No problems so far...

Even though I am usually an external drive builder rather than a buyer of the drive itself, after seeing very good deals on the drive and the trust I have on Seagate brand, I decided to try the Seagate FreeAgent Drive.

I was able to install the drive quickly and without any problems. Not dealing with any screws after getting drive is not bad.

Immediately after installation, I started transferring a large batch of files (both small- and large-sized files), and the speed I got was not much different than what I get from the other USB external drives I have (typically similar internal drives with Vantec, Kingwin, and Bytecc enclosures). For me, that was quick enough. The files transferred without any error. And, that no-error observation has not changed in the last two months I have used the drive.

The USB connection also didn't give me any headaches (no disconnects, crashes, etc.). I have used the drive on multiple machines, and on different ports, again no problem.

Regarding its appearance even though I usually prefer enclosures that can be stored easily (stacked together, for instance), I like the enclosure design of FreeAgent drive. It is not very big (unlike the older and uglier Seagate external drives), it stands with no risk of falling down accidentally, and allowing enough space on all sides for cooling the drive. The light the drive uses is more like a night light, not powerful, distracting, and irritating. It works very quietly and it doesn't get hot a lot.

The drive uses something like an automatic standby mode, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. I prefer to have the option of changing it without the need of going through the software (still it is not a big deal), as I don't wish the wake up the drive a few times in a short period of time. But, other than that, not having to deal with the on-off buttons, and power source is a nice and usable feature for most of the time.

Lastly, I have used the drive for extensive data reading and writing processes and not once I had observed any slowness or error.

In short, as I haven't observed any problem so far, and with the lengthy warranty it carries, I can only suggest the drive.