Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus

The OneTouch 4 has more features than any other backup drive we’ve tested, and we’d be hard pressed to decide between it and the WD MyBook. We like how the MyBook does backups instantly, rather than on a schedule, but the MyBook does not provide for a full system recovery, nor does it offer file encryption. The OneTouch certainly has it beat when it comes to features, however we don’t like how the OneTouch doesn’t save your email by default, and how it can’t sync files between XP and Vista though. Though the OneTouch offers more features than the MyBook, these flaws drag it down one notch below the MyBook in our opinion. It’s worth pointing out that the basic MyBook has just USB though, and the OneTouch 4 Plus has both FireWire and USB, plus works on Macs in addition to your standard PC.

...I expected my internal hard drive to out-perform the the OneTouch 4 drive, however I did expect the OneTouch drive to come closer than it did to the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 1TB drive. I can safely say that I would suggest getting this piece of hardware to expand the capacity of your setup due to the results that I got when testing it, as well as the added value of the backup software that is bundled with the drive.

At the end of the day, the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a nice solution for 32 bit Windows users who value ease of use, but everyone else will want to take a serious look at the software packages offered by other companies (in terms of compatibility and customization) before spending hard-earned money. The software limitations, poor-performing Firewire and lack of eSATA support are the main reasons that this drive is getting a 5/10 rating.

Overall the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a very good hard drive for those looking for 1TB storage for a reasonable price, I found it for $233.99 at a popular online retailer. If you are looking for an external drive with a lot of storage, the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB would be a great purchase. The included software helps make it a great buy for the amount of storage you're getting.