Today for review Seagate has sent me over one of their FreeAgent Go drives, specifically the 500gb version. I’ve taken a look at quite a few Seagate products in the past and I’ve always liked them, the same goes for the one I have today. The FreeAgent Go is small and portable and relatively fast, or as fast as USB 2.0 will get you. It’s a 2.5” drive inside the casing, on that drive you’ll find some very useful software for backups, syncing and even encryption. As a bonus with this drive you’ll get a free copy of Star Trek when you register the drive with Seagate. So read on…

The FreeAgent Go comes in a  natural looking box with a clear plastic front.

Inside you’ll only find the drive, a short white USB cable and some basic documentation.

The FreeAgent Go comes in many different colors, but I got the blue and white version for review. The top is aluminum while the bottom is plastic.

On the back is where you’ll find the mini-USB port.

Specifications:

Seagate FreeAgent Go 500Gb Portable Hard Drive

The ultimate portable storage solution with the world’s first hard drive docking station for easy access to all your stuff. Sleek, ultra-thin design that’s as stylish as it is striking.
* Store photos, music, and other files
* Carry your data anywhere you want
* Sync data between computers
* Back up files using the optional dock

Big capacity. Small package.
Get a lot without carrying a lot. And look good while you do it.
* Available in a range of capacities, from 250GB to 1TB
* The thinnest portable drive available. Even the cables are compact
* Multiple colors to suit your style and let you tell one FreeAgent Go from the next

Simple backup and sync.
If it’s not easy, it won’t happen.
* Automatic backup for peace of mind
* Encryption technology keeps your files safe
* Easy synchronization means you always have the most current version with you
* Fast data transfer with USB

Specifications:
Model Number: ST905003FBA2E1-RK
Interface: USB 2.0
Capacity: 500GB

PHYSICAL:
Height: 130mm (5.12 in)
Width: 80mm (3.15 in)
Length: 12.5mm (.49 in)
Weight (typical): 160g (.35 lb)
Shipping Weight: .27kg (0.595 lb)

Features:
-Folder Sync Software
-Automatic Backup Software: PC Only
-Encryption: AES 128-bit

Model ST905003FBA2E1-RK  Royal Blue  500 GB

Price: $119.99

When you plug it in and add power, there’s not just a single LED, there’s an assortment of  holes where a white LED shines through. I like the look of it really.

When you plug it in you can use it as is or runt he main program on the disc. If you open up the hard drive under My Computer you’ll find a few folders. In the following screen shot you’ll also see Star Trek the movie. When you purchase many of Seagates products you can get it for free.

Clicking on Setup will take you to the software installation screen where you’ll find choices to install Seagate Manager, muvee Seagate Edition and Seagate Software.

The Seagate Manager Software is four parts, My Drives, Backup, Sync, and Security.

With the FreeAgent Go your files are encrypted automatically when you drag and drop them to the drive, now that’s built-in security for you.

The software allows for both automatic and scheduled backups and even restoring your files from one of those backups should disaster strike. The software also allows for syncing your files between computers by using the drive, just take it with you and sync then all of your files will be with your wherever you go. It’s simple and easy to use, we all should back up more often, and this drive helps you do that easily.

Besides the Seagate Software, included is muvee Reveal 8 Seagate Edition which let’s you create your own movies.

I’m not going to get into it right now as muvee was kind enough to actually send me over the full version to evaluate. I can tell you though that the Seagate version is a bit limited in what it can do or actually what files formats you can work with when using it. So give me a few days and I’ll give you better view of the full version of the software.

As far as testing the drives, it’s USB 2.0 so the speeds are about where they should be for that interface. For fun I ran it on both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces to see how it performs and it actually gained a bit on USB 3.0.

I won’t to touch on on thing to finish this off. When you buy certain Seagate products like the FreeAgent Go 500GB HDD like i have today you can get Star Trek the movie for free. Despite the fact that there’s draconian DRM on it, and you’ve got to install software on your computer to even play it, it’s the full movie. The problem is that it’s advertised as you’ll get the “Full HD” version of the movie. Apparently Paramount has redefined what HD means, the movie I got has a resolution of 720×300. The last time I checked HD specs the minimum is 1280×720 to be considered HD. Sure you could argue you’re getting a free movie, the part that bothers me is the the claim of the movie being “Full-HD”.

Conclusion:

The FreeAgent Go is truly a great little product with little or no real flaws  in itself. It works as it’s supposed to, and it includes some useful software actually. The addition of the free movie is a nice touch, despite the low resolution of it.

The included muvee Revel 8 software is fine for doing basic movies, but for doing any serious type of creation or editing you’ll want the full version or something else.

Pros:
+Small and portable
+Decent speeds
+Comes with Muvee Reveal 8 software
+Comes with free Star Trek movie

Cons:
-Muvee is limited version
-Short USB cord

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

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