Product Reviews

The 80GB Ultra TravelDrive is the first portable USB hard disk we've seen from Memorex, a company that's better known for making blank CDs and DVDs. The TravelDrive's grey plastic panels can be detached and replaced, like the fascias found on older mobile phones. Substitute faceplates in white and metallic orange are included, although neither colour complements the case's fixed grey rubberised grips. Removing the covers requires some force, but they don't feel particularly sturdy.

Thankfully, the TravelDrive didn't disappoint us in our file-copying tests. It's fast for a portable

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USB hard disk, managing 22.85MB/s overall in our large files tests and an average of 9.57MB/s in our small files tests. A USB-to-5V cable is included in case your computer can't provide enough power to the TravelDrive over a single USB cable.

Memorex bundles its own TotalMedia Backup software with the TravelDrive. It can back up your files according to a schedule, and can save time on subsequent backups by copying only those files that have changed since your last backup. However, it can't keep older versions of your files in case you change or delete a file you wish you hadn't.

A button mounted on the top of the TravelDrive launches the TotalMedia software, but it doesn't start backing up automatically - you still have to initiate a backup manually. This is because it's a portable drive and may not always be connected to your PC. You should bear this in mind before you use the schedule function. Unfortunately, you can't set the button to launch a different backup program.

The 80GB Ultra TravelDrive is expensive at 68p per gigabyte. Buffalo's 120GB MiniStation TurboUSB portable hard disk is faster and more spacious but it costs only £15 more.