Strutting its stuff the Vizo Saturno 2.5” External Hard Drive Enclosure is simple and comes with an abundance of accessories. With everything from software, to a case, and an OTB system, the Saturno is quite a competitor on the hard drive enclosure market.
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Specifications

Vizo Saturno 2,5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure (SAT-250)

Dimensions 5.3“ x 3“ x 0.6“ (135mm x 76mm x 15mm) (LWH)
Weight: 0.17lbs (75g) w/o HDD
Material: Aluminum and Plastic
External Interface: USB 2.0 (480 MB/s max)
eSATA (3.0Gbps max)
Color: Mirror Black, Mirror Blue, Mist Black, Pearl White

Form Factor: 2.5”
Supported HDD Height: 9.5mm
Supported OS: Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista or Mac 10.2 above

Price: Around 40$

First Impressions

In conventional Vizo fashion the enclosure came in two boxes. Aside from the actual enclosure and screws, Vizo included a screw driver, microfiber cloth, case, driver disc, manual, eSATA cable, USB to DC cable, USB to USB cable and a SATA to eSATA adapter kit with bracket for desktop PCs.

The manual is quite detailed and should be able to guide any user through the process of installing a hard drive. Furthermore, the case, although thin, provides adequate protection while carrying your hard drive and cables.

Design

Out of the box the hard drive enclosure came separated for quick installation. The top and bottom sections of the enclosure are manufactured out of aluminum while the middle section is plastic. Although some would claim the combination makes for a weak design, we found the enclosure to be quite durable. To help ease any possible flex, Vizo reinforced the base with a strip of plastic.

The enclosure comes in four colors, Mirror Black, Mist Black, Pearl White, and in our case Mirror Blue. Like a mirror, the Mirror Blue enclosure reflects its surroundings. However, like most reflective metal or glossy surfaces the surface of the Saturno is a fingerprint magnet. To resolve this Vizo included a microfiber cloth.

On the top part of the enclosure, there are two status lights, one for power (blue) and the other (red) to indicate usage. The rear features an eSATA port, capable of 3 Gb/s, and a USB port. Further, there is an AC adapter input for powering the hard drive when connected by eSATA. There are also two buttons; these buttons are for the OTB (One Touch Backup) solution. They are designated for “file” or “OS” backup.

On the inside the Saturno features three square rubber pads designed to reduce vibration and sound and to provide a snug fit for the hard drive. Moreover, they also included rubber feet on the underside, keep vibration next to nothing and providing solid grip.

The installation of the hard drive is rather simple but can get tricky. To install a hard drive, you must slide the hard drive into the bottom section of the enclosure at an angle of around 25 degrees. Once there is a quick click, the hard drive can be laid down in the inclosure. To close the enclosure, simply put the top on and screw the provided screws in all four corners of the enclosure.

Software

To power the OTB (One Touch Backup) feature of the Saturno, Vizo included a copy of Fnet’s PCClone EX. PCClone EX allows the user to instantly backing up specific files or creat a back up of the entire OS after plugging in their Saturno and clicking a single button on the rear of the enclosure.

Unfortunately, the CD only contains the software for supported OS’s except for Windows Vista. We struggled with the installation of PCClone EX on our Vista machine and were unable to run without error; in order to install the software on a Vista PC it must be downloaded from Fnet’s site.

After installation, PCClone EX runs in the background. To open the software, there is an icon on the taskbar. The interface is simple to operate; there are tabs to flip through back up methods, settings and other various features. These features include the ability to select a compression ratio, set hot keys for system or files back up, select which files are backed up and more. There are also more advanced options such as the ability to format the external hard drive from PCClone EX.

In the end PCClone EX is simple yet effective, without pages of features it makes it simple for nearly anyone to utilize it. Furthermore, its features get the job done and make for a quick and easy USB only backup solution.

Benchmarks

USB 2.0	E-SATA

Conclusion

We found the Saturno to be quick, simple and effective. With its eSATA port and other connection options, the Saturno offers a wide choice for users. Moreover, the provided accessories proved to be useful and so did the software. Even though there were issues, at the end of the day, PCClone EX got the job done.