The Europe-exclusive Packard Bell company has released quite an interesting line-up of external or portable HDD-based storage solutions over time, which provided exactly the basic features one might expect from such a device. However, that's not at all the case with the Store and Play model, launched back in the first half of 2006, a portable HDD that, beside the basic storage function, also provides a few multimedia playback features on the side.



Thus, much in the same manner as its other “cousins” from Packard Bell, the Store and Play features a tough, aluminum casing, designed to protect the fragile HDDs stored inside. And speaking of HDDs, it's worth mentioning the fact that the model incorporates a 3.5-inch IDE HDD with an 8 MB buffer and either 250 GB or 320 storage capacities.



However, the most important feature this thing has to offer is, as mentioned earlier, the multimedia playback capabilities. Thus, the device can play movies, photos or songs directly on the user's TV set, and also comes with its own remote control, a must in the case of any multimedia player.



The Store and Play connects to a computing system via USB, which means that it can attain maximum transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps, and also sports a LED indicator, which informs users whether the device is switched on or data is being transferred. Moreover, the device is very portable, as it measures just 110 x 195 x 29 mm, at a weight of just 830 grams.



Much in same way as most of the other devices of this type currently available on the market, the Store and Play also comes packed with a back-up feature, namely the PB data secure software, which allows users to carry out fast and secure back-up operations.



The Store and Play is still available at various retailers for around 180 US dollars, which is not that high a price, especially if we take into consideration the device's extra multimedia features.