wd my book essential usb 3.0 back.jpgWestern Digital today introduced its new My Passport® Essential™ portable hard drive, My Passport® Essential™ SE portable hard drive, and My Book® Essential external hard drive. All three drive families come in a variety of capacities and offer lightning-fast USB 3.0 connectivity. Highest industry capacity is another key feature for the My Book Essential drive, which is now available in 3 TB capacity, in addition to 1 and 2 TB capacities. Equipped with WD SmartWare™ visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up all of their digital memories, such as high-resolution photos and videos, along with music and other critical files, all in one place.

The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 5 Gb/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.

My Passport Essential, still WD's smallest portable drive, is available in a 500 GB capacity and comes in five fun colors – Midnight Black, Cool Silver, Real Red, Pacific Blue and Arctic White (Arctic White only available in EMEA and APAC). My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives are available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities and come in stylish black, silver, metallic blue and metallic red colors. The pocket-sized My Passport portable hard drives are powered directly through the USB cable; no separate power supply is needed.

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Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced its new 375GB/platter, 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM, 2.5-inch hard drives – the Travelstar™ 5K750 and the Travelstar 7K750 hard drive families. Featuring the industry’s highest capacities in a standard 9.5mm two-disk design, the new drives come in capacities of 750GB, 640GB and 500GB. The drives are built on Hitachi’s proven platform for quality and reliability, and feature innovative technology that delivers high shock protection, low power and fast performance for a variety of notebook computers, external storage solutions, gaming consoles and other mobile devices.

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The Travelstar 5K750 and 7K750 drive families are the first Hitachi GST hard drives that feature Advanced Format. Advanced Format increases the physical sector size on hard drives from 512 bytes to 4096 (4K) bytes. This helps utilize the storage surface area more efficiently, allowing for increased drive capacities and improved data integrity at higher storage densities. By integrating Hitachi drives with the new Advanced Format, IT managers, system integrators and OEMs can take advantage of the latest operating systems to deliver new high-capacity, power-efficient systems.

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Cirago International, a leading manufacturer of multimedia centers, storage and wireless solutions, today announced the debut of its ultra-compact CST6000 Series USB 3.0 portable storage drive that offers SuperSpeed data transfers in a durable, pocket-sized, lightweight form factor for optimum portability.

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The 3 1/4" by 5 1/3" drive is just 1/2" thick, making it one of the slimmest USB 3.0 drives on the market. Leveraging this latest interface technology, the CST6000 series can achieve up to 10-times the transfer speed of USB 2.0. The product is available in 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB capacity with enough storage to host a substantial multi-media collection.

Unlike other similar products, the CST6000 features a durable iPhone-like aluminum case that is not only lightweight, but also stands up to heat and shock better than typical plastic shells. Specially designed for portability, the CST6000 comes complete with a carrying pouch to offer added protection when dropping the drive into a laptop bag, briefcase or backpack.

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With the ever-increasing demands of digital media, Toshiba introduces the Canvio 3.0 portable hard disk drive (HDD) featuring a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. For the same price as competing USB 2.0 drives, Canvio 3.0 drives offer blazing fast file transfers at up to 10 times the speed of USB 2.0 drives. Available in storage capacities of 500 gigabytes (GB), 750GB or one terabyte (TB), Canvio 3.0 drives feature simple plug-and-play operation, pre-loaded backup software, and backward compatibility with personal computers and other devices equipped with USB 2.0 ports.

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“Power digital consumers, and even typical PC users, are storing high definition video content, high resolution digital images, and multi-gigabyte music collections. When you consider that a single HD video can easily be three times the size of the same video in standard definition, it’s easy to see why file transfer speeds are just as important as storage capacity,” said Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “With the integration of the USB 3.0 interface, Canvio 3.0 drives significantly improve file transfer performance for large media files and dramatically minimize the wait time for backup and recovery processes.”

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Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer peripheral solutions, today announced the immediate availability of the Patriot Convoy 4x4 series of 5.25” bay enclosures for 2.5” Hard Disk Drives or Solid State Drives. The Patriot Convoy 425S and Convoy 425XL expand upon the award winning Convoy product line of 3.5” bay devices for two 2.5” drives.

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Designed with storage density and performance in mind, each Patriot Convoy 425S and 425XL storage device provides a simple to install solution for up to four 2.5” HDD or SSD with the 425XL offering RAID functionality. Displayed during the 2010 Computex trade show as part of a technology showcase with high capacity SSD systems, the Convoy 425XL was a key component for the Patriot Artemis II technology demonstration. Paired with 56 Patriot Inferno 100GB SSDs in RAID 0 configuration, the storage and performance benefits of this enclosure were evident: maximum storage density in a small space with extreme performance. In the Artemis II system, the Patriot Inferno SSDs and the Convoy 425XL achieved breathtaking performance of over 240,000 IOPS.

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Hard drives have long ago found a way to bring a digital library into the living room. In order to transfer videos, pictures and music from PC data carriers to appropriately equipped televisions, digital receivers, gaming consoles or HD media players it needed an external hard drive enclosure. Unfortunately, these usually came in a functional PC component design.

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An easy to use and suitable living room alternative is now introduced by Sharkoon. The accessory specialist has the pleasure of adding an elegant HiFi design to their QuickPort hard drive docking station. With its slim size, the Sharkoon SATA QuickPort Home assumes the look of a classic HiFi device due to its brushed aluminium front panel, which covers the entire display, and its black finish with round, silver foot stands.

Behind the front panel of the SATA QuickPort Home, two push-to-open slots for 3.5 and 2.5 inch SATA hard drives are hidden. As with other Sharkoon QuickPort models, handling is quite simple: Mounting the hard drive is not a time consuming endeavour, but merely inserted into its appropriate slot. The disk disappears completely into the housing. A preinstalled, temperature regulating fan ensures that the hard drive does not overheat during operation.

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In an exceptional blend of data protection, portability and simplicity, Toshiba has unveiled the newest addition to its Canvio line of portable hard drive solutions – the Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive family for the PC. Developed with ultimate usability in mind for the everyday consumer, the Canvio Basics requires only a single step to start saving and transporting important files: Plug it in. With no necessary software to install and available with 320 gigabytes (GB), 500GB, or 750GB of storage space, the Canvio Basics offers a hassle-free, high capacity storage solution right out of the box.

“With the Canvio Basics line, we wanted to bring an effortless digital storage solution to the masses,” said Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “This new drive offers a sleek solution with plenty of storage capacity for the growing amount of digital content, from photos and videos to music and documents. The Canvio Basics is a convenient and versatile choice for anyone who needs the peace of mind that comes with high capacity portable external storage.”

The Canvio Basics’ one plug ease-of-use is complemented by the drive’s stylish design, courtesy of a glossy black finish and soft, rounded edges. Despite its light weight and diminutive size, the Canvio Basics hits above its weight when it comes to keeping files safe. An Internal Shock Sensor, Ramp Loading Technology, and a three year Limited Warranty combine for added peace of mind whether going from the dorm to the lecture hall, the home office to the conference room, or wherever else the Canvio Basics is needed.

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Designed to address the explosive worldwide demand for digital storage, Seagate today launched the world’s first 1.5 terabyte (TB) 2.5-inch portable external drive. Available immediately, the new 1.5TB FreeAgent® GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive delivers an all-in-one, technically advanced solution to help store, share and enjoy libraries of digital content in one’s preferred medium—whether on a Mac or PC, or a television, at home or on the go. With 1.5TB of capacity people can now store and carry up to 60 HD movies, 750 video games, thousands of photos or countless hours of digital music.

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“Today’s announcement is a ‘triple-crown’ of consumer technology—packaging record breaking capacity, blazingly fast USB 3.0 connectivity and the bonus of movie entertainment—making the 1.5TB GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive an unprecedented and innovative solution,” said Darcy Clarkson, vice president of Global Retail Sales and Marketing for Seagate. “Bringing this solution to market on the heels of our 3TB GoFlex™ Desk drive and the Momentus® XT solid state hybrid drive is proof of Seagate’s continuing technology leadership and tradition of setting storage industry milestones.”

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Today’s consumers are looking for simple technology solutions that allow them to swiftly and safely back up their ever-growing digital photo collection. With a quick, one-time software installation, the Memorex Mirror for Photos external hard drive automatically backs up photos when connected to the computer without having to open numerous settings, dialogs or having to navigate multiple menus.

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Mirror for Photos is a fast, smart and maintenance-free method of backing up photos and takes the guesswork out of protecting one’s precious memories. Its built-in software automatically runs each time the device is connected to a PC or MAC, finds photos and backs them up. This eliminates the hassle of manually backing up photos each time they are uploaded on a computer. A unique monitoring feature detects when new photos are present and reminds the user to connect Mirror for Photos.

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Imation Corp., a market leader in data storage, expanded its award-winning Apollo family of external hard disk drives (EHDD) to provide leading-edge technology, professional design and stylish value for portable and desktop storage.

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The updated Apollo line delivers solutions ranging from personal to professional use, updated designs and next-generation software that simplifies, automates and personalizes backup for up to two terabytes (TB) of data. In addition, the portfolio’s flagship drive, the Apollo Expert D300, employs leading-edge USB 3.0 technology to move data up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0-based drives.

“The explosion of large multimedia files, such as high-resolution photos and video, and the fact that even small businesses can be data-intensive, means households and businesses need to capture and save more digital information than ever,” says Jason Elles, global brand leader for Imation. “Whether they’re seeking exceptional value or high speeds, using a drive personally or professionally, or backing up their desktop or managing data on the go, there’s an Apollo external hard drive to utilize.”

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