Samsung T1 Portable 500GB USB 3.0 External SSD (MU-PS500B/AM) and 250GB (MU-PS250B/AM), 1TB (MU-PS1T0B/AM) Review

Samsung T1 Portable USB 3.0 External SSD via Amazon

Samsung T1 Portable 500GB USB 3.0 External SSD (MU-PS500B:AM)



Samsung T1 is a portable enterprise style USB 3.0 SSD using 3D VAND technology, offered in three different sizes of 250GB (MU-PS250B/AM), 500GB (MU-PS500B/AM) and 1TB (MU-PS1T0B/AM). It is basically the external mini version of the Samsung 850 EVO and by mini we mean ‘super small and super light’- smaller than a business card and at only 0.9 ounce weight (the short USB cable provided is only 0.3 ounce). It can be used with both Mac and Windows and supports Windows 7 and above and Mac OS X 10.7 and above and is not really intended so much for regular casual customers. Due to price, performance and portability it is mainly for business people that are on the go a lot and photographers and videographers.

Price is the major drawback and apart from the price Samsung T1 is exactly what any portable drive should be in its super compact form factor. It is not really cheap but seems to be worth the investment so now let’s see it in a bit more detail and find out if that is the case in practice. About speed, we checked different websites for reviews of experts of this SSD and the speeds report vary and manufacturer claims up to 450mbps speeds and this will depend on the hardware you connect it to as well, so if you do not have a fast computer with an SSD but a regular HDD and that computer doesn’t have the modern USB 3.0 then you can’t expect the maximum speeds, although it is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Real world speeds of 160 mbps for writing and 300 mbps for reading are easy to achieve though. You can transfer a 3GB movie in just 8-10 seconds and if you want to compare the speed to a USB 3.0 portable hard drive that takes up to 5 times longer. For security purposes you can set up a password in case you lose it and if you forget that password you will lose all your data so do be careful.

When you have a look at the white box it comes in, it has a premium feel and you see the picture of T1 in the middle and some useful information about speed, security, size etc. On the bottom it talks about transfer rates and security and its sleek design and form factor, you see the model name, capacity, serial number and that it is made in Korea and that it comes with a 3 year limited warranty by Samsung. And when you open it you will find another white box and you need to lift the top part and you’ll get to the Samsung T1 directly and you’ll find the installation manual and warranty  and the included microUSB to USB 3.0 cable. In terms of design, yes we mentioned it is very small and thin (Samsung even says you can fit it in your wallet or your pocket but do make sure you do not lose it as you won’t feel that it is gone due to its size and weight) and to make it this light they seem to have used a lot of plastic as metallic would be a bit heavier but one thing metallic is the Samsung logo on the side and the carbon fiber housing- it is made of black glossy plastic. On the side of the SSD you’ll find the microUSB 3.0 port and the LED indicator. It is very easy to use as all you do is insert the cable into microUSB and the other end to USB 3.0 on the computer. If you do not have 3.0 on your PC you can also connect it to USB 2.0 but obviously speed you achieve will not be the same.

Samsung T1 Portable USB 3.0 External SSDWhen you connect the Samsung T1 to the drive you will see the dmg file and exe file on screen- former for Mac and latter for Windows. Installation is very easy and if you choose to set up a password you can only use it with computers and if you use it with other devices you need to switch off the encryption. Your data will be super safe as it has the NSA approved hardware encryption. It is very slim and is much smaller than a standard smart phone and smaller than a business card (measures 2.8 x 2.1 x 0.4 inches) but feels a bit fragile in plastic. USB cable is a little too short as it is probably designed for people on the go but you can always purchase a longer cable on Amazon if you need it. To buy the T1 your computer needs to support this kind of speed and potential- you need to have the right things like a USB 3.0 port and an SSD on your computer. It is very reliable, safe, fast, efficient and portable and is pricier than competitors but seems to be the best in its class so far to our knowledge. Samsung would be our first call on the market when it comes to SSDs and we recommend it to business people and any professionals that will need this much speed, performance and security but not to average customers as there is probably nothing wrong with waiting a little longer when your data is being transferred but then again when you think about the cost of a portable hard drive, why not spend extra 50-60 dollars and get this one instead- it is simply the cream of the crop despite small flaws.

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