Product Design: Portable Storage Devices

At MAKO Design + Invent, we like to keep up with new product design and development happening around the globe. This week, we look at how technological advancements and product design make for a great portable storage device!

“Portable storage devices have become somewhat of a necessity in today’s world,” says James Chalmers, Vice President of Strategy at MAKO Invent. The recent increase in demand for portable storage devices has resulted in a wide selection of them in the market. At MAKO, we use such devices on a daily basis to back up our ever-growing database and have consequently narrowed the selection down to three storage devices that are reliable and that we absolutely love!

These portable storage devices showcase great product design!

1) The Seagate Backup Plus Slim

The Good: 

– Popularly known as the “world’s thinnest external hard drive”

– Weighs 0.33 pounds and offers up to 2TB of storage

– Powered by USB 3.0 and extremely fast

– Improved product design has included helpful backup software for your social media and mobile content

The Bad: It only offers a 2-year warranty, which is rather short compared to other devices.

The Price: $69.00 – $120.00

The Bottom Line: True to its name, this product is extremely thin and spacious. If you can live with the short warranty period then this is definitely a good pick!

2) The WD My Passport Ultra

The Good: 

– Offers USB 3.0 speeds and stores up to 2TB of data

– Comes with built-in backup software, which automatically backs up all of your important files and folders periodically

– Comes with a 3-year warranty

The Bad: It is slightly bigger and heavier than Seagate’s Plus Slim. It is also a pricier option compared to other portable devices.

The Price: $60.00 – $145.00

The Bottom Line: Despite being a bit on the pricier side, this portable hard drive is definitely a reliable one!

3) The Toshiba Canvio Slim II

The Good:

– An extremely strong and sturdy device, thanks to its exterior aluminum casing.

– Can expand up to 2TB and is powered by USB 3.0

– Includes great backup software with a 3-year warranty and 10GB of cloud storage

– Comes with NTFS drivers that enable Macs to read and write to the Windows file system

The Bad: It has had some issues working when connected to a USB 2.0 port.

The Price: $75.00 – $130.00

The Bottom Line: If you have a laptop with a USB 3.0 port, then you have nothing to worry about! This portable hard drive might not be as small as the previous two, but it is extremely fast and showcases great product design.

These are the top three portable storage device picks that the team at MAKO Design + Invent can vouch for. We understand the value of keeping data safe and securely backed up at all times, and these devices offer great product design that won’t let you down!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!