A Closer Look

The first thing to keep in mind is that this unit is a prototype. The finished retail product may or may not look like this review sample. Upon unwrapping the Vault from its protective bubble wrap, you are greeted with the pleasant surprise of having the unit encased within a protective plastic box. The box also holds the USB cable which has a mini USB jack on one end to connect to the Vault and a dual standard USB connections on the other end. One connection is for data and the other for power. A good design so no other external power device is needed.


The first thing noticed when taking the Vault out of its protective box is that the unit is made of plastic. Some may think that if you were to name a product “Vault”, it would be made out of a more durable material. That aside, the Vault is around the same size of most other 2.5” enclosures. The unit has a dark brown finish with a textured aluminum overlay on the top. Having a look at the sides there are chrome vents to aid in cooling of a hard disk and at one end of the unit, there is a mini-USB jack, along with an optional power connector.


Having a closer look at the top of the unit, we see where the NexStar Vault gets its name. A fully functional security keypad is there to gain access to private files. They keypad is pretty straightforward going from 0-9. Above the keys are a LED power indicator along with another indicator labeled “Invalid." Most of the time we like to take these type of units apart and show you what is inside and what makes these devices work. Unfortunately, the design of the NexStar Vault doesn't make that possible for this review as taking it apart would essentially render it useless. One would suppose this design would keep someone from maliciously tampering with the unit as the only way to read the private date is by using the Vault.