Inside this shiny black monolith: a whopping 1.5 terabytes of storage.
(Credit: Dell)Storage junkie that I am, I loved seeing terabyte hard drives dip below $100 this year, and then drop as low as $75.
Today we've reached another milestone: Dell has a Western Digital Elements 1.5-terabyte USB hard drive for $99.99 shipped. Yowza.
That's an awful lot of storage for less than $100. In fact, it's probably more than most people need, though I'd rather have too much space than too little.
The Elements sports a USB 2.0 interface. Curiously, Western Digital doesn't list the speed of the drive itself, which leads me to think it runs at 5,400 rpm, not 7,200. Consequently, it's probably not a performance dynamo, though I reckon it's fine for everyday tasks.
You can pair the drive with a Mac or Windows system; I believe it comes preformatted for the latter. (Thus, Mac users would need to reformat it, which is no biggie.)
The only real catch here is that Dell shows a ship time of "6+ weeks." Sheesh! Well, as long as you're not in a hurry, this is without a doubt the most bang you can get for your storage buck.
Bonus deal: Today only, you can get a refurbished Epson Stylus NX110 multifunction printer for just $19.99 shipped (with coupon code SAV40). Unreal, right? Amazingly, it includes a one-year warranty. Sadly, I've seen some fairly scathing user reviews of this model, so even at $20 it might not be worth it.
On Sale Now: $119.99 - $167.40
View the latest prices for Western Digital Elements Desktop (1.5TB)
If you've wished you could connect your external hard drive to your computer without having to use the USB cable, now you can.
Imation announced Thursday the availability of the first wireless USB external hard drive, the Pro WX. The hard drive works just like any other USB hard drive, with one exception: it doesn't require a USB cable.
The Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive.
(Credit: Imation)Wireless USB has been under development for about five years, and some of the first products were demoed at CES 2009. This technology allows you to connect USB 2.0 devices to a computer wirelessly from up to 30 feet away with a throughput speed of up to 480Mbps.
According to Imation, the Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive offers less than that, with speeds of up to only 120Mbps or 15MBps; this is about three times slower than regular USB 2.0 hard drives. At this speed it can finish copying the entire content of a CD-ROM (roughly 800MB) in about 50 seconds. Other than that, this drive is based on the 3.5-inch desktop hard drive and offers 1.5TB of storage.
The Imation Pro WX features a sleep-mode feature to conserve energy and a one-touch, backup sync button for you to manually start a backup when needed. The device is compatible with both PC and Mac operating systems
In order to take advantage of the wireless USB, your computer needs to support this. As most computers don't have built-in wireless USB, there are adapters that you can add to the machine. It's unclear if an adapter is included with the Pro WX.
What's clear, however, is the fact that this is going to be one of the most expensive external hard drives you can find. At the estimated price of $500, about three times the price of regular external USB hard drives of the same storage capacity, I am not sure if it's worth it when the only benefit is losing the USB cable.
G-Tech's new 2TB 7200 rpm-based external storage devices.
(Credit: G-Tech)It's not hard these days to find external storage devices that offer 2TB or even 4TB of storage. However, most of them use low-power and relatively low-performance internal hard drives, such as the My Book series from Western Digital or the FreeAgent series from Seagate. If you are looking for top speed and top capacity form external storage solutions for your Mac, G-Tech has some news for you.
The company announced Monday that it now incorporates Hitachi's 2TB, 7,200rpm, 32MB cache buffer SATA hard drives across its entire 3.5-inch product line, offering different storage solutions from single-volume external hard drive to RAID systems, with capacities ranging from 2TB to 32TB.
The company's newly refreshed products include the G-DRIVE, G-SAFE, G-RAID, G-SPEED eS, G-SPEED eS Pro, G-SPEED eS PRO XL, and the G-SPEED FC XL. With these new products, G-Tech claims that it's now the first in the world that offers a complete line of 2TB, 7,200 RPM drive-based external storage solutions, specifically designed for the Mac computer and audio- and video-editing markets.
G-Tech's new storage solutions comes with virtually all existing connections, from USB 2.0, FireWire and eSATA for desktop external drives to miniSAS and Fibre Channel for high-end RAID storage systems. The fact that now it uses the top 2TB capacity hard drives means that customers can significantly increase the amount of storage while retaining the same physical footprint.
The new G-Tech external storage devices are available now with premium prices ranging from $379 for the simple desktop 2TB G-Drive, $3,599 for the high-end 8TB G-Speed eS Pro to tens of thousands of dollars for other high-end storage systems.
Unlike most drive enclosures, this one has a built-in USB cable.
(Credit: Froobi)If you've ever upgraded the hard drive in your laptop (or thought about doing so), you've probably wondered what to do with the old drive. After all, it's still perfectly good storage.
Answer: Turn it into an external, USB hard drive. All you need is an enclosure, a sturdy casing for the drive that provides an IDE interface and USB connection.
Today only, deal-a-day site Froobi has a SimpleTech 2.5-inch USB external hard drive enclosure for free (plus $5.95 for shipping).
The enclosure is very compact, measuring roughly 0.75 inch thick by 3 inches wide by 5.1 inches long. It'll slip easily into any carry-on bag.
What I like most is the built-in USB cable, which tucks away inside the enclosure when not in use. That's one less cable to remember to bring along, to potentially lose, or to add extra clutter to your carry-on.
I've performed laptop hard-drive transplants before; they're a cinch. And trust me when I say you'll love having a small, lightweight, portable hard drive. They're perfect for on-the-run backups, transferring large files, and extra storage when you need it.
This deal expires at midnight tonight (ET), and it could definitely sell out before then. If you're planning a laptop upgrade (or you've already got a naked displaced drive lying around), this is a no-brainer buy.
(By the way, if you miss out on this offer, there's a vendor on eBay selling similar enclosures for $7 shipped--though they don't have the built-in USB cable.)
If you're into high-class fashion, LaCie has something for you. The company has come out with two new external hard drives by famed French designer Philippe Starck, who makes everything from furniture to clothes to luggage.
The front surface of the new LaCie desktop external hard drive responds to a finger's touch.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)Other than the fact that they offer extra storage, the LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive and the LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive come with a bit of fashion flair. Both are housed in a distinctive-looking, sturdy aluminum case that protects the internal drives from shocks.
While the LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive seems to be just a plain yet good-looking compact USB external hard drive, the LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive features a curvy front that responds to the touch of a finger. It also has a status LED light that shines an orange plus sign--Starck's signature symbol--on the surface.
There's not much you can do with the drive's novelty touch-sensitive surface, unfortunately. It can be programmed to launch an application, such as Firefox or Word, when you touch the front of the drive. But to do this, you will need to install LaCie Destkop Manager software, which runs all the time in the background. I found this sort of a waste for a function that's not really useful or necessary. But obviously fashion isn't always about necessity and functionality.
The LaCie Destkop Manager software will also help format the hard drive to work with a Windows, Mac, or Linux platform. The drives also come with LaCie Backup Assistant software, which can automatically back up the computer's data onto the drive.
Other than that, the LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive is very much like a brick. It also generates some sort of vibration during operation, reducing its suitability for sitting on top of your desk. It only comes with a USB port, which is rather disappointing as this is the slowest connection. Other desktop external hard drives often come with FireWire and eSATA connections.
LaCie's two new external hard drives are available now. The LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive costs $130 for the 1TB version and $250 for the 2TB version. The LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive comes in 320GB and 500GB versions, which cost $100 and $140, respectively.
WD debuts new e-labels
(Credit: Western Digital)Western Digital just announced their newly redesigned line of external desktop and mobile storage drives, all flaunting a customizable "e-label" that gives users a clear description of their contents. The new My Book Studio, My Passport Elite, and My Book Elite also deliver continuous backup solutions right out of the box with WD's SMartWare software.
1. First up to the plate is the new My Book Studios. Designed with the Mac user in mind, the new external drives feature a FireWire 800 interface that make quick work of larger videos and photos. Since the majority of My Book owners are creative, digital professionals, Western Digital developed e-paper technology similar that shows the owner a customizable display. The e-label also works when the drive is unplugged and also shows how much space is left and security status as well. The new My Book Studio drives come with a three-year warranty and are available now in 500GB ($150), 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB ($300) capacities.
2. The new My Book Elite drives appeal to the user who simply needs more external storage on their desk space. Like the My Book Studio, these drives also come with the custom e-label as well as two levels of data security: 256-bit hardware encryption and password protection, and WD's SmartWare software. The unique back up software puts your data right in front of you with a visual interface that shows you exactly what is stored on your computer and on the drive. As you create back ups or restore data, the gauges will change color in real-time to show progress, and once you finish the process the first time, you'll never have to perform a complete backup again--the software will backup automatically every time the contents change. The My Book Elite drives come in 1TB ($170), 1.5TB, and 2TB ($280) capacities.
3. The last addition to the new WD offering is an upgrade to their My Passport Elite portables. Again, they come with all the same features, but you also get a convenient USB dock that can stay plugged into a USB port for quick docking. The drives are protected by WD's three-year warranty and will come in three colors: anodized red, anodized blue, and charcoal metallic. Retail prices for the My Passport Elites include the 320GB for $119.99 USD, $159.99 USD for the 500GB, and $169.99 for the 640GB.
Check out the slideshow for more in-depth pictures of the new WD offering, and look for full reviews on CNET.com coming soon!
(Credit:
Seagate)
We gave an Editors' Choice award to the first round of Seagate's FreeAgent Go external hard drives, but as with all things related to storage (and storage only), bigger is better, so we're very anxious to get our hands on these new FreeAgents with up to 1TB of space.
Just announced Wednesday, the new line will look almost exactly the same as the original, but as expected, the 1TB version is a little chunkier than the rest. In addition to the original catalog, Seagate now offers 750GB ($200), 880GB ($210), and the 1TB ($250) version as well. Of course, the drives will continue to be supported by Seagate's comprehensive five-year warranty and are fully compatible with all of Seagate's external accessories, including the FreeAgent Theater Dock.
The new FreeAgents are available for order now on the Seagate Web site.
Another day, another external hard drive. I thought by now, storage vendors had exhausted ideas for new external hard drives. I was wrong.
Western Digital announced on Thursday its new and refreshed lines of My Book external hard dives, including the My Book Essential and My Book for Mac. Both hard drives are for desktops, and most importantly, they come with the new WD SmartWare software that's designed to ease the job of backing up your data.
The new My Book Essential external hard drive from Western Digital.
(Credit: Wetern Digital)Both new external hard drives are available in capacities ranging from 500GB to 2TB and feature user-selected password protection combined with military-grade 256-bit hardware encryption, which scrambles files before they're stored. Prior to these drives, these security technologies have been available mostly in much more expensive storage systems.
The two new drives also use WD's GreenPower Technology that helps lower the power consumption of the internal drive, according to WD, by up to 30 percent. They both sport an illuminated capacity gauge that gives you a quick glance of how much space is available on the drive.
The My Book Essential drive is a budget product and comes with only one USB 2.0 connection and is preformatted for Windows. The WD SmartWare software will launch by itself the first time the drive is plugged in and offers a real-time visual interface of the backup process. After the first backup, users' files are backed up automatically every time they change or add a file. This is similar to how HP's SimpleSave external hard drive works, with the exception that it requires a bit more user interaction than HP's solution.
The My Book for Mac is essentially the same as the My Book Essential with the exception that it's preformatted for Macs and comes with the Mac version of the WD SmartWare software. It also is compatible with OS X's built-in Time Machine backup solution.
The two new external hard drives are available immediately and are estimated to cost between $100 and $250, depending on the model and capacity.
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Does including an external drive make it a better deal?
(Credit: MSI)Despite many Netbooks and thin-and-lights ditching optical drives in favor of more compact computers, corporate folks are apparently still concerned and looking out for us suddenly-DVD-free folk. MSI has announced availability of a new thin-and-light ULV (ultra-low voltage) notebook, the MSI X600, which comes with its own external DVD/CD drive right in the box.
For $899, the X600 comes with a 1.4GHz Intel SU3500 ULV processor, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 320GB hard drive, ATI HD 4330 graphics, and a 15.6-inch 1366x768 screen. It includes a six-cell battery, an improvement on the X340, which had a somewhat disappointing battery life. It also packs HDMI-out and Bluetooth while being a hair under an inch thin.
This all sounds good, with two exceptions. One: its processor is a single-core ULV. Two: this "thin-and-light" weighs 5.5 pounds. That's a serious chunking up from the X340's 2.9-pound frame.
Will a Core 2 Solo processor--the same that's in the X340--be enough for a 15.6-inch laptop? Time will tell. Until our review, we invite you to check out some images of the external drive, which at least stylishly matches the big sibling it comes packed with. The MSI X600 comes in black and silver.
This is the lowest price yet on a 1TB external hard drive.
(Credit: Buy.com)First up, some important business: I'm on vacation this week! But I couldn't leave you hanging without one more sweet deal, so here's my farewell post. See you next Monday! (Unless I just can't stay away... you never know.)
Holy ridiculously cheap storage, Batman! Buy.com has a Fantom G-Force 1-terabyte external hard drive for $69.99 shipped.
The catch? Yep, you guessed it: There's a $20 mail-in rebate [PDF]. I know that's a deal-breaker for some, but even in the unlikely event you get the short end of the rebate stick, $89.99's a pretty awesome price, too.
As for the drive itself, it features USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces, Mac and Windows compatibility, and a one-year warranty. Fantom bundles no backup software to speak of, but there are plenty of great freeware backup utilities out there.
CNET hasn't reviewed the drive, but it averages 4.5 stars out of 5--from a whopping 342 users--on Buy.com's product page.
If you don't mind waiting a month or two on those 20 rebate dollars (the offer expires Aug. 23), this is the best deal yet on a 1TB external hard drive.
