Pros: I love the Standard USB port, I really dislike Mini-usb ports on my external enclosures. So this was a huge selling point. The installation was a bit snug, but it did fit and I've had no issues at all. The cable fits snug and has no wiggling when inserted which I like.

Cons: None. I really like this case.

Pros: bought on 10/14/2011 ... used as project drive. Many, many hours on the cradle already. Nice solid case. High precision fit on parts. Thick quality enamel paint job. Nice strong curves. Nice firm eSata cable fit. Same on USB. I will get more of these again.

Cons: none. not even minor.

Other Thoughts: worth the extra few dollars.

Pros: it does actually work electronically

Cons: The physical design is terrible!

1) It is impossible to install the drive in completely because the screws on the cap prevent it. I had to grind off the ends of the rails to make room for the screws.
2) Removing the screws for the cap was horrific. The plastic manufacturing is so cheap that one screw cannot be removed from the hole in the cap. The manufacture screws are installed so still I couldn't prevent stripping them when removing them.

So, moral of the story is: if you purchase this unit, be prepared with plenty of time and a dremel.

Other Thoughts: I THOUGHT I was getting a deal by buying this unit, but I guess you get what you pay for.

If you are looking for a eSata/usb enclosure, look somewhere else.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,
We try hard to provide our customers with the best service. If you have questions about our products, or anything that are not functioning or will not fit correctly, please feel free to write to us for assistance at support@vantecusa.com . We will try our best to assist and answer your questions. Thank you for looking into our products.
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: None for me

Cons: It doesn't fit my 12.5 mm hard drive. Now My 1TB harddrive is trashed from trying to install into this case. Huge waste of money!!

Manufacturer Response:

Hi,
We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We do provide a one year warranty from the date of purchase on your product, so feel free to get that exchanged for a brand new unit. Please contact support@vantecusa.com
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: The thought of a great Vantec product. Read CONs. I have owned many (10+) of Vantec's external enclosures, primarily the 3.5" enclosures which are of excellent build quality and have been faithfully running for years.

Cons: I recently have purchased 3 of their 2.5" enclosures, 2 of which have very poor manufacturing defects and will be returned. The first the SATA did not work. The replacement (that I have now) the screw holes in the drive plate do not match up with the drive, and the screw will not go the hole for the end cap. Unfortunately their quality, at least for the 2.5" enclosures, has dropped...

Other Thoughts: Have thought highly of their products for years, and have always recommended them. I can no longer do that for their 2.5" line.

Pros: - eSATA and USB 2.0 connections work as advertised
- High quality aluminum body
- Comes with both eSATA and USB 2.0 Y-Cables
- 4 Screws on the bottom hold the drive in place

Cons: - Blue LED light it a bit too bright, but not a big deal.

Other Thoughts: - People who complain about the drive moving probably forgot to put in the 4 screws at the bottom to hold the drive in place. It is literally impossible for the drive to move if you put in the 4 screws.
- Make sure your eSATA port is enabled as mine was set to disabled by default. this was on my Portege R835-56X laptop. I found the option in the power options in the control panel.

Pros: I'm correcting an earlier review on this, where I said that I was having problems with USB and this enclosure.

It turns out that the Y-cable and/or USB connector on the enclosure have some kind of detent, so you have to push the cable connector in until it "clicks". After I did that, USB also worked fine.

Per earlier review, eSATA works fine also, tested on a laptop with an eSATA adapter and also on a PC that had eSATA on it.

Cons: Still think the blue LED is too bright, but not a problem :).

Other Thoughts: The enclosure appears to work pretty well, with reasonable transfer rates with both USB 2.0 and eSATA.

Pros: I have this working with an older WD 250GB 2.5" drive that I removed from one of laptops. I've tested both the eSATA (both connected to my PC and to a laptop via an eSATA adapter) and interface works fine.

Cons: As someone has mentioned, the blue light on top is probably way too bright.

The main reason for deducting 1 egg is that is that with this one particular 250GB drive, I cannot see it via USB for some reason. I'm not sure if it's because the laptop manufacturer (Toshiba) put some kind of non-standard formatting on the drive. I can see the drive if I use the eSATA connection.

Other Thoughts: - It comes with both a USB Y-cable and an eSATA (both ends) cable. I wish that they included some kind of pouch.

- I read one of the other reviews about the drive moving, but there are 4 screws that attach the drive to a bottom plate inside, so I'm not sure how that (drive moving) would be possible.

Pros: I can use my drive without the case on.

Cons: Despite the fact that the box clearly says it will fit the high profile (12.5mm) 2.5" drive, the 1TB Seagate FreePlay ST1000LM010 so I've just had to use my drive without the case on.

Manufacturer Response:

We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. This enclosure does fit 2.5" 12.5mm hard drives, please contact support@vantecusa.com for any installation problems you have.
Best Regards, Vantec

Pros: Converts a SATA drive to eSATA/USB 2.0.

Cons: Enclosure is not tall enough to accomodate 12.5mm HDDs like the Seagate FreePlay 1TB drive I'm using it with. I could probably get it in if I wasn't concerned about destroying the drive and/or the controller board...

Other Thoughts: Can be used without the casing, but it's silly that I have to do so.

Manufacturer Response:

We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. 12.5mm HDD should be able to fit inside this enclosure. Please contact support@vantecusa.com for further assistance.
Best Regards, Vantec