RedShark Review: OWC Envoy Pro SSD

A thumb drive on steroids and bootable at that, Ned Soltz has five out of town shoots over the next few months and reckons the Envoy Pro will be invaluable as media offload or preview files.

The folks at OWC have a great reputation for value and quality when it comes to storage, memory and accessories. And they are innovative.

As SSD technology matures and becomes more widespread, the devices also miniaturize. As an example, the VideoDevices Pix-E series of external recorders utilize mSata 2” SSDs in a USB3 enclosure for fast but compact storage.

OWC is now shipping its Envoy Pro Mini SSD external devices based upon an SSD drive which, while not specifically noted by OWC, is a 3” m.2 solid state module. And it’s nicely packaged in a USB3 stick enclosure barely larger than a conventional thumb drive.

Currently available in capacities of 120GB, 240GB and 480GB, and at prices ranging from $99.97 to $267.99, the Envoy Pro Mini is a great device for backup, for transport of large files or even for offloading camera media cards.

OWC is very careful to note that the product line, which maxes out at 480GB, does not have sufficient capacity to function as a media drive. But it can be formatted bootable either Mac or Windows which makes it an ideal emergency backup drive. Data transfer rates are obviously fast owing both to the speed of solid state memory as well as the USB3 interface.

OWC provides a full suite of utilities for both Mac and Windows including Intech Speed Tools for disk repair and maintenance, ProSoft Data Backup (Mac), and NovaStar NovaBackup (Windows). The drive comes from OWC with an installer which guides you through format and partitioning for Mac or Windows.

Just for the fun of it, OWC includes 3GB of freeware games and utilities on the drive. In the drive set up software, OWC provides the option of moving the software to another drive, leaving it in place on the Envoy or just deleting altogether.

I have the 240GB version. I love it. Fast. Portable. Just think of it as a thumb drive on steroids and bootable at that. I’ve got 5 out of town shoots over the next few months and the Envoy Pro will be invaluable as media offload or preview files. I highly recommend the Envoy Pro Mini SSD for remote work or even for bootable system backup.