eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
ZIFFPAGE TITLEAt A Glance
>
ZIFFPAGE TITLEFull Review
CMS Products ABSplus USB 2.0 100GB Notebook Backup system ($319 direct) is a brilliant but niche device that can really save your hide in a pinch. Equipped with CMS Products latest BounceBack Pro 7.0 backup software, once set up its extremely easy to use. I definitely categorize this as a must-have product if you are a notebook user who travels often.
In the business world, the data on your laptop can literally be worth 10 or even 100 times the value of the notebook itself. Youve heard all the fateful scenarios: Youve got an important business meeting at 8 a.m. tomorrow and your notebook blue-screens right after the Windows XP startup screen. Youre surfing in your hotel room, and you drop the notebook on the rooms carpeted floor: the systems screen looks okay at first, but then the drive begins to make these fascinating grinding noises. Or perhaps you just deleted the vital proposal slides and the irreplaceable templates. In all of these cases, the ABSplus can help (and with a minimal amount of discipline).
Measuring 1.1 by 5 by 3 inches, the ABSplus is about as tiny as you can get using a 2.5-inch notebook drive. The permanently attached USB cord is only 2 inches long, but is supplemented by a 16-inch y-shaped extension cable with an auxiliary power plug.
The auxiliary USB power plug allows you to use the ABSplus with Mac PowerBooks and other small systems with low-power USB ports. Barely tilting the scales at 7 ounces, the drive shouldnt weigh your bag down too much either.