A-DATA sh93 Waterproof Hard Drive Review

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A-DATA recently announced the release of a waterproof and shock resistant hard drive.  The sh93 Incorporates rubber and plastic along with special cushion materials that allow it to withstand a 1M waterproof test for 30 minutes and military standard MIL-STD-810F drop test.

The SH93 comes in two colors : racing car yellow and chili pepper red. With capacity up to 640GB, it is designed for users to conveniently carry around massive documents without the fear of damaging files stored in the drive in the incident of accidental drop or water spills.

I’m quite familiar putting hard drives to the “test” and took the A-DATA with me to the firehouse to see if it really does stand up.

The drive’s features are as follows:

Device Interface: USB 2.0
HDD Interface: 2.5″ SATA
Interface Transfer Rate: USB 2.0: 480Mb/s
Data Transfer Rate: USB 2.0: ?30MB/s
Plug & Play: Yes
LED Indication: LED – Power on LED Blinking – Access
Power: USB bus power
Dimension (LxWxH): 129 x 97 x 19.2mm
Accessory: USB cable
Software: HDD to go
Weight: 240g

A-DATA was kind enough to give me a racing car yellow, 320 gig version of the SH93 for review.

The drive arrived in simplistic packaging.  Just the drive itself, nothing more, nothing less.

I was immediately reminded of the Bumble Bee character from the Transformer movies when I cast eyes on it.

package

The racing yellow and black drive is bright and vibrant.  It features a rubberized coating that makes it easy to hold on to.

top

The drive features a small channel running along its outer edge.  It’s here where you can store the mini-USB cord.

The cable features a USB cord on one end which you connect to one of your computer’s available USB ports.

large cord

As well as a mini-USB connector on the other end which you plug into the drive.

small cord

The mini-USB port on the drive is protected by a small plug.  This insures water, dust, etc. does not enter the port.

port closed

When it comes time to connect the mini-USB cable you simply open the port protector and insert the plug.  The port cover remains attached to the drive and ready to be replaced when you’re finished.

port open

The smaller cable, when fully extended and attached, still keeps the drive small and very portable.

cord open

The first thing I did with the drive is connect it to my Mac Book Pro and using the Disk Utility application properly formatted it.

When it’s connected to a computer the SH93’s blue LED glows brightly letting you know it’s connected.

blue light

A-DATA sent along a 320 gig version for review.  When I connected it to my computer it showed 319.91 gig available.

adata empty

I copied the entire contents of my trash can (1.5 gig) plus some other files and folders to the drive.

adata full

The it was time to put the drive to the test.  At the firehouse we decided to prop the drive up in a upright position and then blast it with 75 psi of pressure from an 1-1/14 inch hose line.  We first hit it with a straight stream and then switched the nozzle to a fog pattern.  Not only did the water saturate the drive by the force from the pressure of the hose line managed to toss it around.

The following video details the testing we did on the drive.

Once  we were done having fun with the drive I took it back home, let it dry out for a while and then connected it back to my Mac Book Pro.

Sure enough it connected without incident and all my files and folders remained safe and secure on the drive.

adata full

The A-DATA SH93 performed exactly as the company said it would.  To steal a phrase from a popular watch company, it took a licking and kept on ticking.  We doused the drive with water, dropped it, pushed it around the ground and it still kept coming back for more.

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Most importantly, and all fun aside, once we got the drive home, our data was still there on the drive and fully accessible.

If you’re a “spiller” or someone who keeps water, coffee, drinks on your desk all the time and want to ensure your data is safe you might want to have a look at the A-DATA SH93.  I know one Gear Diary Editor in Chief who is probably going to be thinking of investing in one to prepare for the next “Diet Coke Incident” around her computer.

The SH93 is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.  It comes in 320, 500 and 640 gig versions for between $83.99 – $157.99

M.S.R.P. – As reviewed $93.99

What I like – waterproof and shock proof hard drive.

What I don’t like – cord is short.

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Gear Diary Staff
Gear Diary was founded on September 30, 2006, with the goal to create a website that would not easily be labeled. Everyone who is part of Gear Diary is a professional who uses technology in their work and daily lives. On this site, we share our enthusiasm while exploring the gear we use — the equipment that makes our lives easier, more entertaining, more productive, and more manageable. Our hope is that Gear Diary visitors find this site to be a welcoming, friendly, and accessible place to learn about and discuss interesting topics — and not only those that are tech-related! Gear Diary is a place to discover and explore all kinds of new gear, including smartphones, computers, kitchen gadgets, Toys, EDC, camping gear, or even your next new car! You can follow us on Twitter @GearDiarySite.

4 Comments on "A-DATA sh93 Waterproof Hard Drive Review"

  1. rt @GearDiarySite: Review: A-DATA sh93 Waterproof Hard Drive http://bit.ly/uGwQG

  2. you have wayyyyy too much fun with these type reviews. 😉

  3. Joel McLaughlin | November 13, 2009 at 6:17 am |

    Man when I saw Waterproof Hard Drive I just KNEW a firehose would be involved!

  4. rt @GearDiarySite: Review: A-DATA SH93 Waterproof Hard Drive http://tinyurl.com/yaq76dd

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