Eagle Tech ET-CS2LSU2-BK (2.5'' SATA To USB Enclosure)

Eagle ET-CS2LSU2-BK

The Eagle Consus L series is Eagle’s external storage enclosure series. The Eagle ET-CS2LSU2-BK (that’s a mouthful) is a 2.5’’ SATA hard drive enclosure. It will support mobile SATA hard drives. And since current 2.5’’ SATA hard drives reach the maximum storage capacity of 500GB, it would mean that you can carry 500GB of data with you in a very small and compact space.

The Eagle Tech ET-CS2LSU2-BK is packaged in a cardboard box with the enclosure clearly visible. To be honest, I do not think the packaging does a good job showing off the enclosure. I would think a clear box maybe a better idea showing off just how thin and small this is. Luckily, you get a few pictures of the enclosure and marketing information on both sides of the box.

Eagle Tech includes a USB extension cable, a manual, and a driver CD in addition to the enclosure. The 25 page color manual shows the installation guide, setup the hard drive (partitioning and formatting), and general usage of the enclosure and external storage. It is a very nice guide for a first timer who is installing a hard drive. The enclosure will work with Windows 2000 and up, Mac OS 9 or higher, and Linux Operating Systems. No driver is needed if you are using Windows 2000 or higher and Mac OS X but for an older OS, the driver can be found on the CD.

The Eagle 2.5’’ enclosure is made with a nickel plated aluminum casing. On the front, there is actually a layer of leather padding to give it an elegant look. Although having a nice looking enclosure will not enhance its functionality or performance, it’s never a bad idea to have a cool and elegant looking device, especially if the device is meant to be portable. Imagine putting the enclosure in your suite pocket; it would actually look quite nice. I am sure that most people probably wouldn't guess that it is actually a hard drive enclosure. It could easily be mistaken for a PDA as the picture below shows.

Placing the enclosure next to the iPod Touch, the enclosure is a bit taller and slightly thicker. Next to my old IPAQ RX 3715, it’s a tad taller but just as thick. The slim design makes it very portably and easy to handle as well. With the enclosure measures 12.95 cm (L) x 8.89 cm (W) x 1.52 cm (H), you can see just how slim it is.

There is a short USB cable attached to the enclosure. The cable is way too short. If you are using a laptop with the enclosure the cable may be okay, but when the enclosure is connected to a desktop, the hard drive will be dangling off the USB port and that is really not a good idea. I would recommend Eagle Tech incorporate a slightly longer and a retractable cable for easy usage on the road. Of course, you can always use the included USB extension cable to hook up to the computer.

Eagle Tech has included a leader cover for the included USB cable. The cover will clip onto the front of the drive and hide the USB cable. Very nice. With the fold-over leather cover, the connector will be hidden and when it is needed, simply lift the cover up and use the connector.

An LED indicator for the HD activity and another one for power are on the front of the enclosure. I really appreciate Eagle Tech putting these lights on the enclosure. When the drive is in use, the light will blinks so you will know it’s not a good idea to unhook the drive. Nothing really to see on the back except a big piece of the aluminum metal.

Not much to see inside of the enclosure either, except a small PCB board with the SATA connector. AS you can see from the picture above, there is a small bag with two screws to be used to screw the leather cap to the back of the enclosure.

FEATURES

• Patented built-in USB cable
• Eliminates power adapter and data cable
• Supple fine grain leather
• Nickel plated solid steel
• Plug-n-Play USB 2.0
• Virtualization software by VMWare (30 day trial)
• Usage: Easy add-on storage for mobile users

SPECIFICATION

• Type: External drive enclosure
• Form Factor: 2.5”
• Hard Drive Compatibility: 320GB
• 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: Microsoft Win98SE/Vista/ME/2000/XP Mac OS 9.0 or higher Linux
• Dimension: 5.1 x 3.2 x 0.6 inch
• Weight: 0.9 lbs