Freecom Hard Drive XS

CrystalDiskMark 2.2 Results

Data throughput in Megabytes per Second (MB/s)
Longer bars are better

Personally, we prefer the look of the Samsung, which also has a much more physically secure mini USB port. Looks, though, are subjective, which is why the fetishistic styling of the XS is a likely to appeal as the hi-tech design of the Samsung or the more traditional look of the XD4.

Before we move on, we should mention the Turbo USB 2.0 utility Freecom bundles with the XS. This, the company claims, can boost file transfer speeds by "up to 40 per cent". It only works under Windows, by using an alternative USB driver, NinjaUSB.sys. We suspect it's from NTI, which provides the Windows back-up software, Shadow, Freecom bundles with the drive.