CES '09: Turn any USB HDD into a Backup Device

We take an early look at Clickfree's latest tool that will turn any external USB drive into a backup drive.

Clickfree’s new line of backup products debuting at CES this morning aims to make preserving user data an easier task. While the company name is Clickfree, the more appropriate name to describe the backup products is “install-free.” Clickfree backup products will automatically run software upon the connection of one of its USB devices, though to operate the software itself requires several mouse clicks.

Today we received a demo of the new “Transformer Cable” from Clickfree. What’s notable about this device is that it’s able to turn any USB external hard drive into a backup device. Clickfree claims that any drive of any brand and capacity are compatible.

Once the software loads up, it searches for various picture, music, video, document files in a variety of different formats and copies them retaining directory structure. This method of backup isn’t the same as creating a “ghost” image of a drive for a full restore of a system onto a blank drive, but rather it’s a tool for those who wish to preserve unique files such as photos and school work.

The Clickfree software backup would be ideal for those migrating to a different machine, or for those who just wish to start from a fresh install of Windows. Furthermore, though not directly related to software backup, the Clickfree software will perform the secondary functions of cataloguing photos for emailing or even uploading to Facebook or MySpace.

The Clickfree Transformer USB cable is set to retail for $59.99. Clickfree will also offer a 1TB complete package for $229.99, but the Transformer USB cable really caught our eye because it’ll work across more than one drive, and perhaps even still be useful for when even 1TB drives seem too small.

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