Ideal Gifts: Transcend’s 1TB shockproof hard drive will save your digital life

In the Ideal Gifts series, The Next Web team shares personal recommendations for gifts to give this holiday season.

We all know the importance of backing up the data that lives on our machines. I have a 2TB Seagate hard drive on my desk which takes care of the bulk of what I produce on my laptop.

However, I had a minor revelation earlier this year when I bought Transcend’s 1TB ‘tough’ hard drive ($59). I do a lot of photography work and have pledged allegiance to the SSD army which means there’s not an awful lot of room for full-sized RAW imagery on my MacBook Pro.

I am also eternally destroying my tech. I seem to have a part of my sub-conscious dedicated to neglecting digital goods. I let smartphones get ruined by keys and coins.

My laptop acts as a splash guard for my legs when it comes to meal time. My headphones are tormented by the contortions of my backpack, emerging each time with a headphone cap missing or a cable wrapped around my laptop.

But this little hard drive takes all of this in its stride. It’s been reinforced to such an extent that it meets US military standards of wear and tear.

It has a 256-bit AES file and folder encryption and it has a three-year warranty meaning Transcend are pretty confident it’s not going to quit on you. It spent a week with me in West Africa being exposed to blistering heat, humidity and dust and still functioned flawlessly. 

Since using it I’ve kept my laptop clean, my photos safe and my track-record of destroying technology incident free. It may not be the most exciting Christmas gift, but my word, whoever receives it will thank you. 

➤ Transcend