I just received my new CompactDrive PD70X Portable Storage Device (PSD). The product has a very solid feel to it, encased in a brushed aluminum case and plastic end-caps. It is a bit heavier and bulkier than I expected but not enough to worry me too much. It comes with a nice nylon carrying case w/ a belt loop, a tiny international AC adapter, and a 2′ long USB 2.0 cable. The carrying case would allow someone to operate the unit one-handed on the belt: flip open the case flap, open the dust-proof plastic cover, stick a CF card in the slot, turn the unit ON and press OK to copy the card.
I’ve done some rudimentary performance tests copy some MP3 files around:
PC < --> PD70X: about 6-7 MB/sec (= ~2.5 min to copy 1GB)
CF –> PD70X: about 5 MB/sec (= ~3 min to copy 1GB)
Keep in mind that my CF measurements were done with a painfully slow Viking 1GB card. According to Rob Galbraith’s most excellent CF Database, those cards are about 2.2x slower than, say, SanDisk Ultra II. Thus I would expect the CF –> PD70X performance to be much better with a faster card, perhaps approaching EastGear’s claim of 16 MB/sec.
My only minor annoyances/complaints thus far are:
- The charger function quits charging batteries whenever you use the product for anything (copying a card, connected to a PC, browsing content). You have to power cycle or unplug the AC to get back to charging.
- The front-panel legends are all black-on-black lettering, making them very hard to read in low-light condition. Fortunately there is very little room for ambiguity between them.