Man, this is not bad for a run of the mill HDD case! Designed with the average user in mind, the Alpha-Data battery-powered 2.5″ HDD case has to be one of the nicer cases out there for 2.5′ drives. One feature that I thought was pretty slick was the one touch copy button. That could really come in handy.

HDD cases for both 2.5 and 3.5 inch drives are a dime-a-dozen these days. Alpha-Data tries to separate themselves from the pack with the “Copy BANK Case” - a 2.5″ HDD case that supports battery-powered operation and can be used independent of a PC as a storage device for digital cameras and mp3 players.

Alpha-Data will release a USB2.0 external 2.5″ HDD case that can operate on dry cell batteries, the “Copy BANK Case”, in mid January 2005. It will have no fixed retail price but the street price is expected to be approximately 6000 yen.

Using the included battery box and 4 AA batteries, the case can be used independently as a portable HDD. The case supports hard disk up to 80GB in size.

The case can be directly connected to a digital camera, mp3 player or self-powered USB storage class device. When the case’s “COPY button” is pressed, data is copied directly to the HDD.

The case can be used as a removable drive when connected to a PC. Power is provided by the PC’s PS/2 port or USB port using the included cable. Supported operating systems are Windows ME/2000/XP and Mac OS9 or later.

The case is made of aluminium. It measures W80 x D140 x H14 mm in size and weighs 80 grams. Included accessories include a number of cables (mini USB-mini USB, mini USB - USB, mini USB - USB (female)) and a carrying case for the HDD case and battery box.