The GoFlex Satellite is slightly thicker and larger than most other portable hard drives, but not onerously so. In fact, it's about comparable to Seagate's own 1.5TB portable GoFlex, and to some of Iomega's 1TB eGo models. Like the , the GoFlex Satellite has a adapter that plugs into the back of the drive; the use of to a potential world of modular peripheral adapters, but it also adds about a half-inch to the depth.

Inside the chassis you get a 500GB hard drive with a battery rated for up to 5 hours of continuous streaming (assuming a single stream), or up to 25 hours of standby use. The device also offers integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless (Wi-Fi being the secret to allowing a tablet with no ports to connect to the hard drive). On the outside are four functional additions: a DC input for the cleverly designed power cable, a power button to turn the Wi-Fi connectivity on and off, and two status lights on the top that show whether the wireless is on as well as the state of the battery's charge.

Seagate has ruggedized the drive's mounting inside its chassis, and improved its ability to withstand being transported helter-skelter. Seagate says, for example, that the drive was designed to endure being tossed into a backpack, and then being accessed from there--even while you're on the move.

Included in the box is a DC-input-to-USB 2.0 power cable. You can use this power cord to get juice through an extra USB port, via the 1.25-inch-square USB-to-wall-power adapter, or through the tiny USB-to-AC car adapter. It's a versatile design on the whole. My sole design gripe: The back cover that you can use to shield the USM adapter (if you prefer to pull off the USB connector) is difficult to remove.

In PCWorld Labs performance tests, the GoFlex Satellite earned a score of Good. It performed comparably to the Seagate GoFlex Pro, but other drives were incrementally faster on our tests.