Introduction

First of all i would like to tank Eagle Tech for sponsoring our current giveaway event. They have been great to us and very warm hearted towards reviewer:) Today we are going to take a look a a mobile storage enclosure by Eagle, P-Series Mobile Consus. P-Series Mobile Consus is 2.5" hard drive enclosure is designed to fit every user needs. It comes with two different speed connectors, USB2.0 and eSATA. If you are buying this enclosure from Eagle, you have a choice of choosing 80 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB or 400 GB versions. This review is going to be performed with our own Seagate 250 GB hard drive.

About the Product

Following information is taken from the Eagle's website.

This 80GB external drive is designed for mobile users demanding maximum quality and performance. Solid aluminum chassis is extremely lightweight, rugged and thermally efficient. Patented built-in USB cable eliminates the hassle of having to carry power adapter or data cable. Portable luxury – for those who won’t settle for less!

• 80GB SATA pocket hard drive

• Ultra portable at only 0.4” thick

• Reinforced aluminum chassis

• Soft-glowing drive activity LED

• Integrated USB cable (no messy wires)

• USB powered (no bulky AC adapter)

• Plug-n-Play USB 2.0

• Usage: Easy add-on storage for mobile users

• Type: External hard drive

• Form Factor: 2.5”

• Hard Drive: 80GB (5400RPM 8MB cache)

• Internal Interface: SATA I/II

• External Interface: Hi-speed USB 2.0

• Data Transfer Rate: 480Mbps

• Power Source: USB powered

• Power Input: 5V DC

• Certification: FCC, CE Certified and RoHS compliant

• O.S. Required: Win98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista Mac OS 9.0 or higher Linux

• Dimension: 5.4 x 3.2 x 0.4 inch

• Weight: 0.8 lbs

External storage system

Quick installation guide

Now that we got basic information out of the way, lets take a closer look at P-SERIES Mobile Consus.

Closer look

Box Front		Box Back

P-SERIES Mobile Consus comes in a very stylish box. Eagle's colors are black and yellow and this is a good example of the general packaging from Eagle. On the back of the box are some images of the original features which P-SERIES Mobile Consus has to offer to its users.

Left Side		Right Side

Giving buyers general understanding of the product is very important and i am glad to say that Eagle does get the point across. On both sides of the box Eagle has included some images of the actual External Storage System. One thing that jumps in the front is the stylish USB 2.0 connector which is retractable from the case.

Top Shot		Out on the table

Last but not least a simple Eagle Consus logo:) At times i do feel like Eagle is including too many logos, but that is just the preference of the marketing team:) Un boxing P-SERIES Mobile Consus was rather easy and quick. Just a few un tucks and everything was out on the table. Eagle has included all of the necessary cables you would need to operate P-SERIES Mobile Consus in eSATA and USB mode.

P-SERIES Front		P-SERIES Back

P-SERIES Mobile Consus is rather small and very stylish. The body of it is made from lightweight aluminum and the top and the bottom are made from plastic. On one side of the case Eagle has included an led which shows the access and the operation of the unit. Again a very nice Eagle | Consus logo on the front. On the back of the unit there are few bar codes and what looks like serial number stickers. These stickers could be removed if needed.

Rear Shot		USB Cable

In the rear of the P-SERIES Mobile Consus we found a eSATA connector, USB 2.0 connector and a power connector. Since eSATA 1 and 2 require additional power, Eagle had provided a USB power cable. The stylish retractable USB cable is a great idea. The actual cable is wrapped around the unit for easy storage.

Mesh		Size comparison

USB cable is coated in a very stylish black and orange mesh. The USB cable is long enough to reach uncomfortable places. The fact that the head of the usb is rounded off, greatly helps in tight situations. The size of the P-SERIES Mobile Consus is pretty much the same as 2.5" hard drive which makes a hell of a difference when traveling:)

SATA board		Installing Hard Drive

Inside of the P-SERIES Mobile Consus is a SATA connector which allows the connection of the hard drive. The hard drive fits right in without any problems what so ever. Once the drive is in the front cover closes the enclosure and you are pretty much all set to rock and roll.

P-SERIES Mobile		P-SERIES Mobile ON

I just want to reflect on the USB mesh, it is very much stylish and definitely adds that special look. When you power on unit it glows light blue in active state and blinks red on access. There are no fans in this unit so the operation of P-SERIES Mobile Consus is as quiet as your hard drive.

Testing

We have used our standard procedure for testing with HD Tach and Sandra. We have performed two test with HD Tach and measured the average speed with USB 2.0 and eSATA connection and one test with Sandra measuring the performance vs speed.

HD Tach 8 Mb vs 32 Mb test USB 2.0

Under USB 2.0 connection we have performed two tests 8 Mb and 32 Mb test. The average speed was 34.7 MB/s. This is rather common for USB 2.0 type of connections. Lets take a look at the eSATA connection and see if we can notice an improvement.

HD Tach 8 Mb vs 32 Mb test eSATA

Again with the HD Tach we have performed two test and this time the average speed 50.2 MB/s. Much faster than USB 2.0 connection. Not every pc or a laptop comes with external eSATA connection so you maybe stuck using USB but still this isn't bad for simple file transfer functions.

Sandra

Running Sandra we got drive index of 45.22 MB/s. Since this is a rather slow drive the Random access time is 14 ms and this would definitely play a bigger role if this was a faster drive however, the transfer speed is rather reasonable for a general type of use.

Conclusion

Not a bad little gadget. If you are looking for a quick and fast access to your files, this might be it. P-SERIES Mobile Consus has a few features that is hard not to notice. The stylish USB mesh cable and the eSATA support plays a great role in the popularity of P-SERIES Mobile Consus. The stylish and lightweight body of P-SERIES Mobile Consus makes it accessionaly useful when it comes to impressing the buyer. What about the performance wise you may ask. P-SERIES Mobile Consus is capable of delivering data as fast as 50.2 MB/s and is comparable with SATA I and II. There are quite a few enclosure companies out there which specialize in external enclosures that might be a rival for Eagle, but so far i have seen great results and performance out of their products. We have found few things about P-SERIES Mobile Consus which were a small but yet significant blemishes. One of the things we found which is odd is the body of P-SERIES Mobile Consus. The main body is made out of a lightweight aluminum but the rear and front covers were made out of plastic. It seems to me that P-SERIES Mobile Consus would benefit by having a whole body made out of the aluminum. Another thing, it is easily scratchable. If you are not careful with the main body of P-SERIES Mobile Consus, you have a chance of scratching it and leaving a nasty scar. If you do not care of these things then this unit would be a great example of Eagle Tech. 8/10.

Some pros we found:

Very stylish

Can be used as USB 2.0 or eSATA I or II

Easy to assemble and use

Very compact

Some cons we found:

Easily scratchable

Only half of the body made out of the aluminum