Samsung improves its portable SSDs with drop-proofing, lower prices, and higher capacities
Samsung's T3 portable solid state drive (SSD) is now available through Australian retailers starting at AUD$199 for a 256GB model. The T3 portable SSD is an updated version of the T1 Samsung brought to Australia in May last year, with drop-proofing, a 2TB model, and an aluminium build pitched as key new features.
Like its predecessor, the T3 offers high speed, high capacity storage in a small form factor; the drive measures 74 by 58 by 10.5mm, and weighs 51g. While the T3 is 20g heavier than the T1, Samsung says it will comfortably survive drops from heights up to two metres.
In addition, the T3 now uses a USB Type-C connector. In the box, users will find a USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable. This will connect the drive to most standard devices. Those hoping to connect it another USB Type-C port (such as the one found on the 12-inch MacBook or the Galaxy TabPro S) will need to nab a third party USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable.
Thanks to a new app, the T3 is now also compatible with Android devices. Once again, a separate adapter or cable is needed to connect the T3 to smartphones and tablets. While the T3 works with both Mac and PC, it isn't compatible with iOS devices.
The T3 SSD boasts transfer speeds of up to 450 megabytes per second, identical those offered by T1.
Todd Lynton, Samsung Electronics Australia director for Enterprise and Small Medium Business products, told CyberShack that the T3 represents the company's continued innovation in the area of storage.
"If businesses or consumers are looking for portable or remote storage, the default choice was to find a portable hard drive," said Lynton. "A portable hard drive is a fine product, it can get to high capacities, but it has limitations. It has a lot of moving parts, which can lead to failure due to drops. They're also quite large in terms of size. And they have some speed limitations as well."
Lynton says the T3 addresses these limitations by offering high speed, high capacity storage in a small, drop resistant form factor.
Samsung's T3 SSD is available now through retailers including Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, and Officeworks. Pricing is as follows:
250GB: AUD$199
500GB: AUD$329
1TB: AUD$649
2TB: AUD$1,249
While the prices are at a slight premium to Samsung's internal SSDs, the T3 models all come in at a lower cost than last year's T1. For comparison, the T1 launched at AUD$269 for 250GB, AUD$429 for 500GB, and AUD$799 for 1TB.
