Entered CNET Catalog: 10/01/2009
SKU: 705487180923
Manufacturer: Hitachi America Ltd.
Manufacturer description
It's a tough world out there, so be prepared for whatever comes your way with the Hitachi Rugged Portable Drive. If you work hard or play hard, Hitachi Rugged Portable Drive is the ultimate in durability and data safety, all in a ruggedly handsome design. Made with a rough and tumble lifestyle in mind. Hitachi Rugged Portable Drive is water and shock resistant, features ergonomic sides for easy carrying, a velvety smooth rubberized body, an integrated, flexible USB cable (you'll never forget the cable again!) and a cool topside LED. But don't be fooled by its stylish exterior! Designed and constructed for an active lifestyle, Hitachi Rugged Portable Drive is strong and its award winning Hitachi disk drive helps keep your data safe. Just plug one in, and inside you'll find smart ways to protect and manage all your precious stuff.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12out of 12 user reviews
as all mentioned it's a bad internal cord connection
Pros: it was suppose to be a rough and tough unit. it's built tough from the outside, but the weakest link is the cord inside.
Cons: the unit has been used less than 6 times and then it stopped powering up.
i didn't even look on line for a fix, but now that i have, i see i'm not the only one with the same cord issues.
hitachi should repair or replace our units and reinstall the hard drive so we don't have to pay for our own data recovery. they claim if we open it, we bought it. i claim if they built a reliable product, we wouldn't have to open it to get our data recovered.
Updated on Dec 2, 2010the date of my review is 12/2/2010. i think the cnet date stamp is off.
out of 12 user reviews
Tough hard drive with integrated usb cable
Pros: Tough, reliable for me, feels safe keeping my data in it. Do not have to be bringing cables or worry that the port will be broke if have to pack it in a rush with the cable attached to it.
Cons: Big compared to my Seagate Free-Agent but the reliability outweights the size.
out of 12 user reviews
Indeed, there should be a recall. Chame on
Pros: Idea and concept is great, but that is about it.
Cons: Cable is of very poor quality and stops working at the most inconvenient time. It is really a shame for Hitachi to put its famous brand on a something that would have been a great product had then spent the money on a decent cable
out of 12 user reviews
Possible Fix
Pros: ----------
Cons: ----------
Go to Start>Run. When the window opens type explorer in the text box. The explorer should open in My Documents. Then in the left find My Computer and press the plus on the left of it. Then find the SimpleTough drive and double click on it. It should work. It worked for me.
out of 12 user reviews
Great Warranty For When It Crashes
Pros: Sturdy cover. Mine was a replacement for another Hitachi that crashed. They replaced my 10 month old unit in about 3 weeks. Customer service was decent. We exchanged 3 emails before they agreed it was not salvageable.
Cons: They required special packaging to return the product but it was replaced quickly. Once your claim is registered, you have 45 days to return the defective device. Very slow processing data.
The cable on the old drive was poorly fitted and always felt unstable. I bought a replacement from another manufacturer. It works much better. If you read these reviews and still buy the drive, good luck and save the original package, you'll need it!
out of 12 user reviews
A PIECE OF DIGITAL GARBAGE!
Pros: IT WORKED!
Cons: IT DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE! AFTER A LITTLE MORE THAN 4 WEEKS THIS PIECE OF **** FAILED ME! IT IS THE DAMN CABLE!
BUY
THIS!
I wont even bother sending it to support. I'll just buy a empty case and put the HD on it. Open this sardine can by ripping the side rubber thingies and removing the 4 screws ( one was already used and was hahrd to remove, I can't fathom why was used in a new product...). rip the HD from it's disgusting guts and pop it in a new case. Use the old case as fuel for cold days.
out of 12 user reviews
An absolutely terrible product from Hitachi
Pros: Still to figure out
Cons: Everything. The drive actually died on day 2.
out of 12 user reviews
I can not recommend this product, even to my enemies.
Pros: The only advantages of this product are soon erased by its failure.
Cons: I had exactly the same results as the other folks who plunked down cold hard cash. It works for a short period of time, and then the built-in USB cable fails. Honestly, if you have one that still works, salvage the data now while you still can.
In the future I won't ever be buying any drives with a fixed cable.
Thayer
out of 12 user reviews
Works great, but only for a month.
Pros: First month.
Cons: Second month.
out of 12 user reviews
Warranty is Useless
Pros: Cute & USB connector is attached
Cons: Device failed in two days. Cannot get data removed or device destroyed to protect against identity theft.
out of 12 user reviews
This is a defective product that should be recalled.
Pros: If it had held up it would have been a good portable drive . . .
Cons: The USB cable attached permanately to the drive fails after a short time!!!
out of 12 user reviews
The drive cable power became intermittent.
Pros: Small drive. Overall, felt rugged.
Cons: The supplied USB cable is too short and permanently attached at one end to the drive, making it difficult to support the drive when it is attached to a USB port on a typical desktop computer. Cable power became intermittent after minimal use.
%20-%20System%20Hard%20Drives%20-%20CNET%20Archive&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/system-hard-drives/hitachi-simpletough-external-hard/1707-9989_7-33772983.html&x_breadcrumb=3000:3185:3186:9998:9989){kind=small}