Multicard-lovin' dual SATA HDD dock keeps the dream alive

It's funny, really. Years back, we figured this SATA HDD dock was a one-off device that would get swept under the rug as quickly as it reached prominence. And yet, here we are in May of 2009 looking at the latest iteration of a product that won't ever stop reinventing itself. Brando's Dual SATA HDD Multi-Function Dock with One Touch Backup (yeah, seriously) doubles up on elder models by holding two 2.5- or 3.5-inch hard drives, and it also accepts a litany of flash cards. Lastly, this adds an eSATA connector to the traditional USB 2.0 socket for a bit more flexibility, but we still can't justify the $89 price if you already own a predecessor (or three).

[(Unverified) Posted May 21st 2009 1:26PM]

I want.

[(Unverified) Posted May 22nd 2009 12:07PM]

Hey, it comes with complaints built in! - from their website description...

Complaints with USB 2.0 transfer up to 480Mbps
Complaints with e-SATA transfer up to 3Gbps

Where else can you get such a bargain?

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 13th 2009 4:38PM]

Wull I've bought one. The next day after this article was poste on Engadget.
It took Brando 11 day's to deliver it from Hongkong to the Netherlands.

Here's what I think (so far) of this dock:

I'm using 2 Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint sATA drives.
The drives are connected through the USB port. At the moment my PC has no eSata port.

The temperature in my house is around 22' C today and the drives run terribly hot within 10 minutes.
I've DIY a USB connector to a 12V fan and ductaped the gap between both drives shut, with only two small openings at the botom on each side.
The 5 V from the USB makes the fan run silent and after an hour of copying to the drives, the are still cold.

Some other problems:
The power button and One-Touch button both get stuck very often. Pretty bad construction.
The red Power and green Backup lights are impossible to see if you aren't standing straigh over the docking station. Both blue leds (drive activity) are clearly visable.

I have the feeliong that the drive's do not spin down after a period of non-activity. I need to test this further.

Last but not least, WHY did they forget to put in an CF card reader???? The box states 64-in-1 Memory Cards. And they forget on of the most used (by professional photographers)
CF cards......

USB Speed is fine. It's reading 16 MB/s copying files from the internal SATA drive to the Docking station drive. I've now need to sort out what extra eSata controller buy. I need one that uses 300 MB/s but also has Multiport support. Otherwise you can't use both eSATA drives simultaniously. Good advide here is welcome.

Conclusion:
So far, looking at the performance: GREAT over USB.
Construction of the docking station: Below par.
Drives overheat fast without extra (DIY) fan construction.

Question: Do the drives spin down after period of non activity?

[mtstew Posted Jun 19th 2009 3:44PM]

Just thought it was worth mentioning that I just got this biatch in the mail today, and I've been using it, and it's great so far. I'll update if something negative happens, but I love it so far.