INTRODUCTION

   Although thanks to advancements made by technology miniaturization seems to be the future of electronics we can't really say the same about data since with the introduction of the Blu-ray format a few years back and the relatively recent appearance of the much heavier 2k/4k standards (not to mention the huge game downloads from Steam that people need to backup) the need for ultra-high capacity storage has reached unprecedented levels. Now the good news is that some of the leading manufacturers have already introduced 3.5" HDDs with capacities up to 10TB and 2.5" HDDs that go all the way to 3TB so at least for now it seems that things are in check. Capacity however is not the only thing one needs to look for when in the market for a brand new portable hard drive since accidentally dropping it while in a hurry is not a far-fetched scenario. Today we're taking a look at the 2TB model of my favorite 2.5" PHD in the market (to date that is), the A80 by Silicon Power.

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, SP has been recognized and well accepted by millions of end-users in more than 100 countries, becomes the world’s leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, DRAM modules, solid state disks, and portable hard drives in less than a decade. Headquartered in Taipei, we continuously established various branches throughout the world including Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Mainland China and other emerging market. With superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009 and 2010. Winning trust of global consumers SP holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. For SP, the product we introduced is not only a digital storage device but also a real promise to create and preserve your most valuable memory in every moment.

   The A80 is no stranger to us since roughly 2 years ago we received the 1TB model which really blew us away not only thanks to its impressive read & write performance but also thanks to its IEC 529 IPX7 shockproof housing which provides the highest protection we've seen so far for a 2.5" portable hard drive. To be more precise the housing of the A80 is virtually waterproof (1m underwater test), dustproof, shockproof (conforms to the MIL-STD-810F 516.5 procedure IV - also 300cm drop certified) and can even withstand pressure of up to 300kg (back when we reviewed the 1TB variant of the A80 i passed over it with my car). If you've been reading our PHD reviews lately then you know that we've mentioned quite a few times in the past that we'd love to test the 2TB variant of the A80 PHD to see how it compares with all the other 2TB models released by Silicon Power so since it's finally here let's do exactly that.