Product Reviews

Western Digital's 320GB My Passport Elite USB portable hard disk has a velvety texture that looks and feels classy. Four LEDs act as an approximate capacity gauge, but it only works if a driver is installed on every computer with which you use it. A sliding door protects the USB port from dirt and debris. Sadly the rubber base of previous Passports, which prevented the disk from sliding around on the desk, is absent.

A rebranded version of Memeo's AutoBackup program is included. It can back up your files in the background while you work, but we were disappointed to find it's a demo version. A bundled program that lets you remotely access the Passport's contents from another internet-connected computer is also a demo.

The Elite sped through our benchmarks and costs 37p per gigabyte, but Buffalo's 320GB MiniStation TurboUSB (Labs, Shopper 244) performs just as well, costs £8 less from www.kikatek.com and comes with a full copy of AutoBackup.