Verbatim Acclaim USB Portable Hard Drive (1TB) review: Verbatim Acclaim USB Portable Hard Drive (1TB)

The external-hard-drive market isn't saturated with Verbatim devices, but the Acclaim shoots to the top of our list with impressive test scores and a bargain cost per gigabyte, not to mention Verbatim's incredible warranty that protects the drive for seven years. With capacities ranging from 320GB all the way up to 1TB, the Verbatim Acclaim USB portable hard drive deserves our Editors' Choice Award.

Design and features
The pocket-friendly Verbatim Acclaim external hard drive is built on the classic rectangular model common to many external hard drives and features a glossy cover that protects it against scratches. Unfortunately, the semireflective exterior also makes it prone to fingerprints. Verbatim offers limited customization by offering the drive in a variety of colors, including piano black, fire engine red, and electric blue, but we actually prefer the executive-chic image of the 1TB black model that Verbatim sent us for testing. The drive itself measures 4.5 inches long by 3 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick, and it weighs just 4.9 ounces, making it the ideal laptop companion for long trips and airline travel.

Verbatim provides a short USB 2.0 cord in the box for data transfers, and the drive is self-powered by the BUS on the host computer you plug it into, so the only port on the drive is a Mini-USB on the side. The rest of the drive is bare, but a small LED indicating a transfer in progress would be helpful in the next version, to let you know when it's working.

The device is also factory loaded with a bundle of supplementary programs to help maximize your productivity and ensure the safety of your data. Nero BackItUp & Burn uses a simple wizard-style interface to help you create automatic backups that continually synchronize as you store more data on the drive. Verbatim also includes a trial offer for Norton Online Backup, a service that lets you upload files to an offsite server for safekeeping. The trial gives you 5GB of online space and expires after one year with the option to renew for $50 a year. Finally, Verbatim sweetens the deal with 35 free music downloads from eMusic.com.

Cost per gigabyte
Speeds and feeds aside, we're blown away by the incredible cost per gigabyte of the Verbatim Acclaim. At just 14 cents per gigabyte for the 1TB model, the rest of the comparison drives in the lineup barely stand a chance; even the Samsung S2 gets dropped to second place at 20 cents per gigabyte, making the Verbatim Acclaim the most cost-effective drive we've tested to date.

Performance
As always, we performed a simple data transfer test and compared the Verbatim with four other external drives in a similar price range. According to our stopwatch, the Acclaim read our 6.62GB file at 31.09MBps and wrote it back at 26.65MBps, knocking the G-Tech G-Drive Mobile out of first place. Still, the difference between the top scorers is so minor that you can't tell unless you're transferring very large files.

Service and support
We normally prefer a three-year warranty to accompany external hard drives, since they tend to get beaten up in transit, but Verbatim surprised us with a lengthy seven-year limited warranty. According to the Verbatim Web site, the warranty covers manufacturer defects but doesn't protect against damages that result from user error, so keep that in mind when you blindly throw the drive in your bag. Additional support is provided by an online e-mail form, and toll-free phone support is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST.