reviewsTESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED
93 MA XIMUMPC DECEMBER 2005
CMS ABSmini 40GB
When a USB key just won’t cut it, it’s
time to bust out a handheld 40-gigger
like the ABSmini. This rakish drive packs
a 1.8-inch 40GB hard drive (also avail-
able in 20GB and 60GB) inside its chrome
shell, and uses a USB 2.0 bus-powered
interface. It achieves its “backup system”
status by including both file backup and
media-management utilities—handy apps
that are often missing from portable drive
bundles. Though it’s rather pricey, the
ABSmini works surprisingly well as a note-
book backup system.
Operation is straightforward. Because
it’s bus-powered, you just plug it into a
USB port and—badaboom, badabing—it
works. The USB cable includes a second
USB head to use in case a single port
doesn’t draw enough power, but we never
had any issues with it during testing. The
only weird thing is that the included USB
cable is incredibly thick—so much so that
it’s difficult to wrap the cable around the
drive when you’re not using it, so it just
dangles awkwardly from the drive.
You’ll backup your data with the
included BounceBack Express utility,
which is a very streamlined but power-
ful backup utility. A media copying utility
called copy2go is included as well for
copying audio and video, but the arcane
file structures it copies to the ABSmini are
difficult to organize. We love the backup
software, but copy2go is just silly.
Our only other issue is with the unit’s
paltry 4,200rpm 1.8-inch hard drive. Its
performance is on the slow side, but still
on par compared with similar drives. It’s
expensive, but the ABSmini delivers on all
its promises.—JOSH NOREMCMS ABSMINI 40GB
$260, http://www.cmsproducts.comSOUND TO GO
Logitech V20 Notebook
Speakers
Notebook PCs have terrific video capabili-
ties, and most can produce excellent audio,
too. Unfortunately, notebooks are usually
equipped with dreadful speakers—and
headphones won’t cut it when you’re pre-
senting to a conference room full of people.
We don’t think much of using USB to
drive speakers, but it makes perfect sense
with Logitech’s V20 powered notebook
speakers. Using a single integrated cable,
the speakers not only deliver surprisingly
good audio, they also enable you to control
your notebook’s disc-player functions (play,
pause, track skip, volume, and mute) with
a set of buttons on the right speaker cabi-
net. And because they draw power from
the bus, you don’t need to carry a second
power adapter or worry that your speaker
batteries will give up the ghost in the
middle of your pitch.
The V20s don’t get very loud—their
diminutive amp delivers just one watt to
each satellite. The two-inch high-excursion
driver, however, does a commendable job
delivering crisp highs and mids, while the
three-inch pressure drivers produce a mod-
icum of bass. This isn’t hi-fi, by any stretch
of the imagination, but neither is it the type
of sound system that sucks the enjoyment
out of your listening experience.
The speakers, which measure six
inches tall and three inches wide, are
propped up by kickstands that fold out from
the back. The well-padded travel case that
comes with the V20s doesn’t have a handle,
but you’ll probably slip the kit into your
notebook’s case anyway. And the whole
package will add just one pound, three
ounces to your baggage.
—MICHAEL BROWNLOGITECH V20 SPEAKERS
$80, http://www.logitech.comBACKUP DRIVE
3.12"6.44
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