http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/p1030559-lanoc-reviews-small.jpgWe have reviewed VIZO products in the past many times. We have found that they product a range of products. Today we are going to take a closer look at their 2 ½ and 3 ½ inch Hard Drive Protectors. These are silicon based cases that go over your hard drives to protect them.
Review Sample Provided by : VIZO
Review by: Alex Compton
Pictures by: Alex Compton
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Specifications
3.5" HDD Protector
Dimensions : 160 ( L ) x 117 ( W ) x 34 ( H ) mm
Material : Silica Gel
Stack Function : Yes ( Maximum 5 pcs )
Compatibility : 3.5" Hard Drive
Weight : 76 g
2.5" HDD Protector
Dimensions : 109 ( L ) x 80 ( W ) x 17.5 ( H ) mm
Material : Silica Gel
Stack Function : Yes ( Maximum 5 pcs )
Compatibility : 2.5" Hard Drive
Weight : 27 g
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Packaging
The packaging for the Hard Drive Protector’s is fairly simple. VIZO has packed them into a plastic front and tick paper back package. This makes them easy to see and still well protected. The thick paper slides out very easy to give you access to the product. In typical VIZO fashion the front is very colorful yet simple. Other than their logo and the product name you won’t find much on the front to tell you more about the package. This is a little disappointing because I was having trouble trying to understand the best use for these. It would have been nice to see a list of possible uses on the packaging. They did include a list of features on the back, some of them only confused me even more. “Practical and space-saving unit for your hard drive”?
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Installation
Because the hard drive protectors are flexible it is very easy to slide them on and off of both the 3.5 and the 2.5 sized hard drives. After taking a look at the short instructions on the back of the packaging I was able to take them on and off in a matter of seconds. What, what more are you looking for here.. its really that easy!
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Performance
Ill be honest it took me a while to figure out a good use for the hard drive protectors other than protecting your unused hard drives. If you have a USB to IDE or SATA adapter you can stack your hard drives using VIZO’s protectors and then you can switch between the drives. Of course if you need to swap between hard drives I would recommend using a hot swap enclosure or the BlacX that we reviewed in the past. With that being said, if you needed to store hard drives and were worried about them being damaged this might be the product for you.
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Overall
It not that VIZO produced a bad product. It does a great job of protecting the hard drive. I just have to wonder why there is a need for the product. Even though I have multiple hard drives sitting around couldn’t find a good use for them. The Silica gel covers go on and off fairly easy, and would make sticking hard drives easier. But I have a hard time recommending a product that doesn’t have much of a point. If you are looking for silicon covers for your hard drive then you are in luck; but other than that I recommend you take a look at normal hard drive enclosures, including VIZO’s .
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