Inateck Dual Bay USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station with Offline Clone Review ( Model FD2002 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received an Inateck Dual Bay USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station ( model FD2002 ) for a product review.  I have done reviews of other adapters/docks, but this was my first dock that holds the drive in a vertical position and more importantly the first one with an offline clone capability.

The package included the instruction manual, the dock itself, a USB 3.0 cable and the power supply.  The dock came with a nifty plastic "dust cap" which you can keep over the dock when it is not in use.

Everything that comes with the dock, including a clear "dust cap" you can't really see in the picture (it is on the dock itself)

My first test was simple.  I inserted two 2.5" SATA drives, and they both showed up on my Windows 7 system.  Both drives showed up without any problems, and I used a few apps to ensure that I could see the S.M.A.R.T data from the drives and just made sure I could open each drive without any problems.

Next, I wanted to test the speeds so I booted into a Ubuntu live CD and ran a drive benchmark.  The drive average read, write and access times were within 1% of the Inateck FE2005 when using the same hard drive.

My final test was to try out the clone capability.  I took a 160GB hard drive (with Windows 7 Pro installed for one of the laptops) and inserted the 160GB and 200GB drive into the dock.After following the simple instructions in the manual, the process start and took around 40 minutes to finish.  When it was done, I put the 200GB drive back into the same laptop and it booted up with no problem.  I did notice that the partition sizes were the same as they were in the 160GB, so I had about 40GB unallocated.  You would need to add another partition, or use various tools to expand the existing partitions.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Ease of use: Once you connect the cables, all you have to do is insert your SATA hard drive and hit the power button on the dock.  No drivers, nothing complicated.  If you plan to swap drives in and out, this dock is great.

Design: This dock has a clean and simple design.  The dock keeps the drive in a vertical position which in some situations may be ideal, however if you prefer Inateck does have docks that hold the drive in a horizontal position (but none that handle two drives and have clone capability).

Versatility: In addition to supporting two SATA drives (both 2.5" and 3.5") at the same time, this dock can also support offline clone capability.

The laptop I was using for my tests isn't USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) compatible so I wasn't able to determine how UASP impacted speed.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a dual-bay USB dock, this is a great option and the clone feature gives the ability to handle hard drive upgrades and backups in a very easy way.

Link to Inateck FD2002 Product Page

Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure Review ( Model FE2003 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I received an Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Aluminum External Enclosure ( model FE2003 ) for a product review.  I already did a review ( link to my review ) on the Inateck model FE2005 so in this review, I am going to make comparisons to the FE2005.

After unpacking everything, the first thing I noticed was the lack of instruction manual.  I don't feel this is a big issue, but lately I try to review the manual first to make sure I know of any unique features the product has.

Everything included in the package.

My next step was to put a hard drive into the case.  I had to figure out how to open the case ( which wasn't difficult really ) and then using the included screws and screw drivers I secured the drive and used another set of screws to close the case.  Overall not a complicated process, but definitely not as easy as the Inateck FE2005.

Hard drive tray removed from enclosure

The external enclosure has both a USB 3.0 port and a separate power port that a second USB cable connects into.  This could be useful in certain situations where the device providing USB connectivity does not have enough power ( USB 2.0 device that only provides 0.5A ) or if you want to use this on a device such as an Android tablet and want to use a separate power source.

Size comparison:
FE2003 (Left) 2.5" Hard drive (Middle) FE2005 (Right)

To test the additional power port, I put a 500GB 7200rpm drive into the case and transferred some large files over to the drive (to simulate a load during use).  Using my DROK USB testers, here is what I measured:

1) Using USB 3.0 port alone, the drive pulled approximately 0.65A
2) Using both ports, the USB 3.0 (data) port pulled 0.4A and the USB power port pulled 0.25A.

The USB 3.0 spec is rated for 0.9A so a USB 3.0 port should be able to handle this drive with no issue but if your using a device that only puts out the 0.5A per the USB 2 specifications then you may need to use both adapters.  This may not be an issue if you are always going to use USB 3.0 ports, but users may have projects where dual power is required or preferred.

To test the device performance, I turned Ubuntu (live CD in this case).  The average read/write and access times were within about 2% of the FE2005 tests (which both performed very similar to other adapters I tested).

Here are the main points I noted during my review:

Easy of Use: While it was not difficult to insert the hard drive, the tool free FE2005 was much easier than this enclosure.  If you plan to swap drives often, this is going to be a factor to consider otherwise I wouldn't make it a main decision point.

Structure and design:  The aluminum case feels solid, and as I described above the additional power is one of the main differences for this enclosure.  This enclosure also has a USB 3.0 "Type A" port on it, which is the same size most laptops have.  This should be sturdier than the USB 3.0 Micro B ports that most enclosure have.  If you are going to keep your enclosure someone stationary (for example on your Xbox One) this may not be a major factor to consider, but if you are going to be in situations where the cable may get pulled on or stress on it the larger port should prove beneficial.

Other Considerations: In addition to including the required cables, screws and screw driver this enclosure also comes with a black cloth bag to carry the drive in.  Again, this is just one of those small details that is worth considering since you don't want your nice enclosure to get scratched up.

Bottom Line: I would definitely recommend anyone looking for an external case consider how they plan to use it, and what features are important.  Both the FE2003 reviewed here and the FE2005 are solid choices, each having their own benefits.

TaoTronics LED Lamp Review ( Model TT-DL04 )

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently received a TaoTronics LED lamp (model TT-DL04) for a product review.  I did my normal first steps of opening up the package, and giving the user manual a quick skim.  The manual not only had great directions, but also listed some useful bits of information -- next time I will read it fully the first time and not skim it.

Lamp parts after they are unpacked.  Note the metal loop ( carabiner ) on top of the instruction manual

Once I assembled the lamp, I plugged it in.  It gave a quick flash, then went off and the power button didn't seem to work.  Here is where "Read the manual" kicks in.  The manual clearly states that it will turn on for 1 second then off again when you first connect it, and it also states that a long press is needed to turn the lamp on/off.  RTFM -- Read The (F_insert your choice of word here_) Manual.

After the lamp turned on as expected, my next test was the USB port.  The directions clearly state it is rated for 0.5A, so I connected my Moto X phone (which I know can pull more than 0.5A and my DROK USB tester (covered in another blog post).  Here is what I was able to measure:

- With the lamp head connected, I was pulling about 0.5A
- Without the lamp head connected, I was pulling about 0.8A

Lamp with DROK tester showing 0.49A output

Consider the lamp head has a battery inside it, even if it is turned off the battery would be charging so it makes sense to see a different.  As a side note, the A/C adapter is rated at 1.2A.

This was just a quick test, bottom line charging a phone shouldn't be a problem but a larger tablet may take longer than using the adapter that actually comes with the tablet.

Here are the main points I noticed about this product:

Ease of use: As long as you read the instructions, assembly and use of this device is very easy.

Design: The lamp has a very simple design, but still looks nice.  The addition of the USB port is a nice touch, often near your desk you may only have one or two available wall plugs for power so being able to use one for your lamp and a device like a smartphone is useful feature.

Detachable lamp: I am not the type of person that goes camping, but for other situations (working on a car, emergencies or just moving around at night) I could see this being very useful.  The little metal loop they provide fits in the plastic opening at the top of the "lamp head".  Using the loop, you can hang the lamp from a book bag or other places.

For size comparison, lamp parts next to Nexus 7 tablet

Based on the design and features, I consider this a "kid friendly" lamp.  You don't have to worry about a glass bulb that breaks, and if you want (once the internal battery is fully charged) you can set the lamp up for a younger child and not worry about them messing with the power adapter/cable.  As a test, I left the lamp on full intensity for an hour and it didn't get hot to the touch.  For kids that like to build forts or even go outside at night, the lamp is a great way to act like they are camping.

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a versatile LED lamp, this is a great option.  The built-in USB port is a great addition (and doesn't cause issues if you don't use it) and the fact you can detach the lamp is pretty neat.  Normally you might think a lamp is a lamp, but make it a LED lamp with a USB port and detachable lamp it becomes a lamp that a wide range of people could find useful.

Xbox One - Adding external storage

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the Inateck products for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I have been testing a few options for adding external storage to devices.  During each of my reviews, part of my test was to ensure it worked on my Xbox One.  I decided to pull together a post focused on some of my thoughts and information specific to adding storage to the Xbox One.

Just to be clear, if you are just looking for the easy option of going to the store and buying an external USB drive this page really isn't for you.  However if you want flexibility on how you approach adding storage, then keep reading for information and a few options.

Why add storage

Some users may be wondering why they would need to even consider adding storage to their Xbox One.  Here are a few of the scenarios that would provide benefit:

1) Multiple consoles in the same house could use drives to copy games, such as digital downloads, between consoles.  As an example, copying GTA V took just under 20 minutes and unless you have some crazy fast internet it would take much longer than that to download the 40GB of data.

2) Many games take up a good amount of your storage.  As an example, Assassin's Creed Unity, Forza 5, NBA 2K15, and GTA V all take up just over 40GB each.  The 500GB console actually only has about 360GB of usable space (the rest is reserved by the system).  After 9 of those 40GB games you are going to run out of space.

3) If you often play on multiple consoles (friends house for example) it would be good to carry your favorite games with you, to avoid having to wait for installs/updates.  The drives can move between consoles with no problem.

Hard drive choice

Left : 2.5" SATA drive sitting on Inateck dock
Right : 3.5" SATA drive

This is where you start having to make choices.  Per Microsoft, an external drive must support USB 3.0 and have a capacity of 256GB or more.  The USB 3.0 aspect will be addressed in the connectivity options.

Based on my own research, you are going to get more storage capacity from a larger 3.5" SATA drive than you will a 2.5" SATA drive for the same cost.  As an example, you can purchase a WD Black 500GB (2.5" SATA) for around $50, and for about the same cost you can get a WD Blue 1TB (3.5" SATA) drive.  In addition to cost, you will want to consider how portable the drive is if that is an important factor.  I already had a 3.5" SATA drive, so I purchased 2.5" SATA drive so I would have both options available for my reviews of the options.

When you are considering hard drives, you can get a bit creative here.  You may decide to upgrade an existing computer (desktop/laptop) to a larger drive and then use the older drive in one of the options below.

Options to connect the Hard drive to the Xbox One

Below are the options I tested, and my thoughts on pros/cons specific to them being used for external storage on the Xbox One.  You would need to consider how you plan to use the external storage device to help determine which option works best for you.

Option 1 : Inateck USB 3.0 to IDE + SATA Converter (Model UA2001)

Inateck UA2001 with 3.5" SATA drive on top of Xbox One

Description: This adapter supports SATA and IDE drives.  I would recommend this for someone who is only going to use the adapter on the Xbox One for temporary reasons, and plans to use the adapter for other purposes also.

My full review: http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2014/11/inateck-usb-30-to-ide-sata-converter.html

Pros:

• Support both 2.5" and 3.5" drives connected using IDE and SATA, giving flexibility in what drive you choose.
• For someone who is computer guru, this gives them a useful adapter for other purposes than just the Xbox One

Cons:

• Visually, the cables and bare drive wouldn't really look good on an entertainment center

Option 2 : Inateck USB 3.0 HDD Docking Station (Model FD1006)

Inateck FD1006 with 3.5" SATA drive on top of Xbox One

Description: This HDD docking station holds the drive in a horizontal position, however if you prefer a vertical "top loading" dock Inateck has those also.  I would recommend this for someone looking to add storage, but does not plan to move the dock itself around often.

My full review: http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2014/11/inateck-fd1006-usb-30-hdd-docking.html

Pros:

• Support both 2.5" and 3.5" drives, giving flexibility in what drive you choose.
• Easy to swap drives so you can have multiple drives (one for all your shooters, etc)
• Can use a dock on multiple consoles to move games around with just one hard drive

Cons:

• Larger size makes this less portable

Option 3 : Inateck FE2005 USB 3.0 HDD Tool Free External Enclosure (Model FE2005)

Inateck FE2005 on top of Xbox One

Description: This HDD enclosure supports 2.5" SATA drives.  I would recommend this for anyone who considers portability an important factor.

My full review: http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2014/11/inateck-fe2005-usb-30-hdd-tool-free.html

Pros:

• No extra power adapter required
• Very portable

Cons:

• Only supports 2.5" SATA drives
• Since this is USB powered, may run into issues with 7200 RPM drives power requirement so do the research

Overall, these are just some of the options I have tested.  I would recommend anyone looking to add storage puts some thought into how exactly they plan to use the extra storage, and how often they may be moving data between systems.  Once you have that figured out, start to research drive options and prices.

Thanks to the support of Inateck, I am doing a giveaway of one of the adapters above!
( Giveaway is over )

Update: I have reviewed two other devices that also work with the Xbox One:

Inateck FE2007 : http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2015/05/inateck-usb-30-hdd-enclosure-3-port-hub.html


Inateck FE3001 : http://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2015/05/inateck-25-35-inch-hdd-usb-30-external.html