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Samsung launches new rugged T7 Shield Portable SSD with IP65 dust and water protection

Samsung continues to diversify its venerable T-series line of SSDs and today is launching its new T7 Shield portable SSD with a rugged rubberized exterior and substantial dust and water protection. The T7 Shield isn’t much larger or heavier than the standard T7 or security-focused T7 Touch, but it brings the added protection from the elements that some active users may require.

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Review: Glyph Atom Pro SSD – a fast Thunderbolt 3 drive with clever hideaway cable [Video]

Glyph, perhaps better than any other external drive maker, has a knack for creating solidly-built SSDs that do a great job of passively dissipating heat. These factors are what made me a fan of the original Glyph Atom, and it’s what continues to make me a fan of the company’s latest external SSD offering: the Glyph Atom Pro SSD. Watch our hands-on video review for the details.


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Review: OWC Accelsior 4M2 PCIe SSD — a quick, quiet, and flexible storage solution for Macs [Video]

One of the great things about the Mac Pro, and the primary reason why I’ve been anticipating it so much, is its ability to accommodate PCIe expansion. With the Mac Pro we finally have a modern Mac that can be expanded, not only via external Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, but via internal PCIe cards like the OWC Accelsior 4M2 PCIe SSD.

OWC’s newest Mac Pro-friendly accessory allows users to add a significant amount of fast solid state storage to their machines in just a few minutes. But the Accelsior 4M2 may also a viable option for MacBook Pro users looking to add external external storage to their laptops via a simple Thunderbolt 3 enclosure.
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Review: Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD – faster than the T5 with fingerprint security in tow [Video]

A couple of weeks ago during CES 2020, Samsung took the wraps off the latest iteration of its T-series portable SSD line, the Samsung T7 Touch. The newest portable SSD in the South Korean giant’s portfolio comes with embedded PCIe NVMe flash storage for the first time, resulting in faster peak speeds compared to previous entries in the lineup.

Additionally, the T7 Touch comes with a built-in solid state fingerprint security scanner to complement the password security that’s been present in previous generations of the T-series lineup.

With the entry-level 500GB model coming in at the same $130 starting price as its predecessor, should you consider the Samsung T7 Touch as the next portable SSD companion for your MacBook or iPad Pro? Watch our hands-on video review for the details.
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Review: The CalDigit Tuff Nano SSD is small, fast, and ready for the elements [Video]

The CalDigit Tuff Nano is essentially a better-looking miniaturized version of its full-sized Tuff drive, complete with rubber bumper and an IP67 rating. Unlike the regular Tuff Nano, this version is small, with pocket-friendly dimensions that make it compare well with similarly-sized drives like those from Samsung’s popular T-Series lineup.

Should you consider adding the CalDigit Tuff Nano SSD to your stable of external storage devices? Watch our hands-on video review for the details.
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Samsung unveils T7 Touch portable SSD with faster speeds and built-in fingerprint scanner

Today Samsung took the wraps off the latest entry in its popular T-series portable SSD lineup. The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch is an external storage drive that delivers speeds up to twice as fast as the Samsung T5 (review), and for the very first time, features a built-in fingerprint sensor for added security.

The new T7 Touch features highly respectable read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds of 1000 MB/s while retaining the portable, bus-powered form factor that has made Samsung’s lineup of drives so popular among consumers.
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Sonnet’s M.2 4×4 PCIe Card brings absolutely ridiculous SSD speeds to Mac Pro [Video]

If you’re looking for the fastest SSD available for the Mac Pro, then this may be the solution for you. When paired with the right SSDs, the Sonnet M.2 4×4 PCIe Card produces speeds of the bonkers variety.

During benchmark tests with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test utility, I was getting write speeds in that easily surpassed 6,000 MB/s, and read speeds that eclipsed 7000 MB/s.

For comparison’s sake, Apple’s fastest 8 TB SSD produces speeds “only” up to 3400 MB/s, so this setup is capable of running circles around the Mac Pro’s fastest built-in SSD for less money. Watch our hands-on video review for the details.
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OWC ThunderBlade review: a silent, rugged, and super-fast external Thunderbolt 3 SSD [Video]

There are external SSDs, and then there is the ThunderBlade. This is the crème de la crème of fast external storage, and it’s produced by OWC, a company at the forefront of storage and Thunderbolt 3 accessories for Mac.

The ThunderBlade is OWC’s fastest offering — a single drive provides storage up to 8TB and speeds up to 2800 MB/s read — and they can be daisy chained, set up in a RAID configuration, and they are silent.

It’s admittedly overkill for some users, but if you’re a creative professional who needs the best of the best, then the OWC ThunderBlade is one of the most impressive external storage offerings available today. Watch our hands-on video review for more details.
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Review: G-Drive Mobile Pro Thunderbolt 3 SSD – great for on-the-go editing [Video]

The G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD from G-Technology is a Thunderbolt 3 drive, featuring an impressive maximum read speed rating of 2800 MB/s. This puts it in direct competition with the Samsung X5 SSD, providing external storage that’s more comparable to your Mac’s internal storage from a speed perspective. Is G-Technology’s external SSD worth considering if you’re in need of high-speed external storage? Watch our video walkthrough for the details.


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Review: Akitio Node Lite w/ Intel Optane SSD – workstation-class performance [Video]

I’ve reviewed several Thunderbolt 3 SSDs over the last year or so, and the Akitio Node Lite with Intel Optane SSD is the best performer of them all. Advertising speeds up to 2600 MB/s read, it’s the only external SSD that I’ve tried thus far that skirts close to such a speed rating without being affected by noticeable thermal throttling.

Granted, the combo package of Akitio Node Lite + Intel Optane SSD should be a great performer, after all its price is $1500 for a 960GB SSD. That’s a lot of money to pay for storage when you can buy a 1TB version of Samsung’s bus-powered Thunderbolt 3 SSD for less than half the cost.

But if you’re in the market for an SSD that delivers workstation-class performance and endurance, then the Akitio Node Lite with Intel Optane SSD is worthy of consideration. Not only does it have a high performance ceiling, but it can sustain that performance while under load. Watch our hands-on video for more details.
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Review: OWC’s Express 4M2 Thunderbolt 3 enclosure accommodates four M.2 SSDs [Video]

The OWC Express 4M2 is a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure that can accommodate up to four M.2 NVMe SSDs simultaneously for up to 8TB of storage. It features a compact design and dual Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy chain setups along with DisplayPort for connecting to an external display.

OWC says that speeds for the 4M2 can reach up to 2800 MB/s read. To reach those speeds, you’ll need four fast drives configured with RAID 0 using the included SoftRAID software.

The 4M2, with its massive 8TB capacity and fast speeds is particularly apt for video editing workflows. But the enclosure, which costs $349 without any drives inside, requires a considerable investment to get the most out of it. Should you consider OWC’s chassis if you need the throughput speed and storage space? Watch our video walkthrough inside for the details.
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Review: Samsung X5 Thunderbolt 3 Portable SSD – the new speed king [Video]

Last year I reviewed the Sonnet Fusion Thunderbolt 3 SSD, and at the time it was the fastest bus-powered external SSD that I had ever tried. But there’s now an external drive that eclipses the performance of the Fusion SSD, and it’s made by Samsung, a company with a long reputation of producing fast, reliable SSD storage.

The precursors to the X5 — Samsung’s T3 and T5 portable SSD — are still extremely popular products for those looking for a reliable and fast external storage solution, but thanks to the prevalence of Thunderbolt 3, the X5 is turning up the speed rating significantly with up to a whopping 2,800 MB/s read speeds and 2300 MB/s write.

Is the Samsung X5 Portable SSD, with its supercar-inspired looks, worth its rather hefty price of admission? Watch our hands-on unboxing and review for the answer.
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Review: G-Technology’s R-Series is an affordable, super-rugged USB-C portable SSD

It doesn’t seem that long since we had a choice to make when it came to external drives: we could opt for spinning metal drives if we wanted high capacities at affordable prices, or SSD if we wanted fast transfer speeds, were willing to compromise on capacity and were prepared to pay the substantial premium. But that’s beginning to change …


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Review: iStorage diskAshur 2, ‘the most secure external SSD in the world’

There’s no shortage of external drives around, both spinning metal and SSD, though higher-capacity portable SSDs are still in relatively short supply.

The iStorage diskAshur 2 combines an SSD in capacities of up to 4TB with hardware encryption and protection against physical tampering which it claims makes it the most secure drive in the world …


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Latest Transcend SSDs for DIY Mac upgrades support high-speed PCIe 3.0

Transcend, which has long offered Mac owners the chance to upgrade their SSDs to higher-capacity ones, has announced a new range of drives that support PCIe Gen 3.0. These cards, which use the latest 3D NAND flash chips, offer read/write speeds of up to 950MB/s.

The new JetDrive 820 drives are available in capacities of up to 960GB, and are compatible with a wide range of Macs …


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OWC introduces Aura PCIe flash storage upgrades for late model MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs

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Aura Pro SSD MacBook Upgrade

Today, aftermarket Mac upgrade specialists OWC announced that the long-awaited PCIe flash storage upgrades for late model Mac laptops are now available. MacBook Pro, as far back as the Late-2013 product cycle, and MacBook Air, as far back as the Mid-2013 product cycle, are eligible to upgrade. Upgrades include a 480GB or a 1TB PCIe-based flash storage solution.

Considering that many of these Macs shipped with anemic 128GB or 256GB SSDs, this can be considered a major upgrade. For instance, with MacBook Airs that featured 128GB of flash storage space, a 1TB upgrade equals 8x the storage space, a significant increase in eligible storage.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Mohu HDTV antenna $24, NAS systems from $159, Jaybird Bluetooth headphones $30, more

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Last Call Updates:

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Here are the best HDTV and Soundbar deals for Super Bowl 50

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Time to chuck your cable bill, Mohu Leaf Paper-Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna is $24 today

Amazon Gold Box–Everything for your home computer network: SSDs from $40, NAS from $159, Wifi Range Extenders from $33

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JayBird Freedom Sweatproof Bluetooth Earbuds: $30, 66 Audio BTS+ Bluetooth Sports Headphones: $37 shipped

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App Store Free App of the Week: Piloteer goes free for the very first time ($2 value)

Award-winning iOS platformer Thomas Was Alone is now available for just $1 (Reg. $5)

Highly-rated puzzler Osmos now 80% off on iPhone & iPad: $1 ea. (Reg. up to $5)

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Best USB/Jump Start batteries for your car from Bestek, Aukey, more

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

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Streaming Media Players: Chromecast (2nd gen) w/ free $10 Gift Card $35, Fire TV Stick w/ Voice Remote $40 (Reg. $50)

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Prep for Valentine’s Day w/ these gift card deals: Applebee’s $50 for $40, Regal Movies $25 for $20, more

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MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:

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Amazon’s best-selling iPhone Virtual Reality kit $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)

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Apple TV 32GB w/ Siri Remote and HDMI Cable $126 shipped (Reg. $149+), 64GB $176 shipped – also now available in refurbished condition via Apple

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Game pre-orders for Amazon Prime members –Zelda, Far Cry Primal, FFXV: $48 ea (Reg. $60)

NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:

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Build your own 1:5000-scale New York City with this incredible Kickstarter project

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The CrossOver from NextDesk turns nearly any setup into a motorized standing desk

New LaCie + Seagate drives bring USB-C, style, and high SSD/HDD capacities

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Following its annual tradition, Seagate has announced a new collection of stylish, premium-priced drives in time for the 2016 CES, most now featuring USB-C and USB 3.1 connectors. Three of the drives carry Seagate’s LaCie branding; one is a handsome but Seagate-branded model.

The apparent flagship in the series is the LaCie Chromé ($1,100, shown above left), a 1TB SSD featuring a 10GB USB 3.1 interface with “up to 940MB/second speeds for intensive applications.” Described as “a trophy for tech connoisseurs,” Chromé is a Neil Poulton design that holds a boxy chrome SSD enclosure on an angle atop a circular pedestal. Additional models are discussed below…


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Review: TarDisk Pear increases your MacBook’s storage in one-click with an SD card fusion drive

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Adding extra storage to a MacBook using an SD card is easy, but it works like a thumb drive or external hard drive and not like your permanent, built-in storage. That means you’ll have to manually manage the storage, dragging files to and from the drive. But TarDisk Pear lets you add extra flash storage to your MacBook using an SD card and 1-click setup to merge the storage with your internal drive. After a quick setup, the TarDisk SD card installed in your Mac will act as one fusion drive with your built-in storage. I’ve been testing the product to see if it works like it should…


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New 15TB SSD fits world’s highest-capacity hard drive in compact, 2.5-inch package

Continuing its push to make solid-state drives (SSDs) the dominant storage medium of next-generation computers, Samsung has revealed the PM1633a, a 15.36TB SSD that is believed to be the world’s highest-capacity hard drive. More amazingly, notes an Ars Technica report, that incredible capacity — over 120 times the storage of an entry-level MacBook Air or MacBook Pro — fits within a compact 2.5″ hard drive enclosure.
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