Seagate FreeAgent Go review (blue, 320GB)

The FreeAgent Go is part of Seagate's latest new line of portable hard drives and is by far the thinnest we've tested while still maintaining a reasonably fast transfer rate. Seagate sent us a blue 320GB model ($150) for our review, but you can take your pick of four vibrant colors in a variety of capacities from 250 up to 500GB. If you need extra storage on-the-go, the Seagate FreeAgent Go will make a useful addition to your daily carry.

Design and features
The FreeAgent Go is one of the thinnest mobile hard disks we've reviewed; the size makes it easy to throw in your bag on the run. Its official measurements are 0.5 inch high by 3 inches wide by 5 inches long and only weighs 5.6 ounces. The multicapacity drives (250GB, 320GB, 500GB) come dressed in silver, black, blue, or red models, but the blue and red versions are only available in 320GB. We're not sure why, since they use the same cases.

Aside from their slim figure, the shape of the FreeAgent Go looks like a lot of other external drives. The top of the rectangular case has a brushed metal finish that looks sleek and even passed our scratch test with impressive resilience. The bottom is covered with a slightly rough material that prevents the drive from sliding around on a hard surface.

The only hole on the front is a USB 2.0 powered port that connects the drive to your computer. The top of the Go is perforated on one end and a series of white lights underneath illuminate and pulsate underneath while the drive is active. If you leave it plugged in for an extended period, the display will fade slightly . In our opinion, the lights are barely useful and mostly superfluous--we don't need an arbitrary light to show us activity, but the aesthetic design is a nice touch.