INTRODUCTION

   Roughly a month ago WD commissioned the Edelman PR agency to conduct an consumer study with over 1000 participants (festival attendees) the subject of which was "digital storage". The result proved that the majority of people are not ready to receive large amounts of data when away from home or the office and although i wasn't really shocked to hear that still i didn't expect things to be that "bad". Luckily with USB flash drive prices taking serious hits all the time people today don't need to think twice about getting a very fast and high capacity model by one of the leading manufacturers. Of course there are always more expensive models aimed towards people who want even higher performance numbers and larger capacities and the brand new T3 Portable SSD by Samsung is one such model.

   Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion. Samsung's Memory Business offers the industry's most advanced and extensive range of memory semiconductor products. As a leader in both the design and manufacture of memory semiconductor since 1993, the business provides key memory products including dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), NAND flash memory, Solid State Drives (SSD) and a range of green memory solutions for use in PC, server and mobile applications. Samsung is also leading the industry in advancements of next generation DRAM and NAND flash technologies while nurturing future memory technologies.

   Just like the T1 Portable SSD released a while back the T3 is also a USB 3.1 Gen 1 model so although when Samsung announced it roughly 6 months ago i was hoping it would be their first USB 3.1 Gen 2 drive that wasn't the case. The T3 was actually released as an improved version of the T1 since it addressed several "issues" with the original such as available capacities (increased maximum capacity from 1TB in the T1 to 2TB in the T3), USB connector (from a micro-USB connector in the T1 to a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C interface in the T3), OS compatibility (Official compatibility with Android - even for volumes secured with AES-256) and finally enclosure quality and interior temperatures (Partial metal enclosure compared to the all-plastic used with the T1). Again just like the T1 the T3 is also based around an 850 EVO mSATA drive (they use the same MGX controller), uses the same ASMedia 1153E SATA to USB 3.0 bridge chip and also offers hardware 256-bit AES encryption in the form of password protection. All that's left for us to see is whether or not it's better compared to its predecessor the T1 and by how much.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Samsung packs the T3 inside a white box (taking pictures once again was not easy) that has a clear plastic window at the front from where you can see the product (the capacity and OS compatibility are also printed at the front).

The ways one can use the T3 are listed on the left side.

Drive connectivity, 3 year warranty and list of compatible OS are placed on the right side.

The features of the T3 Portable SSD are printed at the rear of the box in 10 languages.

Contained inside the box is just the T3 Portable SSD, USB to USB Type-C cable and a quick start guide.

THE PORTABLE SSD T3 500GB

The T3 measures 74mm in length, 58mm in width and 10.5mm in height and weighs just 51g.

To have a better idea about its size we placed the T3 right next to the slightly smaller T1 and some USB flash drives.

The capacity and country of manufacturer are placed at the rear of the drive.

Samsung has placed the serial number and barcode of the drive at the rear right next to its electrical requirements.

The USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port is placed at the front (and yes it's much sturdier compared to the usual micro USB 3.0 port).

Just like with the T1 for the T3 Samsung provides password protection software (the drive comes with it inside) but just in case you should check online for a newer version.

The software is very basic but it does allow you to easily “lock” the drive with a password.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   When Samsung released the Portable SSD T1 it sat at the top of the charts when compared to similar USB flash drives but wasn’t what we’d call perfect. The reason I say this is because I could never figure out why Samsung decided to use a plastic enclosure with one such expensive USB 3.0 drive especially when other far more affordable models use aluminum and rubber ones. I am happy to see that the T3 improves on that area since it features a thicker aluminum enclosure. It may still not be as durable as some other enclosures but it’s certainly a lot better compared to that of its predecessor. That’s not all however so the T3 also ships with a Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1 port which is a lot sturdier compared to that of the T1. This may not be a game changer for people who will use the drive with their PCs but it’s a lot different for users who will use it with android devices. As for performance well the T1 was already very fast so we didn’t expect miracles from the T3. Still as you can tell from our charts it’s quite faster and almost hits the 450MB/s performance advertised by Samsung (in two out of six).

   Samsung seems to be running a campaign in the USA alongside with Amazon to promote their new Portable SSD T3 so as we speak you can grab the 500GB model for just USD149.99 (I’d hurry up if I were you). Unfortunately things in the EU are not exactly that good so currently the Portable SSD T3 500GB retails for 205Euros (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is not half bad considering the kind of performance you’re getting (doesn’t get any better from similarly sized models) along with compatibility for Android devices and AES-256Bit encryption via password protection. Personally I think that Samsung has priced their Portable SSD T3 500GB very aggressively and as I said above if you live in the USA and are looking to get a new USB flash drive you should grab it while supplies last. Bottom line things can’t get much better than the Portable SSD T3 500GB by Samsung and that’s why it gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (850 EVO mSATA)
- Top Of The Charts Performance
- Aluminum Enclosure
- Just 10.5mm Thick
- Available In 2TB
- Hardware AES-256bit Encryption (Password Protection)
- 3 Years Warranty
- USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Connector
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- None