Verbatim debuts quad interface 500GB / 1TB external HDDs
By Darren Murph 
posted Jan 4th 2009 12:45PM
posted Jan 4th 2009 12:45PM
[Via InformationWeek]
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maybe im stupid, and i probably am, but why is this coming out at macworld and not ces?
I think its because Mac people are the ones that use Firewire the most...
well...we used to.... ::tear:: :(
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/17/goodbye-firewire-400/
@redleader158
But eSATA II is generally used by PC owners, it is odd that they are debuting this at macworld, I could see if it was more mac specific but this covers all the OS's and they'd get more exposure at CES.
Maybe they couldn't afford it? Macworld is probably cheaper to get a booth into than CES.
I really wish there was a way to combine the 2 Firewire 400 ports that come with my hard drive into one glorious Firewire 800 port for video transfer nirvana.
Then again, I could just get an Esata card and blow both out of the water...
...ah...the eternal inner dilemma continues...
I am wondering what are these companies thinking there.
A 500GB HDD (even w/ 32MB cache) is less than $70, a chip between usb2.0 and sata is less than $5, a chip between firewire400 and sata is less than $10, esata to sata should be something like $0. Maybe a chip between firewire800 and sata is more expensive, let's count $15 as max. All these is a total of 70+5+10+0+15=$100(remember this number is waaaaaaaaaaaaay to high for their quote order). Yes, there might be some bucks required for the design, box, manual etc....
Then, how come this one gonna cost you $179.99? and the 1TB is $249.99
Agreed.
Why buy this when various other 500GBs are $80 right now BEFORE holiday clearance? Bad timing...especially in this economy. $200+ for an External worked a few years ago, but I'll pass right now.
And Design of the PCB to house all those chips costs.... oh yah a lot. People always take into account direct material costs, but forget R&D costs. It's not like it costs them nothing. These companies make their money directly off the hardware. They are not like Apple, Sony, etc. who use one product as a basis to sell another. Let's not forget certification for each and every one of those ports.
I will agree on mikey's point though. Others are selling their 500GB Externals for a lot lower. This is going to go to the niche market that actually wants all of those ports in one package.
Because Verbatim is in business to make a profit, even after it had its hordes of cheap chinese workers paid whose low standard of living makes it possible for you to buy a product like this at such a low price.
I did mention design
But what is design they need here?
The box? every box looks to be the same. Just a little money for the model of the box is enough
The PCB? It might be hard to put all the port together on a single PCB. You can easily ask a company in China to give you a working PCB design(most external boxes are using the exact same board in the meantime). And such PCB design is highly possible just come from a in school grad student who may only ask for $1000 for the design.
Also all the PCB design info you need is most likely provided by the company who offers the chip.
What else do you need for the so-called design? There is no big G on the box or hundreds of LV
So many products designed with the glut market in mind...
I love my quad interface drive. FW 800 is amazing...and in the future when I get a computer with eSATA I can use that too!
Hey well this has been around for ages in Europe, heck i've even got 3 back at the office!!
Se você não falar Inglês não será um cuidado que você tem a dizer. Memória Flash custos muito.
Também parar spam
Hmm yes, I agree?
I love how you all argue about this..... funny thing is, 98% of people dont give a shit about what kind of additional interfaces this thing offers as long as it has good old usb 2.0
I just bought the 500gig, at 99$ canadien.