Using these devices is very convenient for fast and simple backups. They are lightweight, small and can be configured for a variety of sizes. In the long term, as a backup solution we believe that such a device is more economically viable than a DVD burner along with a suitcase of discs you'll need.

For making backups of all your important work, we therefore thoroughly recommend these devices. I don't think there are too many computer users out there who haven't experienced a hard disk crash at least once and if correct measures haven't been taken, data loss is only a matter of time. And the cost of the TEAC HD-15 PUK A or the HD 15OT is very reasonable.

The TEAC devices can be used with both the PC and MAC platforms. In our case, we used a PC system with WinXP SP2. Both devices we tested were very well designed and produced noiseless operation. The overall performance of both devices we reviewed was rather good, although it shouldn't be forgotten that this is mostly dependent on the HD you install. 2.5" Hard Disks do not have the same performance as 3.5" HDs but they are more ideally suited to this type of application. The HD-15 PUK A with the 60GB installed reported in general, better overall performance than the HD 15OT with the 80GB HD. 25~27MB/s Transfer Rate for reading and 18~25MB/s for writing is very good performance. We also believe that the VIA controller chipset is also partly responsible for this good performance from both devices.

The price according to TEAC is €109 for the HD-15 PUK A with a 60GB HD installed. If you prefer the larger 80GB HD and the "One Touch Button" function, then you can get the HD 15OT for €154. As we mentioned above, we believe that the prices are very reasonable considering what you get.