Top external storage devices: Backing up is a personal matter

This last Sunday of March is World Backup Day, and you'll see a lot of storage/backup vendors taking this occasion to pitch their products. I am about to do a similar thing, but from a very different point of view: yours.

This is because none of existing vendors goes as far as guaranteeing the integrity of storage on the products. At most, a vendor would give you a new product to replace the broken one, or in the currently unique case of IoSafe, offer to pay up to a certain amount toward data recovery. I, on the other hand, promise, if not guarantee, that if you follow my advice, your data will be safe.

The truth is that backing up is a personal matter that needs to be taken care of on a regular basis -- even daily, if possible. The key thing is to store copies of data in multiple places and never rely on just one medium for your important, irreplaceable data.

Note that commercial movies, music, and other purchasable digital content are replaceable. It's great that you can back everything up, but most of the time, the personal information that you really need to safeguard takes up very little storage space.

Up-to-date backups of your data are like insurance; you need it and at the same time hope to never have to resort to it.

The second thing to note is that even a brand-new hard drive can die at any time, without any warning. You can always lose your portable drive, and your online storage service can go out of business all of sudden. You need to act when everything is in working order -- which can give you a false sense of safety -- because otherwise, it's just too late. And let me say this once more time: never use just one medium to keep your important, irreplaceable data.

Up-to-date backups of your data are like insurance; you need it and at the same time hope to never have to resort to it. There are many ways to keep your data safe and you can learn more about you can learn more about them here.

But the easiest way to make backups is using external hard dives, which are popular, affordable, and, for some, can easily be carried on the go. Even better: you only have to pay for them once. Here are my current top choices, in no particular order, for the external hard drives that are great ways to keep your data safe. If you're not backing up your data yet, you should get at least one of these today.

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(Credit:Technonet)

Seagate Backup Plus
The Backup Plus (available in 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB capacities) is the latest portable hard drive from Seagate, replacing the company's popular GoFlex line, which was first introduced back in 2001 and is known for being extremely flexible. Though the name has changed, the new product family retains the flexibility of the previous design; in fact, new Backup Plus drives work with the old GoFlex adapters. However, they now offer a new, easy backup approach, not just for local storage but also for your social-media personal data. The drive can also be used with Seagate's Universal Storage Module (USM) slot to work as a offsite backup for certain computer or NAS server, such as the Seagate Business Storage NAS.

The Backup Plus drives also come in many colors to fit your tastes. In fact, the color of the backup software's interface actually changes based on the color of the drive. This isn't a huge deal, but it's definitely fun and helps you know which drive you're working with. 

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(Credit: Technonet)

Buffalo MiniStation Thunderboltio
The Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is the first portable drive on the market that comes with both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, making it a great backup solution for Mac laptop. The drive offered stellar performance, especially when used with Thunderbolt, and this means your Mac can be backed up in just a matter of minutes or seconds. The drive comes with a USB 3.0 and a Thunderbolt cable that helps make it one of the most affordable Thunderbolt-based portable drive on the market. Read the full review of the Bgtuffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt.

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(Credit: Technonet)

WD 2TB My Passport
Western Digital's 2TB My Passport is the world's first portable drive that offers 2TB of storage space. This is about as large as you can get from a 2.5-inch-based external hard drive given the current perpendicular recording technology. Despite this top capacity, the drive is very compact and is bus-powered. All you need is the included standard Micro-USB 3.0 cable for it to work. (The drive works with both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.)

The new My Passport offered great performance in my testing and doesn't cost too much, either, at just around $150. It also comes in 1TB, 750GB, and 500GB versions that cost less accordingly. As an alternative to the new My Passport, you can also check out Seagate's GoFlex Portable seriesgt.

For backup purposes, the drive is preloaded with WD Backup software that makes backing up data a very easy job for Windows. For Mac, you can just reformat it into HFS+ and use Time Machine with it. Read the full review of the WD 2TB My Passport.

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(CreditTechnonet)

Silicon Power's Armor A80 and Armor A15 drives
This pair of portable drives from Silicon Power take storage security up a notch with their rugged chassis, which can handle shocks and drops from around 4 feet while moving. The Armor A80 is waterproof down to a depth of 3 feet, while the Armor A15 comes with a silica gel chassis to protect the internals drive from vibration. Other than that, both offered superfast performance in my tests and are very similar.

The drives are 2.5-inch-based and offers up to 1TB of storage that cost just $90 each and either will make a great backup drive for people who travel a lot or work in rough environments. Read the full reviews of the Silicon Power Armor A80 and the Armor A15.

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G-Technology G-Drive Slim
The G-Technology G-Drive Slim is like a portable drive made specifically for MacBook Air. The drive is superslim, good looking, and offers 500GB, which is a much needed extra storage space for the Air's limited internal drive. The drive supports USB 3.0 and was very fast in my testing. It also works with USB 2.0. Other than extending the notebook's storage space, it'll also make a great Time Machine-based backup solution. Read the full review of the G-Technology G-Drive Slim.

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(Credit:Technonet)

IoSafe Solo G3
The IoSafe Solo G3 is the ultimate backup drive that can satisfy even people who are worried about their data safety to the point of paranoia. The drive is huge and weighs about 15 pounds. This is because of the multiple layers of protective material that keep the internal hard drive safe from extreme heat (up to 1,550 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes). The drive is also able to survive submersion in up to 10 feet of water for three days. The reason it should only be used as a backup drive is that it's a single-volume storage device, therefore, susceptible to hard-drive failure.

The Solo G3 comes with one year of a data recovery plan that covers up to $5,000 worth of damage. Other than the G3, the company also offers an older model, called IoSafe SoloPro and a portable version called IoSafe Rugged Portable that offer similar type of protection. 

Apple envisions future iPhone with wrap-around display

A newly-published Apple patent application describes a future smartphone with a transparent body and a flexible wrap-around display.

The iPhone of the future?

(Credit: Technonet/ Apple)

Your iPhone of the future may come with a clear glass body and a display that wraps all the way around.

Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent application known simply as "Electronic device with wrap around display," highlights a phone or other electronic device that dispenses with the current flat design in favor of something much more flexible.

The display itself would unwind, or unroll, around the device to reveal a wider array of items. As a result, more space would be available to display icons, photos, videos, and other content.

Users would interact with the device using touch gestures rather than physical buttons. For example, swiping along one of the sides could lock and unlock the device as an alternative to using the current hold button. That innovation would've pleased the late Steve Jobs who always envisioned an iPhone without any physical buttons.

The body itself could be made of glass, which would offer transparency and be strong enough to support the entire device.

The patent filing points out one potential pitfall. If the display wraps around the entire device, how would the phone figure out the location of the user? The device would use cameras and facial recognition technology to track the position and movement of the user's face and adjust the display in response.

Offering a touch of 3D, the device could even include two flexible displays, one on top of the other. The same content would appear on both displays but would be slightly out of phase on one display versus the other. "In this way, an illusion of depth perception can be presented mimicking a 3D experience," the patent explained.

A bendable, flexible display is hardly a new concept in the tech field. But if Apple's patents are approved and the company actually uses the technology, the iPhone could once again outshine its smartphone rivals as a more innovative device.Flexible displays have been on Apple's mind for while. The company filed for the "Electronic device with wrap around display" patent in 2011 and filed a similar patent called "Electronic Devices With Flexible Displays"last year.

But Apple better not sit still. Competitors such as Samsung, LG, and Nokia have already demoed their own flexible screens for mobile devices.Samsung is reportedly moving forward on mass production of such displays for release in the first half of 2013, according to a Wall Street Journal story published last November.

Hulk-strong screens, IR blasters, NFC-everything: Your future phone (Smartphones Unlocked) Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57575356-85/hulk-strong-screens-ir-blasters-nfc-everything-your-future-phone-smartphones-unlocked/#ixzz2OXgpQ5Is

New hardware advancements, build materials, and connected devices are taking smartphones in exciting directions. Here's what's happening now.

When it comes to large, clear screens, HTC's One helps lead the charge.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Here's the smartphone of your short-term future: it has a 5-inch, 1080p HD screen, an 8-core application processor, and a 13-megapixel camera that does crazy things like simultaneously record through both front and rear lenses. You can use it to change your TV channel, tap it to play songs on your car, and control it without ever touching the screen.

The smartphone of your near future takes your pulse, synchronizes to your scale, and tumbles from your hands without a scratch. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it'll last two days on a single charge?

New production materials, leap-frogging processor advancements, and promising battery research are kicking smartphone development forward. Couple that with a surge of smart devices that transmit information to your phone screen, and you have one very exciting, nearly-attainable smartphone future.

The processor side is also on fire. We've just begun to see quad-core chipsets and are already on our way to eight processing cores that promise tremendous speed and graphical rendering prowess. Samsung's Galaxy S4 is the first announced phone to feature an octa-core chipset (Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa.)Good luck trying to find a quantity of terrific smartphones with medium-size screens. The latest batch of superphones -- including the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and LG Optimus G Pro -- is helping push the new norm to 5 inches (or larger) of high-definition 1080p goodness.

Nvidia is also racing out the starting gate, having just announced the two new upcoming generations of its chipset for mobile devices, which the company promises will increase performance 100 times over its first Tegra chip, within the next five years.

In the meantime, we'll start seeing phones with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 chips, processors that are expected to complete tasks 75 percent faster.

Extra goodies

We've been mooning over phones with integrated IR blasters for some time, but with the HTC One and now the Samsung Galaxy S4, the TV controller-in-the-phone is myth no more. It's only a matter of time before we start seeing this infrared tool crop up in even more high-end devices, tabletsincluded.

The Samsung Galaxy S4's IR blaster makes it possible to control your TV with this app.

Nokia has already cracked the code on including screen material sensitive enough for gloved hands to operate -- that showed up first in the Nokia Lumia 920, and marched onto the Lumias 820, 810, and 822 as well. The Lumia 720 will get it, too, as will Samsung's Galaxy S4.

I watched my colleague Roger Cheng's fingers slowly stiffen and redden in 30-degree weather while he composed an article on his mobile phone in New York outside Samsung's launch event. Trust me, there's no reason this shouldn't finally catch on.

Keep an eye out for in-car voice assistance to really take off in the coming year or two. Apple and car manufacturers like Honda have been hard at work prepping voice assistant Siri for the car.

The Nokia Lumia 920 introduced a screen sensitive enough to use with gloved fingers.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Samsung's stab is a new standalone version of S Voice, dubbed S Voice Drive. I got a chance to look at it right after the launch event, and despite past S Voice performance disasters, this version for the car might not completely suck.

Crazy camera software

Camera hardware will continue to improve, but, as if on cue, the manufacturers are also fighting the battle of supremacy with increasingly specialized (read: gimmicky) camera apps.

Among them, the HTC One, LG Optimus G Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S4 include features that pair audio recording with still images, photo and video that includes input from both cameras, bite-size video clips, and action shots that includes separate shots of movement in the same frame.

Using dual-recording mode on phones like the LG Optimus G Pro, you can record both the gloomy day in Barcelona, and your disdain for the rain.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

Sweet, sweet motion

Touch-free navigational gestures have been around for some time -- my favorite is flipping over a phone to silence it -- and both LG and Samsung have been on the forefront of creating new ways to interact without tapping the screen.

Waving your hand in front of the device to advance photos, and pause or play music is one newish gesture, as is hovering a finger over a thumbnail of something to preview what it is.

Both LG's Optimus G Pro and Samsung's Galaxy S4 highlight gestures, especially interactions that register where your eyes are and aren't looking -- so much so that the two rivals could go at it in court over using your gaze to pause and play video.

On Samsung's Galaxy S4 and others, a wave of your hand can advance your photo album, and then some.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

While I could personally take or leave most gestures, I think exploring more touch-free interactions like this is where we're headed, and the phone-makers might eventually hit on a combination that's innovative, yes, but also useful.

NFC and connected devices

The future feature trend I'm probably most excited about is the interplay among smart devices, like connected watches, cars, cameras, laptops, washing machines, thermostats, and of course, your smartphone.

NFC, or near-field communication, is a short-range wireless pairing protocol that's helping drive all sorts of close-range data-sharing, including mobile payments and wireless charging. But the real possibilities are just now unfolding.

Imagine using NFC to sync data with a tap from your smartphone to, well, just about anything. Samsung wants to use NFC to exchange info on your weight and vitals from the Galaxy S4's S Health app to a variety of accessories, including a scale.

I also envision using it to directly transfer media to any other NFC device in a jiffy, push out map coordinates to your car's in-dash navigation system, and check you into appointments, among other items on my NFC wish list.

Keep an eye on this feature, because NFC is picking up steam. Fast.

Promising new materials

A phone screen made of sapphire...say what? At Mobile World Congress this year, I scratched and pounded away at a sapphire screen with a chunk of concrete, leaving only powdery concrete residue behind.

Virtually indestructible sapphire smartphone screen

The sapphire screen I saw was perfectly translucent, responsive, and amazingly tough.

In the same vein, Nokia has begun working with graphene, a material known for its incredible strength, lightness, and slimness. Imagine a Lumia smartphone made of the stuff, which is 300 times stronger than steel.

While phone cases protect devices from the worst wear and tear, creating beautiful phones out of incredibly durable materials will also help get you avoid bad scrapes.

On the other end of the spectrum is Corning Willow Glass, a sheet of ultrathin, ultra-bendable glass that could maybe, maybe one day be used within a flexible smartphone.

New build materials are extremely important areas of research, but battery tech is more crucial still. Some novel ways to conceptualize basic battery chemistry hint at much longer-lived tickers than ever before achieved on a smartphone.

Although we're still a good way off from handsets that last longer than a day on a single charge, small improvements are ongoing.

Bend it like Corning Willow Glass

Bringing it all together

When you add up all the trends and longer-term advances, the smartphone of the near future is a remarkable device that's destined to become even more personal, cherished, and indispensable than handsets are today.

It's also true that I'm describing the tip-top of the high end, and that features will likely come in combination. While I hope they'll all have NFC, sensitive screens, and IR blasters (even you, iPhone 5S,) not all will have the wacky camera extras or extremely-hard bodies and screens.

Regardless, I can't wait for this next future to arrive.

Nikon Coolpix A puts an APS-C sensor in your pocket

This is a great time to be a photography enthusiast. With waning sales at the low end, manufacturers are picking up the pace in the upper reaches of the compact camera market, and the result is a great selection of compacts for more serious (and, unfortunately, wealthier) photographers. The latest manufacturer to deliver is Nikon, with its new Coolpix A, a fixed-focal-length lens model with an APS-C sensor along the lines of Fujifilm's popular X100 and X100s. At $1,099, however, this camera isn't for everyone, and at first glance has at least a couple of competitive weaknesses.

Relative sensor sizes

The trend toward larger sensor sizes is important, because all things being equal, larger sensors tend to deliver better quality, and manufacturers tend to surround them with higher quality parts. But the cameras are also necessarily larger and equipped with fixed-focal length, rather than zoom lenses (for better optics). At their higher prices, though, many people find that a camera with a medium-size sensor costing hundreds less is good enough.

During my brief chance to handle the Coolpix A, it certainly felt solid and well-designed. The manual focus on the lens ring is servoelectronic, which some people don't like, but autofocus seemed zippy enough. I wish it had a real grip instead of the single ridge on the front, though.

Here are what I consider its two strongest competitors:

	Fujifilm X100s	Nikon Coolpix A	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Sensor (effective resolution)	16.3MP X-Trans CMOS II n/a	16.2MP CMOS 14-bit	20.2MP Exmor CMOS n/a
	23.6 x 15.8mm	APS-C/Nikon DX	1-inch (13.2 x 8.8mm)
Sensitivity range	ISO 100 (exp)/200 - ISO 6400/25600 (exp)	ISO 100 - ISO 3200/25600 (exp)	ISO 100 - ISO 25600
Lens	35mm f2	28mm f2.8	28-100mm f1.8-4.9 3.6x
Closest focus (inches)	3.9	4	1.9
Continuous shooting	6fps 31 JPEG/n/a	4fps n/a	2.5fps (10fps with fixed exposure) n/a
Viewfinder	Hybrid Reverse Galilean 90 percent coverage EVF 0.48-inch/2,360,000 pixels 100 percent coverage	Optional (DF-CP1 Optical Viewfinder, $449.96)	None
Autofocus	n/a Contrast AF	n/a Contrast AF	25-area Contrast AF
Metering	256 zones	n/a	n/a
Shutter	20 - 1/4,000 sec; bulb to 60 minutes	30 - 1/2000 sec; bulb	30-1/2000 sec; bulb
Flash	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hot shoe	Yes	Yes	No
LCD	2.8-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch fixed 921,600 dots	3-inch fixed 921,600 dots
Image stabilization	None	None	Optical
Video	1080/60p/30p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	1080/30p/25p/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	1080/60p/50p AVCHD Stereo
Manual iris and shutter in video	n/a	n/a	Yes
External mic support	Yes	No	No
Wireless connectivity	None	Optional (with WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter)	None
Battery life (CIPA rating)	330 shots	230 shots	330 shots
Dimensions (WHD, inches)	5.0 x 2.9 x 2.1	4.4 x 2.6 x 1.6	4.0 x 2.4 x 1.4
Weight (ounces)	15.7 (est.)	10.6 (est.)	8.5
Mfr. price	$1,299.95	$1,099.95	$649.99
Availability	March 2013	March 2013	July 2012

(Credit: Nikon USA)

On the plus side, it's relatively compact, just slightly bigger than the RX100 and significantly smaller than the X100s. It also has a larger, denser LCD display compared with the rather "meh" version on the X100s. I think the X100s' 35mm-equivalent lens is a little more practical than the Nikon's 28mm, though that's a personal preference; the Fujifilm's is a stop faster, though.

But there's quite a bit of a downside. I suspect the street price of the Coolpix A will be about $999 and the X100s about $1,099 (based on the price history of the X100), which would be pretty competitive -- if the Coolpix A had a built-in viewfinder. Nikon will be charging $450 for a relatively standard Reverse Galilean with 90 percent coverage. The X100s not only has one built in, but it's a cool hybrid one. Fujifilm's model also uses the company's OLPF-free X-Trans CMOS II and has a 9-bladed aperture for rounder, smoother out-of-focus areas, compared to the Nikon's 7 blades -- the minimum you can get away with for decent results. While the Nikon's sensor should be pretty good -- I think it's the same or similar to the one in the D5200 with some tweaks to optimize the light gathering in this design -- a lot of folks may still want to see significantly better image quality for the extra few hundred bucks over a camera with a smaller sensor like the RX100 or the Canon G1 X. And battery life? I thought 330 shots was bad for a $1,200 camera, but Nikon's rating of 230 shots is abysmal.

It'll be interesting to see how Nikon fares in this increasingly competitive market segment.