Toshiba Canvio Premium 3TB portable HDD review
Toshiba Canvio Premium 3TB portable HDD
£129Pros
- Premium looks
- USB 3.0 and Type C
- Mac / PC compatible
- Included travel bag
- Decent read/write speeds
Cons
- SSDs are faster
- Some cheaper options available
The Toshiba Canvio Premium is a slick looking portable HDD. It comes bundled with nifty software as well as USB 3.0 and USB Type C connectivity.
Portable storage is always handy. No matter if it’s a requirement for your job or a godsend when traveling.
Of course, cloud storage is all the rage right now but, I for one, love the convenience and reliability of a drive at my side.
The Toshiba Canvio Premium offers the best of both worlds. A range of 1, 2 and 3TB portable hard drives with an additional 10TB of cloud storage to boot!
With an attractive price point, as well as good looking package, can the Toshiba Canvio Premium walk the walk?
Toshiba Canvio Premium design
You are able to chose from 1TB, 2TB, and 3TB varients. I have been kindly sent the 3TB version that also comes with another 10TB of cloud storage. That should keep most people happy.
The Canvio Premium is an attractive alumimium ingot with bevelled edges.
There is a doughnut-shaped read/write light in one corner. This wins extra points as it’s a blue LED. I love blue LEDs!
The case itself measures 109 x 78 x 13.5mm. This means it is fairly chunky but still easily stowed away in a bag. It tips the scales at 165 grams.
The drive comes with a USB 3.0 Type A cable as well as a handy USB 3.1 Type-C adapter.
As well as the cable and adapter you get a nice soft travel pouch to keep the drive safe from damage while on the go.
Performance
Software
NTI Backup Now EZ plays nice with both PC and Macs.
With this utility you can set automatic backups to the Canvio Premium or cloud providers.
This is really intuitive to use and could well be something you didn’t realise you needed but glad you have.
Something else pre-loaded on to the Canvio is Toshiba Password Lock. Again, this will work with PCs and Macs.
This software will lock the drive, disallowing access to what’s stored until a password is entered.
You can set a password hint as well as the self-destruct mode – basically the drive can erase itself if the password is forgotten. There are some government officials that should have had the same protection.
It all looks dead simple but seems to do as promised.
Now, Pogoplug. This is your 10TB of cloud storage that’s included with the drive purchase.
I have a paid-up subscription to Dropbox as well as a nifty NAS. But, to be honest, an extra 10TB of free storage is never going to do any harm. I am sure there are many people that will get the use out of this even if it’s only used to back up holiday snaps.
Speed
As with all the other portable drives, I have utilised Crystal Mark to guage the Canvio Premium’s read and write speeds.
Here are the results.
As you can imagine, it was never going to compete with the Buffalo MiniStation Velocity portable SSD. That would be silly.
However, it did do better than the Buffalo MiniStation Slim 1TB drive we had a while ago. The slim topped out at 125.2/124.7 compared with the Canvio Premium’s 134.8/145.2.
In use
I did pack it in my bag once loaded with video and music and it worked really well.
Coming with a little travel pouch no doubt saved this review sample from the scratches and scuffs oft associated with day-to-day use.
Having the adapter also meant, like the MiniStation Velocity, I was able to use it with my Nexus 6P. That will always be a bonus.
Toshiba Canvio Premium portable HDD review conclusion
The Toshiba Canvio Premium proved to be plenty fast enough in the mechanical drive drag race. True, if you’re willing to spend the money, an SSD in an enclosure will always be faster.
I liked the solid build quality and added software, including that extra 10TB of cloud storage, of the Canvio Premium.
That, with its very competitive price makes it a very attractive option.
The Canvio Premium lives up to its name.
A well-built enclosure, multiple connectivity options and some useful added software.
Toshiba Canvio Premium price and availability
The drives are available in dark grey or silver.
The 3TB model, as reviewed, is available now from Amazon for £129.
The 1TB is £74 and the 2TB is £105.
