Today’s computing world is definitely a mobile one, with a laptop more likely to be the preferred computing device if you need to get work done.While laptops have come along in leaps and bounds in recent years to the point where they should be more than powerful enough for most people’s needs, one area where they still lag behind desktop machines is in storage. Sure, you can configure a laptop with a couple of terabytes of storage when you buy it, and if you’re lucky you might even be able to add an additional drive later in your machine’s life, but that pales in comparison to what you can add to a desktop, especially in terms of capacity.Going on the road with a laptop also makes backing up your data, particularly any jobs you start while you’re on the move, trickier, especially if your work involves photos and videos. Therefore, the chances are you’re going to need an external hard disk or two to either expand the storage capacity your machine has access to or to back up what’s on your laptop when you’re out and about..This 1TB drive from Lexar could be a solution to your problem. Literally fitting within the palm of your hand, measuring in at 60x86mm dimensions, it’s a petite little unit in dark grey plastic with a lighter metal piece on top. Connection is via USB-C port, with USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables included in the box, with USB 3.1 being the supported protocol.Performance is claimed to be up to 550MB/s read and 400MB/s write. Despite trying to copy both a single 29GB file as well as 100 1GB files across from the drive to an m.2 SSD drive in my system, I couldn’t hit that 550MB/s transfer rate. The maximum I saw was about 470MB/s transferring the single large file. The multiple file copy always started out strongly but then faded away to around 100-120MB/s; if I had a lot of data to take off this drive I’d still be off to put the kettle on when the transfer started.Aside from being small the drive is also light. In fact that’s a bit of an issue as it doesn’t feel especially sturdy. While the box claims that the drive resists drops, shock and vibration, I’m not sure I’d want to put the first two of those to the test. Nor does it claim any dust or water resistance, which would be a bit of a mark against it if I were using it for backup duties on the move.Overall this isn’t a bad little device to use around the home to expand your storage options for a laptop but if you wanted something to take on the move I’d probably be tempted to look for something more rugged, even if that probably would mean spending more, just to be sure a moments carelessness didn’t see the drive damaged.