INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   We are all well aware that portable data storage needs are always on the rise so it's not surprise really that most professionals (and even regular consumers) are currently looking to get their hands on high-capacity portable hard disk drives. Unfortunately, although 3.5" drives have already hit 16TB (and as mentioned in our reviews last year they should hit 20TB by the end of this year) in capacity 2.5" models are still stuck at 5TB (with 6-7TB models on the way) which means that 4/5TB portable hard drives are the highest capacity single-disk models currently available in the market. Toshiba recently added the "standard" Canvio Ready range of USB 3.0 portable hard drives in their product line and today with us we have the top 4TB variant.

   Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (TEE) is the European electronic components business of Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation. TEE offers a broad IC and discrete product line including high-end memory, microcontrollers, ASICs and ASSPs for automotive, multimedia, industrial, telecoms and networking applications. The company also has a wide range of power semiconductor solutions as well as storage products including HDDs, SSDs, SD Cards and USB sticks. TEE was formed in 1973 in Neuss, Germany, providing design, manufacturing, marketing and sales and now has headquarters in Dusseldorf, Germany, with branch offices in France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. TEE employs approximately 300 people in Europe. Company president is Mr. Akira Morinaga.

   Since the Canvio Ready line of portable hard drives (currently available in 500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB capacities) is marketed as "standard" it doesn't offer much in terms of looks (always compared to their "premium" and "advanced" Canvio lines) so inside the somewhat plain plastic enclosure (features four rubber feet and a white/blue activity LED - white for USB 2.0 and blue for USB 3.0 connectivity) Toshiba placed their latest (and for unknown reasons still officially unannounced) 4-platter 2.5" hard disk drive (MQ04UBB400/SATA III/5400RPM/16MB). Last but not least Toshiba covers the entire Canvio Ready line of portable hard drives with a 2 year limited warranty.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toshiba ships the Canvio Ready inside a small green box that has a large product picture at the front, the company logo and the 2 year limited warranty.

 

 

The system requirements and bundle contents are printed on the left side.

 

 

Moving at the rear of the box we find the main product features in 10 languages.

 

 

Along with the Canvio Ready 4TB and its USB 3.0 cable you will also get a support and regulatory information papers.

 

 

THE CANVIO READY 4TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 236g heavy Canvio Ready 4TB Portable Hard Drive measures 119mm in length, 80mm in width and 21.5mm in height.

 

 

To have a better idea about its size we placed the Canvio Ready 4TB right next to the Silicon Power A85 and A80 2TB Portable Hard Drives and the Samsung T3 500GB Portable SSD.

 

 

The activity LED is located on the upper right corner and as mentioned earlier it turns on white for USB 2.0 connectivity and blue for USB 3.0.

 

 

The USB 3.0 host port is placed on the right side of the enclosure.

 

 

At the base we see four small round rubber feet and a sticker with information about the drive.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. This time however we will be comparing the product at hand with a wide range of 2.5" portable drives and standalone 2.5" enclosures all of which were benched using a HGST 7K750 SATA II hard disk drive. Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers are recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to the 10th of April 2019.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – TEMPERATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Although for a 2019 model we were surprised to see that the Canvio Ready line does not (yet) include a 5TB model (mainly because Toshiba doesn’t have a 5TB 2.5” internal HDD currently) 4TB is not a small capacity and should easily cover the majority of consumers and many professionals alike. Read and write performance levels are also very good and although we’ve seen faster drives to date the Canvio Ready 4TB does not disappoint. The plastic enclosure is also quite good although yes, we do prefer the more elegant and higher quality ones used in the more expensive “advanced” and “premium” lines.

   The Canvio Ready 4TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive by Toshiba currently retails for USD143.23 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 114.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is actually a tad higher than what we were expecting on the other side of the Atlantic. That being said pricing in the EU is somewhat balanced and that along with its very good performance levels and plenty of capacity are enough for the new Canvio Ready 4TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive to get highly recommended by us.

 

PROS

- Build Quality
- 4TB Capacity
- Compact Size
- Very Good Read & Write Performance
- Low Temperatures

CONS

- Price (USA)
- Only Up To 4TB