Review: Head-to-Head: Seagate Replica vs. Clickfree

Windows interface means you don't have to learn a new menu convention to browse your old files. Dumping the data of only one (or all) of your multiple PCs takes less than 5 mouse clicks. Deleted files show up as dimmed icons, allowing you to identify them quickly as well as choose from multiple saved versions with a right-click. Hovering over an icon in your toolbar provides the date and time of your last backup plus the progress of all current data transfers. You can set up a password in the toolbar. TIRED Dock and multi-PC backup capability only provided with 500GB version. Full hard-drive recovery requires booting from a CD. Hard drive can only restore itself on identical models — you'll have to jump through several setup hoops when upgrading PCs. Windows-only means it fails to bridge the gap in inter-OSial households. $200, seagate.com Clickfree 500GB Portable Hard Drive It's hard to root for something that looks like the bastard stepchild of R2D2 and a metal soapbox. The Clickfree's plastic surface is unconvincingly painted to look like metal, while the top and bottom edges are shiny enough to reflect light back at you from any angle. We know that beauty is sometimes superficial, but it's hard to look at the Clickfree when compared with the deep silver and gentle curves of the Replica. Speaking of which, this drive is also $20 more than the Replica, which is perplexing since it looks like it was made with 10 bucks worth of parts. Seriously, am I supposed to plug this into my pretentious Dell Adamo or MacBook Pro? I don't think so. The clear visual distinction between the two drives isn't the only place their paths diverge. While both are intended to back up your storage with one cable and little fuss, the Replica provides several services that the Clickfree doesn't. Unlike the Replica, the Clickfree doesn't keep a "live," continuously updated mirror image of your computer. Instead, it chooses important files from your computer and organizes them by category — such as "Photos," "Presentations" and "Favorite Websites." It's a smart way to break down and organize file types. On the other hand, the Clickfree software's interface is just as chintzy as its hardware. It's more frustrating than helpful to browse through our backed-up files — an aimless search function is conducted through expanding and contracting vertically stacked folders, rather than by navigating icons. Even worse, there's no way to rename file folders yourself or even change how they're stacked. Come on guys, we need to exercise a little control over our metadata. Unfortunately, although the Clickfree Portable Hard Drive lives up to its name (backups start themselves after plugging it in), its bloated price tag and counterintuitive features made backing up only slightly less painful than the click-and-drag ways of yore. WIRED Takes backing up totally out of your hands. Backup of key files takes less than a minute from start to finish. Included software allows you to set a backup reminder, so you can't pretend you forgot to plug it in. Runs quieter than a sneaking ninja. Supports Mac OS X 10.5 (or later) as well as Windows.