Brando churns out new HDD dock, all is well with the world

We've decided to start using Brando's tireless refreshes as a sort of economic barometer -- if an entire calendar month passes without a brand spanking new HDD dock, we'll know we are in trouble. Seemingly content with its high-end offering, Brando has gone back to basics with the SATA Dual HDD Docking Station, which has space for a pair of 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives, but eschews the usual multicard reader. You get an eSATA extension kit in the package for suckling power and data from your computer, but that's pretty much it. Is it convenient? Sure. But at $63 we'd expect a little bit more -- like maybe bundling the hard drives for free.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:08PM]

ooo! I was just looking for an enclosure...but i have two 3.5's laying around...

[Ryan Trevisol Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:13PM]

$63 is a little steep for an enclosure that doesn't really . . . enclose.

Does anyone have any experience with Brando's reliability? One of the reasons I'm ditching external HD's for a file server is that enclosures tend to be rather flaky.

[Tonezorz Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:13PM]

Haha. They said we'd.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:15PM]

I wouldn't like to put certain brands of disk in such close proximity - you'd be able to fry eggs after an hour's defragging...

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:17PM]

Brando - it has what plants crave.

[kopas Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:23PM]

Idiocracy FTW!

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:27PM]

It's got electrolytes!

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:32PM]

Stop it, you idiots.

[Farris Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:45PM]

Anyone want to run to Starbuck's with me?

[c w j Posted Aug 13th 2009 8:26PM]

no, Brando is what bytes crave.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:20PM]

what would engadget suggest for a cheap, basic, good hdd dock?

support for 1 2.5" or 3.5" hdd with esata and usb (and/or firewire) is all i want. no multicard or hdmi or "easy" back-up button or other shit.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 3:24PM]

i would recommend the following

http://www.vantecusa.com/front/product/view_detail/277

Just bought one, a little steep but can handle RAID JBOD, etc...also it has a fan and an intake

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 4:26PM]

It also comes with all the parts. 2 sata cables(maybe 6'?) Easily 10 bucks each for those if you went to a local store. 2 internal sata cables and a bracket which is about another 10 bucks.

That's about 30 bucks off it right there.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 4:34PM]

I already have a HD dock made by some other company, it only holds one 3.5 or one 2.5 at a time but I love it. So convenient.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 8:18PM]

2 HDD's are better than one but a bit more space between the two hdd's and maybe a fan on the bottom wouldn't have hurt.

This is a docking solution and not an enclosure. This gadget is meant for the on the fly convenience. I have extra 3.5" sata3 drives that I keep backup and longterm data on so I use a thermaltake blacX usb/e-sata hdd docking station instead of physically installing the drives. It's great for pc repair as well if the pc you're fixing has sata drives. If the OS wont boot and you have to use a working pc to recover the data, you don't have to worry about opening and installing in your pc or rebooting.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 13th 2009 9:54PM]

pardon me fellas but it just said DOCK right? then why the heck are you whining about ENCLOSURE! big difference!

@pulse077
nice job man for explaining to this 1st graders.

[Funke Tobias Dr Posted Aug 14th 2009 12:39AM]

Brando, the King and I, and the Catcher in the Rye.

[Harrison Posted Aug 14th 2009 1:32AM]

Eisenhower, Vaccinne, England's got a new queen.

[Vlad Savov Posted Aug 14th 2009 1:45AM]

Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye!

(don't let it be said Engadget writers aren't hip)

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 14th 2009 2:56PM]

Yes I agree $63 is high for a bare dock. I bought 2 full blown 2 drive enclosures for $50 each.