Freecom Mobile Drive CLS

Freecom, a Mitsubishi Kagaku Media company, unveiled a new concept for collecting and organising data on multiple external hard drives with the launch of the Mobile Drive CLS, a compact, 2.5" external hard drive that users can label to match the content on the drive. The CLS concept – which stands for ‘Collect, Label & Store’ – makes it easy for users to organise their data by enabling them to sort and file it on multiple drives – each of which can be categorised with an assortment of eight coloured, customisable labels.

Many people rely on hard drives to store all kinds of multimedia content, but with the increasing amount of information being used on a daily basis it can be difficult for users to keep track of everything and find individual files easily. The Mobile Drive CLS gives users the option to reliably store different types of data on separate drives, allowing them to sort their files into a system that best reflects their lifestyle and usage habits.

Designed in collaboration with acclaimed Belgian designer Sylvain Willenz, the Mobile Drive CLS shares many of the same features as Freecom’s popular Mobile Drive XXS, which won the red dot ‘Best of the Best’ award in 2009. The drive measures up at just 109.8 x 79.5 x 13.5 mm, making it small enough to be slipped easily into a handbag or even a pocket when users are on the move. The absence of a cooling fan means that the drive runs quietly, and a form-fitting rubber enclosure gives the drive a luxurious look and feel, while also reducing vibration and adding extra grip when placed on a desk.

"With so much information being created on a daily basis both at home and in the office, the need for extra storage space is rapidly increasing," said Axel Lucassen, managing director at Freecom. "Because of this, it has become common for people to own more than one external hard drive. More often than not, the content saved on these drives is very diverse, because users need to back up and store everything from movies and music to important business documents. This can easily lead to information overload – with the wide variety of data stored on these drives, it can be very difficult to find a particular file, song or video quickly."

The Mobile Drive CLS enables users to separate different types of files and store them on multiple drives that are clearly labelled. An optional three port USB dock allows users to connect more than one drive to their computer at once – enabling them, for example, to access their music, photo and movie drives all at the same time.

"The possibilities are endless – users could allocate one drive for music, another for work documents and another for full system backups, or simply give one to each family member so that everyone has their own device for their own files," continued Lucassen. "With a clear labelling system, all it takes is a quick glance to find the drive they’re looking for, making it easier than ever to organise and keep track of data."

Powered through the USB port, the Mobile Drive CLS does not need an adapter, and the compact USB cable will not get tangled up when users need to carry their drive with them. The Mobile Drive CLS is ideal for making quick ‘drag and drop’ copies of important files, and comes with easy to use backup software. Safety-conscious users can also protect their drive against hard drive crashes with the Freecom Data Recovery Service. For 24.95 GBP, end users simply register their device, and in the event of a hard drive crash, Freecom will typically recover all data within two weeks and return it to the user with no additional costs for postage and packaging. Cover lasts for three years and without this kind of protection, full data recovery can easily cost up to 1,500 GBP.

In Europe outside UK, the Mobile Drive CLS is available in 250, 320, 500, 640 and 750GB capacities with MSRP of €79, €89, €109 and €129 respectively. The dock station with three USB ports costs €17,95.