Samsung today announced its new S Series external hard disk drives consisting of a 2.5-inch drive S2 Portable and a 1.8-inch HDD S1 Mini. The new external drives are designed in a sleek high glossy casing with a leather back-cover for a professional look and feel. By incorporating a USB controller within the conventional hard drive, the Samsung’s S Series has a smaller case footprint vs. competing external hard drives.

Added features enhance the usability of Samsung’s external hard drives. A Samsung Auto backup function allows the user to program the default backup in real time or as scheduled. A SecretZone protects important files and data in the form of software-based AES-128bit or AES-256bit encryption. The external drive owner’s data is also locked with a password-protecting SafetyKey which ensures data security. A capacity gauge enables users to see at a glance how much space is available, used, or designated as backup storage

Samsung’s external hard drive S Series is available in 2.5- and 1.8-inch form factor devices. The 2.5-inch S2 Portable, weighing 154g, is available in 160-, 250-, 320-, 500-GB capacities. The S2 Portable’s smaller form factor is a 17 percent reduction over competing 2.5-inch drive and power consumption shows a maximum 30 percent reduction rate. The credit card-sized 1.8-inch S1 Mini comes in 80-, 120-, 160-GB capacities and weighs just 91g.

The S Series will be available in Q4 in the U.S. The new drives are designed in four colors: piano black, snow white, wine red, and chocolate brown.