Posts Tagged ‘Western Digital’
Western Digital Launches New Passport Studio Drives For Mac
WD has introduced its new My Passport Studio portable drives for Macs featuring FireWire 800 interface and a customizable e-label that’s visible, even when the drive is unplugged. Sporting a sleek design, the high-performance My Passport Studio drives are formatted for Mac computers, compatible with Apple TimeMachine software, and feature automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare software, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers, the new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB.
WD’s My Passport Studio drives are designed for creative professionals and Mac enthusiasts. Their production and use of many large files require the fast transfers from computer to My Passport Studio drives that FireWire 800 provides. Professionals such as photographers also benefit from the e-labeling system to effectively organize their work.
The e-label smart display on the front of the My Passport drives can be changed as often as desired using the included WD SmartWare software. Users can easily create a label to personalize their drive or remind themselves of its contents. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains clearly visible, even when the drive is unplugged.
“Many of our customers store their content on multiple external drives, making it difficult to know what content is on each drive,” said Sushil Bandi, Country Manager – India, Western Digital. “The e-label smart display is an elegant and practical solution for organizing and keeping track of one’s digital life and work. WD SmartWare software makes it easy for users to protect their valuable content with automatic and continuous backup and encryption.”
The new My Passport Studio is fully compatible with Apple TimeMachine software for easy backup of your most important files. It also offers the option of the simple and intuitive WD SmartWare software, with automatic continuous backup and real-time visual interface, giving users a view of their backup as it happens. After the first backup, users’ files are backed up automatically every time they change or add a file.
My Passport Studio drives also feature user-selected password protection combined with 256-bit hardware-based encryption, which scrambles files before they are stored.
MSRP for the My Passport Studio drives is Rs. 9,600 for 500GB and Rs. 10,750 for 640GB and they come with a 3-year warranty.
Western Digital Introduces WD TV LIVE HD Media Player
Western Digital has introduced the WD TV Live HD media player featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution. The new WD TV Live HD media player makes it possible for anyone to play HD videos stored on USB and network drives, as well as Internet content from popular Web sites. The GUI is also souped up, with Video preview being new candy.
The network capability of the WD TV Live media player enables users to stream or transfer movies from PC or Mac computers or a network-attached storage device. The WD TV Live media player also allows users to stream rich content from YouTube, Flickr and Pandora.
“The media enthusiast community has embraced the first WD TV HD media player and given us tremendous feedback,” said Sharad Srivastava, Director, Director India and South Asia, Western Digital. “With the new WD TV Live media player we’re giving them what they asked for — network connectivity and Internet-content streaming capabilities — and offering them a simple way to enjoy all of their digital media and enjoy it on their HD TVs.”
Features of the WD TV Live HD Media Player include:
Full-HD 1080p video playback
Ethernet port for wired or WiFi connection to access files anywhere on the network to play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on a home network;
Two USB ports for seamless media playback from multiple USB drives and ability to access them simultaneously
Picture Transfer Protocol support to show photos and movies directly from digital camera or video camera
HDMI 1.3 port, composite video and component video output
SPDIF digital output
The WD TV Live Media Player is available through select distributors and retailers and is covered by a 1-year limited warranty. The MSRP for WD TV Live Media Player is Rs 10,500.
WD Launches 4TB External Hard Drive
Western Digital has introduced its new 4 terabyte capacity My Book Studio Edition II external dual-drive storage systems, specifically for Mac users.
The systems are compatible with Apple Time Machine automatic backup feature and offer four interfaces: eSATA and FireWire 800 for maximum performance as well as FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 for maximum flexibility. WD’s Greenpower technology is utilized for a cool and quiet operation.
“The new My Book Studio Edition II is the best choice for creative professionals who require massive capacity and extra-fast performance,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group. “With 4 terabytes of capacity, photographers, graphic artists, videographers, and home video enthusiasts alike will have the space they need to store hours of high definition videos as well as the performance they need for demanding video editing applications.”
eSATA or FireWire 800 interfaces combined with RAID 0 (Striped) yields the speed users’ need for fast, smooth video editing; rendering complex 3D objects or special effects; and saving huge blocks of data in record time.
Features
Formatted for Mac computers, these new storage systems feature:
- Massive 4 terabyte capacity;
- Extra-fast performance with four interfaces (FireWire 400/800, eSATA, USB 2.0);
- Cool, eco-friendly operation with WD’s drives with WD GreenPower Technology that consume approximately one-third less power than standard dual-drive external storage systems and efficient convection cooling architecture and power-saving mode and designed without a fan to run quietly;
- Quad interface with connections for ultra-fast eSATA and FireWire 800 and for flexibility and convenience FireWire 400 and USB 2.0;
- Automatic and continuous backup software;
- User serviceability, enabling owner to open the enclosure and replace the drive inside;
- Capacity gauge to see at a glance how much space is available on the system; and,
- 5-year limited warranty
My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage systems are available now at select retailers and WD’s online store at an MSRP of $649.99 USD.
WD’s New 750 GB 2.5″ HDD On The Way
Western Digital has shipped its new 750 GB WD Scorpio Blue laptop HDD.
Western Digital announced on Tuesday that it is now shipping the WD Scorpio Blue 2.5-inch notebook hard drive with 750 GB or storage. Aimed for mainstream notebooks, the company said that the new HDD uses its Advanced Format technology and 375 MB-per-platter areal density to enable the larger capacity in a small form factor.
WD said that the new 5400 RPM SATA HDD also incorporates its WhisperDrive technology for quiet operation, ShockGuard to help prevent damage from major shocks to the laptop, and SecurePark to reduce the amount of wear on the platters and drive head. The 3 Gb/s speeds via the SATA interface and 8 MB of cache also makes it ideal for portable gaming and drive-thrashing downloads.
“WD continues to lead the market with capacity points that enable consumers and business professionals to store large quantities of data and rich media content,” said Jim Morris, WD’s senior vice president and general manager of Storage Products. “Our leading power efficiency, achieved without compromise to performance, is another example of the added features and value that our customers have come to expect from WD.”
The WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB HDD (model WD7500BPVT) is covered under a limited three-year-warranty, and will be available soon for $149 USD. There’s also a 1 TB version listed on WD’s website, however the company did not release any shipment or pricing info on that particular drive.