The Mac Observer

Skip navigational links

Choose text size: Select small text. Select medium text. Select large text.

Featured Article: Monday's Mac Gadget - Want to Start Tweeting with Twitter? Check out twhirl!

Review - Zonet Portable External SATA Hard Drive Case

by , 12:30 PM EDT, April 4th, 2008

A leather covered hard drive case? Is this an oxymoron? The Zonet ZNS8021 Portable External SATA Hard Drive Case is really cool to look at, but the leather case cover made me skeptical of it's cooling abilities at first. However the unit surprised me. It was able to run several movie length media files directly from the hard drive and maintained a near room temperature the whole time.

A bonus for Apple lovers, it doesn't state it is Mac compatible, but it ran just fine with the latest version of Leopard Mac OS X 10.5.2.


Zonet ZNS8021 Hard Drive Case

The best thing about the Zonet is it comes with all the necessary tools and it is super easy to assemble. Even a beginner should be able to put it together quickly.

The down side is it requires two USB ports. For most portable notebook units this isn't very portable friendly. One of the USB ports provides power, the other is for information transfer. There is no external power source available at all.

The Bottom Line
Overall this product is great and I recommend it for anyone who wants a stylish and cool external hard drive case that is easy to use and assemble.

Product: Zonet ZNS8021 Portable External SATA Hard Drive Ca

Company: Zonet

List Price: $35

4 out of 5 stars

Pros: Easy to assemble, attractive unit, reasonable price, runs cool, one year warranty.
Cons: Requires two USB ports to operate.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
View Name:Guest
Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:29 pm Subject: weak review
Close Name:Intruder -   TMO Mac Specialist Posts: 2989 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:37 pm Subject:

Unfortunately this is becoming more common with drive cases. Larger drives are more power hungry and need the two connections to supply sufficient power.


 Reply | Quote
Close Name:Boyarsky Posts: 64 Joined: 03 Apr 2002
Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:50 pm Subject: Price & firewire?

Weird. It says reasonable price, but none is listed.

I find it incomprehensible that it takes 2 USB ports. This just shows how far behind the curve USB really is.

Add a firewire port & I would consider buying it.


 Reply | Quote
View Name:Guest
Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:20 pm Subject: bonus
Close Name:Gman Posts: 2 Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Fri Apr 04, 2008 11:32 pm Subject: Two (2) USB Plugs not required

The only reason vendors provide a dual-USB cable is for machines that do not provide enough power to each USB port (a PC problem ... not an issue for current Macs) thereby requiring two ports.

This is true of some Hitachi and Seagate drives as well. If you're running a current Mac portable you should have no problems with a single port. Just be careful you plug the right one in, as one of the two provided only supplies power and not the USB functionality.

The easiest thing to do is replace the supplied cable with another single connector. I do this and have never had a problem with such drives.


 Reply | Quote
Comment on this Article


Guest Posts Hidden. View Them.
Back to top  Page 1 of 1    

You cannot edit your comments.   You cannot delete your comments.
Log in | Register | Having Problems? Reset TMO Cookies & Try Again
Username:   Password:   Log me on automatically each visit   

You are not logged in, and this post will appear as "Guest." Log in with your username and password from the TMO forums. If you do not have a username, you can register here.
Please note that guests are limited to including a maximum of two URLs per post.

Post A Comment
  Subject


  Your Comments



Please enter the word exactly as you see it in the image above. Registered users aren't prompted for this. Having trouble reading the image get a new one.

Recent Headlines - Updated Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Wed., 5:00 PM
iPodObserver - What to Do With That Old iPhone 2G
4:00 PM
iPO Review - FileMagnet
3:40 PM
iPO App Store Spotlight - Plum Record Turns iPhone into Digital Audio Recorder
3:10 PM
Study: iPhone Continues Momentum in Enterprise
2:30 PM
After The Core 2 Duo - Unraveling the Zoo of Intel Code Names
1:50 PM
NYT: Ideal of Apple Perfection Doesn't Fit the Facts
1:15 PM
iPodObserver - Security Flaw Allows Access to Screen Locked iPhone
11:20 AM
MacUpdate Springs Back-to-school App Bundle
10:35 AM
Adium 1.3 Sports New Interface, Facebook Support
10:10 AM
Hot Forum Topic - Apple 4Q iPhone Sales Numbers
9:10 AM
iPodObserver - UK Yanks Misleading iPhone Ad
7:55 AM
M Cubed Intros Lighthouse Keeper
 

The Mac Observer Reader Specials
  • Special Report: WWDC 2008
  • Special Report: iPhone
  • __________
  • Help TMO Grow
  • Podcast: Mac Geek Gab
  • Podcast: Apple Weekly Report
  • TMO on Twitter!

Apple Stock Quote

  • AAPL: $174.67. Change Today: +1.03.
  • (Prices delayed up to 20 minutes.)
  • Discuss in our Apple Finance Board

Hot Topics

What's the buzz? These articles have TMO readers talking.

Top Deals From DealsOnTheWeb