This portable recording device is primarily used for data backup. It is comparable to a Zip Disk, but it utilizes tiny cassettes as opposed to Zip drives. By receiving data from the computer and recording it to the cassette, the drive functions like a tape player. Tape drives are not feasible for the majority of storing needs because they have to search through a lot of tape to retrieve tiny quantities of dispersed data.

They are therefore almost solely employed for data storage. The advantage of tape drives is that they frequently have big data storage capabilities for less money than hard drives of comparable size. Additionally, periodic copies (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) can be made using a number of cassettes, which is much less expensive than using a number of hard disks.