Western Digital Passport Elite USB Portable Drive

From Western Digital 's lineup of portable USB drives, comes the My Passport Elite USB Portable drive (WDML3200) that combines some of the features found on larger drives into the portable pocket-size form factor. Among the Passport Elite's strengths are its capacity (it comes in 320GB and 250GB, 400GB as well as 500GB versions), speed, compactness, USB port protection, and a decent software package. What more could one ask? The Western Digital MyPassport Elite has a titanium-colored "soft-touch finish," though it's soft only when compared with the previous Passport drives in their glossy, lacquer-style hard plastic cases. The drive can also be found in bronze, blue, or red. At 0.6 by 5 by 3.1 inches (HWD), it's just a smidge smaller than the previous Passport, though that's not really noticeable unless you have the two drives side by side; it's the straight sides of its case that make the new Elite look smaller. The Passport Elite's mini-USB port is protected hidden behind a sliding cover, an improvement over drives that lack port shielding. The sliding cover also doubles as the Passport Elite's drive activity lights and capacity indicator (the lights shine through tiny portholes in the sliding cover). The Western Digital Passport Elite USB Portable Drive can be found at USB Portable Drives.com for around $120 for the 500GB version. Other capacities are less.