Product Description

Take your desktop environment and all of your files to go. The FreeAgent Go portable hard drive can run more than 100 free and pay-to-use applications on any PC without installing or storing programs on the host computer. Carry your browser, favorites, passwords, IM client and contacts, email client, cookies, settings and files; so whether you're using a computer at work, school, a business center, an Internet cafe, or a library, you have your desktop environment there when you need it. FreeAgent Go software lets you carry lots of great programs and all your browser favorites and passwords without having to haul around your computer. Your FreeAgent Go Portable Hard Drive saves all of your private information on itself, not on the computer you're using. That means there's no trace of your last session to tempt the next person on a borrowed computer. It also provides strong file encryption to protect your content, and lets you sync your files from several PCs. It's all about having your desktop environment and latest files with you, whenever and wherever you need them. Designed for mobility, the sleek compact design easily fits into your shirt pocket, briefcase or backpack. Plug in the USB 2.0 cable to a PC and your personal desktop environment launches automatically. Leave no trace of your last session on a borrowed computer Operating System - Windows XP Home, Professional Edition, or Vista Dimensions - Height 0.7 x Width 4.8 x Depth 3.9 (17.7x121.9x99mm) Weight - 6.4 ounces (184 kg)

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Product Details

• Size: 500 GB
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Seagate
• Model: ST905003FGA2E1-RK
• Platform: Windows
• Format: CD
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.00" h x 6.80" w x 4.00" l, .70 pounds
• Memory: 128000MB DRAM
• Hard Disk: 500GB
• Graphics: This is the description of the PC Graphics 256MB
• Processors: 1
• Native resolution: 640x480
• Display size: 669.2913385827

Features

• 5,400 RPM Spin Speed, 8 MB Cache Buffer
• USB 2.0: up to 480 Mb/s
• Sync and back up quickly at your desktop without having to search for cables.
• Guard the privacy of important files and folders.
• Get your storage solution up and running quickly.

From the Manufacturer

With its sleek design and huge capacity, the FreeAgent® Go portable storage solution makes it easy to take your photos, music, videos, and documents everywhere. Included, easy-to-use software helps keep your information safe with automatic data backup and encryption of your important files and folders. You can sync content between your work and home computers so you’ll always have your most current versions. And you can take advantage of the world’s first portable drive with a convenient desktop dock accessory. Simply pop your drive into the FreeAgent dock whenever you want to access your files — no more fumbling for cables!

Winner of CNET Editors’ Choice, September 2008 and PC Magazine Editors’ Choice, October 2008.
“The Seagate FreeAgent Go is our favorite portable hard drive to date and takes our award for Editors’ Choice. The drive is well designed and fast, and you won’t find a better value for the price.” — Justin Yu, CNET

FreeAgent® Go is the thinnest portable hard drive available	Automatically back up and sync your files with the included software	FreeAgent® Go with a convenient docking station — no more fumbling for cables
Sleek Design and Huge Capacity With its sleek design and huge capacity, the FreeAgent® Go portable storage solution makes it easy to take your photos, music, videos, and documents everywhere. Pocket and carry your data with ease thanks to a sleek design—the thinnest portable storage solution on the market. Even the cable folds up compactly.	Easy-to-use Software Included, easy-to-use software helps keep your information safe with automatic data backup and encryption of your important files and folders. You can sync content between your work and home computers so you’ll always have your most current versions.	Convenient Dock and Travel Case Take advantage of the world’s first portable drive with an optional desktop dock accessory. Simply pop your drive into the FreeAgent dock whenever you want to access your files — no more fumbling for cables!

Key Benefits

• Pocket and carry your data with ease thanks to a sleek design—the thinnest portable storage solution on the market. Even the cable folds up compactly.
• Choose from a variety of colors to complement your style and help you differentiate between multiple drives.
• Access your files with unparalleled convenience by simply popping your drive into the FreeAgent desktop dock accessory.
• You’ll never fumble for cables again! Even purchase another dock for convenience at home and at the office.
• Take all your photos, music, videos and documents with you everywhere thanks to large storage capacities of 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB
• Easily protect your data with automatic backup software.
• Keep your most important files and folders private with software encryption technology.
• Sync content between your work and home computers so you’ll always have your most current versions.
• Experience fast data transfer with a USB 2.0 interface.
• Get started quickly with pre-loaded software. No CDs!
• Save energy by using one small drive for both mobile and desktop needs, and take advantage of an environmentally smart utility that can power down your drive when it’s not in use.
• Enjoy peace of mind with a 5-year limited warranty from the worldwide leader in storage solutions.

What’s in the Box
FreeAgent® Go portable hard drive, FreeAgent software pre-loaded on drive (Windows only), Quickstart guide, New and flexible USB travel cable. Optional dock not included

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Customer Reviews

Stylish product, dockable, beats my WD Passport drives
I'm a professional photographer who fills up two portable drives a year (I swap the onsite and offsite copies after each shoot). The Western Digital (WD) Passport portables I've been using, at 320 GB each, are full to the brim with all my 2008 'raw' work. Wanting to preserve the data on them, I went shopping for two more portable drives, and came across the Seagate 500 GB GO models.

You can't really go wrong with either drive (both companies offer a great five-year warranty), but I like the form factor of the Seagates a bit better (they're a fraction of an inch smaller in all dimensions but LOOK even more svelte than they are). Also, an Amazon promotion currently offers a free dock with the Seagate drives, much like an iPod dock -- just slide the device onto the connector and it mounts on your desktop. Handy and elegant. The WD drives don't have this option.

The downside to using the Seagate dock (and this is why I give this setup 4 stars, not 5) is that, for reasons I don't comprehend, it takes up TWO USB ports on your computer. Those have to be powered ports, so you can't use a non-powered USB hub (at least that doesn't work with my one-year-old iMac and my el-cheapo hub -- your mileage may vary). The alternative is buying a powered hub, OR just not using the dock, instead connecting the drive directly to a single USB port on the computer with the supplied cable.

Speaking of USB connections: Apart from the dock, another advantage of the Seagate drive over the WD Passport is that it seems more power-efficient. At least, I can use the Seagate with my aging Powerbook and a single (supplied) cable, no problems. The WD drives, on the other hand, won't mount on my Powerbook's desktop unless I purchase a special three-plug "power booster" USB cable that (again) takes up two of the machine's ports. This may be a small thing, but it's meaningful to me. With the Seagates, I can finally just slide a capacious drive into a shirt pocket or any other available small space, and use the device on the road, nothing else necessary beyond a standard mini-to-regular USB cable (supplied) -- no booster cable, no power supply.

There is also a Mac version of the Seagate drive. I inadvertently purchased the PC version but it makes zero difference, I believe: the thing works fine, no drivers needed. The Mac version contains platform-specific backup software and maybe a couple of other goodies that I don't need or won't miss.

Due to the idiosyncracies of file systems and how bits and bytes are counted in the computer industry, the usable capacity of the 500GB Seagate drive is actually just 465Gb. That 'shortcoming' goes for every drive on the market, though -- no big deal, just something to keep in mind.

The Seagate's speed is fine: on my Mac, it took just under 4 minutes to copy 5 gigs' worth of smallish files. So it's neither a speed demon nor a slowpoke.

One more thing about the dock: It comes with a nice enough black leatherette padded sleeve for the drive. That bonus really should have been packaged with the drive instead of the dock, but I'm not complaining. The Passport drives come without a case or sleeve, and I paid another 30 bucks for two Case Logic soft-side cases at the time. I will continue to use the Case Logic cases for the Seagate GO drives, because the Seagates, outfitted with their own leatherette sleeves, fit snugly inside the Case Logic clamshell design -- double protection and peace of mind.

Crashed & Burned at 7 Months
The pluses: It's light and small, easy to use, and comes preloaded with a document backup utility. Should be great for those who need a portable HDD as it can be dropped in a purse or slipped into a shirt pocket for transport. Decent copying speed for an external USB drive.

The negatives: There seems to be a major reliability problem with some of the hard drives (note similar recent reviews of failure at Amazon). Mine died after only 7 months of use on a personal computer. It was never jostled around or subjected to extreme temps as it never left my desktop after it was plugged in. Several utilities were unable to recover any data due to "unreadable sectors" and Master File Table errors -- quite likely physical damage to the head or platters. I managed to save about 20 out of 200+ GB before the unit went totally south.

Seagate warranties the drive for 5 years, but it's a whole lot of no fun trying to navigate their cold, impersonal website. It took several tries at their site to get the correct model name entered without being rejected as invalid. Their warranty terms are full of warnings and dire threats of legal action in case you try to defraud them. They do NOT pay for shipping the defective product to their facility (actually a warehouse in Texas used by a number of corporations for return items). They insist you pack the dead HDD, USB cord, and manual in the original package or a corrugated cardboard box surrounded by 2 inches of foam with the unit inside an ESD package. They will be happy to sell those to you for a mere $19.99. I normally keep original packaging, but it was one of those plastic jobs that practically requires a hacksaw to extract the product from, so it was trashed. I was able to scrounge up the foam and an ESD bag from previously purchased items.

Seagate will be glad to try and retrieve your lost data for a small fortune. They do not send you a new drive, but a "remanufactured" one. The box I received had very large lettering printed on top (underneath the shipping label) warning me to treat the fragile device with great care (as though I were somehow responsible for their poor quality control and defective product). Oh, and they didn't pack the HDD in an ESD bag. On the bright side, I do have a nice box and foam in which to return my brand new remanufactured HDD when it dies.

I have a five-year-old 120 GB Seagate Barracuda internal HDD that still runs like a champ. I bought the FreeAgent Go because I thought I could depend on Seagate for it's reliability. Judging from my experience with this hard drive, the company seems to have gone downhill quality-wise.

Works great so far BUT...
I am using this hard drive to back-up my computer and so far it works great. The only thing that prevented me from giving it a 5-star rating is that software updates won't install on my computer because I'm running Vista 64-bit Home Premium. Seagate only supports Vista 32-bit. No where on the packaging or in the specs for the unit is this poined out, in fact it specifically says that it is compatible with Vista.