Akasa Integral AK-EN-02CB-SL

Advantages: Ease of installation
Disadvantages: Two hard drives dying out after 1 year of use each

...after 1 year of using it, the hard drive was brand new when I installed it to the enclosure and since I thought it was the drives fault not the enclosures I switched my other hard drive to this enclosure and 1 year later again the same thing is starting to happen with the hard disk slowly dieing out. I am starting to think this enclosure is problematic and it's not the hard drives fault, I suggest buying another model which includes cooling system unlike this enclosure which is probably the reason why the drives are dying out. Specs: Akasa Integral 3.5"" USB2 External Enclosure(Black). High speed: USB 2.0 interface backwards compatible with existing USB 1.1 port Auto-ejection HDD tray for easy installation Crystal acrylic casing with blue LED illumination Suitable for all 3.5"" internal or external device Aluminum alloy material to enhance... Read review

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Advantages: Quick way of expanding hard drive space or retrieving data from a damaged laptop.
Disadvantages: Can over heat if left on for serveral hours at a time.

...The Akasa Integral external storage enclosure, is a great device for individuals who wish to perhaps expand there laptop with more hard disc drive space, or perhaps for those who wish to retrieve the data from a damaged laptop, that still has a working hard drive. I found the device incredibly handy when my laptop crashed, and I had no way of accessing the data. All I did was remove the hard drive from the laptop and insert it into the storage enclosure device, and away I went, full access again to all my data, just by plugging it into another desktop or laptop. There’s no complicated software to install on the computer, just plug it In and you can access the data as if it was on a flash drive. There are no mains plugs involved, it use's a USB port from the desktop or laptop to power its self, and it also comes with a protective cover... Read review

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Advantages: Neat, Cool LED Mini USB Cable supplied
Disadvantages: Horrible Manual, Price

...I was looking for a 2.5" encasing to make use of an old 40GB laptop hard drive and looking through the Maplin's selection I decided that this was the best looking for the price (£29.99). It was the smallest and prettiest on the shelf and also it helped that I like Akasa as a brand because they are usually good in PC accessories. I then found it at PC World for £19.99, which made it more of a temptation for me to get it. THE LOOKS It comes either in black (pic above) or in silver. It is made of aluminium and it looks good with its brushed aluminium encasing. Still though it lacks something, It doesn't feel solid. It has blue LEDs on both sides, one to show is getting power and the other to indicate the HDD inside is being accessed but these lights are slightly deceptive when you buy and see it on the box as the LED stripe effect... Read review

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