Jobo Giga One Digital Storage Device Review

The Jobo Giga One is a mass storage unit. That’s it. It is that simple. The difference with this one though, is that it is very simple, efficient and above all, affordable. We take a look at what it does and doesn't’t do.

Specification

Memory cards Supported	Compact Flash I/II, Microdrive, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, MS Duo, SM, XD
Display	1.8"
Hard Disk	30GB 2.5" Hard Disk
Power Source	Built in Li-ion battery NP-60 (1035 mA)
Download interface	USB 2.0 Transfer speed up to 480Kbps (USB 1.1 compatible)
OS Supported	- No drivers required for systems above Win2000 (with SP4) - Drivers required for 98/98se, Win2000 without SP4 - Supported systems: Win ME/XP and Linux Kernel 2.4 - No drivers required for systems above Mac OS 10.01 - Driver is required for Mac OS 8.6-9.0
Weight	254g
Dimensions	115 x 78 x 25 (LxWxH mm)
Includes	- Mobile Photo Hard drive GIGA ONE 30GB - Power supply - Soft Case - CD-Software - USB Cable - Instruction Manual
Price	- £109.99

Handling and use
Supplied in the box with the unit are a power cable, USB cable, soft case and instruction manual. There is also a CD with drivers for some of the older operating systems, however, these were not needed when using XP.

The simplicity is down to doing just what it says on the box. The unit is just a storage unit that has no review facilities or any other bells and whistles either. Controls are minimal, with a button to turn it on/off and another button to copy data from any one of the card slots. There are three of these, taking a total of ten different card types.

With a capacity of 30Gb, the Giga One has enough space for all but the most snap-happy for say, a fortnight’s holiday and for most would not reach its capacity for far longer.

The unit, which at 115x78x25mm and a mere 254g in weight is not much bigger than some card wallets, sports a 1.8inch LCD screen supplying such information as capacity left, card inserted, transfer status in percent, battery life remaining and the card type that is inserted. You cannot, however, review pictures on this screen. You can review them on a computer screen once the unit is plugged in via the supplied USB2 cable (USB1.1 compliant) where the Giga One acts just like an extra hard drive on the PC. While using on the PC, it is best powered by the included power supply/battery charger.

Transfer rates are good, with a 1Gb card copying in a little over 6 minutes and battery life was good for 8 to 10Gb of work, easily enough for most people to store a days shooting, even when working in RAW. The instructions state that the unit will shut down after 45secs if not being used in order to save battery life although in practice this was nearer a minute. However, once the unit is connected to the PC, this battery saving function is disabled, hence the recommended use of the power supply.

The only practical complaint is the length of the USB cable, which, at 1m is a little short especially if you only have USB ports on the back of your tower or a hub mixed in with a birds nest of tangled cables. In these cases, the unit ends up on the floor as the cable is not long enough for it to sit comfortably on the desk!

Verdict
The Jobo Giga One is a good buy as it holds such a large amount of data. It's ideal for digital photographers who shoot large number of images, especially if Raw is the chosen format. It's far cheaper than the equivalent number of solid-state memory cards. The downside with this unit, and many of the lower priced back up devices, is the lack of confidence that your images are safe because you cannot look at them on the unit's screen in the way you can on more expensive devices. That aside, it is a good solution.

In summary, the positive points of the Jobo Giga One are:
Compact enough to carry in a pocket.
Large enough capacity for most users.
Simple to use
Price makes the unit affordable

The negative points are:
USB cable too short
No indication of files on drive, only space. (unless connected to PC)

Check out the latest price for the JOBO Giga One here

Test by Ian Andrews www.wildaboutkent.co.uk