The Iomega Ego 35250 hard drive is a stylish super speed hard drive with an amazing 3.0 USB speed and data transfer of upto 5 GB/sec. This portable hard drive is very well known for its amazing design and a ruby red band. There will be a rubber power grip around the hard drive, which gives a solid protection to the hard drive from physical damage. The hard drive can survive a 7 feet fall from the air with this ruby band around it. The IOmega 35250 comes with a IOmega protection suite software which includes Trend Micro Internet Security, Roxio, Retrospect express backup software, IOmega Quick Protect, Online backup service which protects your data. It has an AES 256 bit hardware encryption built into USB 3.0 port.

Brand : IOmega
Model : 35250.
Color : Ruby Red With Band, Black.
Capacity : 500 GB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0 , USB v3.0
Dimensions : 129 x 90 x 22 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.5, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : 5 GB/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 200g
Star Features : Encryption to protect data.
Approx Price : Rs – 4300/-
Our Rating : 5/5

3) Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (STAA500301) : Seagate is well known as a popular and successful hard drive company in Asia. The FreeAgent GoFlex is one of its amazing product which is featured with easy sync, super fast transfer and an pre-built backup software, it offers reliable and safe data storage. This 2.5inch, 500 GB Seagate hard drive is an ultra portable drive which can work efficiently on both Windows and Mac Operating systems. This hard drive has an amazing security with triple DES encryption feature which secures data from unauthorized access. The hard drive comes with a Seagate dashboard management tool, which enables you to manage the backup schedules, file encryption and drive stats when ever required.

Brand : Seagate
Model : STAA500301.
Color : Black, Silver, Red
Capacity : 500 GB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0
Dimensions : 83 x 111 x 14 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.4, or greater.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Encryption : 192 bit triple DES
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 150g
Star Feature : Power management system to save energy.
Approx Price : Rs – 4000/-
Our Rating : 5/5

4) Buffalo MiniStation (PC500U2/BK) : The buffalo mini station is well known for its compact design. This hard drive is as small as any normal Nokia c3 phone. The drive has an amazing performance and price when compared to other hard drives in market. It comes with inbuilt tools like Turbo copy, secure lock, eco manager and an amazing tool called the Ramdisk utility, which provides faster disk space within your RAM. The hard drive comes with a plug and play feature where you need to install any drivers in your PC. This tiny hard drive is very popular for its data transfer speed at an amazing price. Check out the more specifications below to know more.

Brand : Buffalo
Model : PC500U2/BK
Color : Black.
Capacity : 500 GB
Buffer : 8MB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0
Dimensions : 77 x 114 x 14 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.5, or greater, Linux kernal 2.4 or higher.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : upto 480 Mb/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 165g
Star Features : Power saving mode (10mins)
Approx Price : Rs – 3500/-
Our Rating : 4.5/5

5) Transcend StoreJet (TS500GSJ25M2) : The Transcend Store Jet is a very popular model from the transcend family. It has an outstanding design and safety features. This 2.5 inch, 500 GB hard drive comes with a unique safety to protect your data and centralize all your information in a single unit to make your data easily accessible. You can find a power button at the top of the hard drive indicating the data transfer activities. The drive comes with a 3 stage shock protection system that combines vibration absorbing silicone outer shell, reinforced hard casing and an internal hard drive suspension damper which protects you from incidental knocks and excessive jolts and drops.

Brand : Transcend
Model : TS500GSJ25M2
Color : Black.
Capacity : 500 GB
Buffer : 8MB
RPM : 5400 (Revolutions Per Minute)
Connectivity : USB v2.0
Dimensions : 82.5 x 20.4 x 126.25 mm
HDD Type : Portable.
Operating System : Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OS X v10.5, or greater, Linux kernal 2.4 or higher.
Power : No AC adapter needed.
Transfer Speed : upto 480 Mb/sec.
Warranty : 36 months (3 years)
Weight : 206g
Star Features : Durable anti-shock silicone outer shell, One Touch auto backup button.
Approx Price : Rs – 4200/-
Our Rating : 4.5/5

These are the top 5 Hard drives in 500 GB range. There are 5 more hard drives in 500 GB. If you want to check them out, here they are. Note that, all these below service centers may not be available in your city.

6) Adata (CH94) – Rs: 4900, Rating: 4.5/5  (USB 2.0)

7) Acer (LC.EXH01.010) – Rs: 4300, Rating: 4.5/5 (USB 2.0)

8 ) Hitachi Touro Mobile – Rs: 4000, Rating: 4.3/5 (USB 2.0)

9) Imation 500 GB Apollo – Rs: 3500, Rating: 4.2/5 (USB 2.0)

10) Toshiba Canvio Basics (E05A050BAU2AK) – Rs : 3400, Rating: 4.0/5 (USB 2.0)

These are the top 10 popular hard drives in 500 GB. If you have any queries on these 20 hard drives, you can comment below to clear them. Hope you liked our review on most top external hard drives.