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G-Technology G-DOCK ev: Thunderbolt and two removable drives for ultimate flexibility
G-Technology's new G-DOCK ev ($749.95 with two 1 TB G-DRIVEs) is a different animal. Think of having two removable, portable USB 3.0 drives that you can take into the field with you, and then being able to plug those drives into a Thunderbolt dock for high(er) speed transfer of data when you're back in the office or studio, and you've figured out the idea of this device. Unfortunately, the concept and reality of the G-DOCK ev are two separate things. The G-DOCK itself isn't exactly portable, measuring 7.87" x 5.12" x 3.54" and weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces. The removable drives, however, are little self-contained units that are perfect for popping into the pocket of a jacket or a computer bag. The G-DRIVE ev USB 3.0 drives are quite a bit more compact, measuring just 5.14" x 3.29" x .65" each and tipping the scales at 10.2 ounces each. Those drives have a USB 3.0 port on the back of them for use in the field, as well as a SATA port covered by a small removable (and easily lost) plastic door. To use the drive in the G-DOCK, you remove the door and then slide the drive in until it locks. To remove the drive(s), there are two large buttons on the front of the device next to the drives. It should be noted that you don't just push the button to safely eject the drives, something that isn't immediately obvious. One would hope that G-Technology would have figured out a way to safely dismount the G-DRIVE ev drives automatically with a push of the button; instead, you need to be sure to drag the drive icons to the OS X trash to dismount them first. Likewise, G-Technology doesn't include any utilities for setting up the two G-DRIVEs as a RAID pair, instead pointing users in the direction of Apple's OS X Disk Utility. The G-DOCK can be set up as two individual drives or as one RAID 0 or RAID 1 array. For the purposes of testing, I used it as two individual drives for initial testing and then set it up as a RAID 0 (a stripe set of two 1 TB drives) for the final benchmark. Benchmarks Benchmarking of the G-Technology G-DRIVEs and G-DOCK ev was done with Intech Software's SpeedTools QuickBench 4.0 software. To ensure accuracy in testing, I performed a 100-cycle complete test. This subjects the drive to sequential and random read and write tests with file sizes from 4K to 100 MB, then graphically or textually displays that information to show the "sweet spots" for a specific drive or array. For example, if your work involves shuffling around a lot of very large files, you'll probably want a drive that has peak read/write speeds for files around your average file size. I first tested an individual G-DRIVE connected via USB 3.0. The standard tests (first four results) use nine different file sizes between 4 KB and 1024 KB. The large tests use transfer sizes between 2 and 10 MB, while the extended tests look at file sizes between 20 and 100 MB. These test results were not compared to any other devices, as TUAW has not recently tested any non-RAID devices with the QuickBench software. Sequential Read: 110.628 MB/Sec Sequential Write: 113.286 MB/Sec Random Read: 21.857 MB/Sec Random Write: 28.756 MB/Sec Large Read: 131.540 MB/Sec Large Write: 125.343 MB/Sec Extended Read: 135.542 MB/Sec Extended Write: 135.014 MB/Sec Next, I performed the tests on a G-DRIVE in the G-DOCK ev through a Thunderbolt connection: Sequential Read: 117.730 MB/Sec Sequential Write: 120.449 MB/Sec Random Read: 22.769 MB/Sec Random Write: 28.896 MB/Sec Large Read: 134.485 MB/Sec Large Write: 130.679 MB/Sec Extended Read: 135.313 MB/Sec Extended Write: 134.928 MB/Sec I found it odd that the differences in speed between USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connections were negligible. Next, the two G-DRIVEs in the G-DOCK ev were set up as a RAID 0 volume approximately 2 TB in size, and benchmarks were run using a Thunderbolt connection: Sequential Read: 189.675 MB/Sec (140.504 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Sequential Write: 197.831 MB/Sec (93.245 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Random Read: 22.432 MB/Sec (116.435 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Random Write: 38.360 MB/Sec (70.410 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Large Read: 272.062 MB/Sec (341.327 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Large Write: 262.744 MB/Sec (282.060 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Extended Read: 266.927 MB/Sec (255.953 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) Extended Write: 264.170 MB/Sec (262.864 MB/Sec for Drobo 5D) The RAID 0 benchmarks showed some interesting results. Random Read/Write of smaller-sized files was surprisingly slow, while the G-DOCK ev performed admirably when reading and writing larger files. This indicates that the RAID configuration would work well for use cases involving large file sizes. It should be noted, though, that once you create a RAID array (either mirrored or striped) with the two G-DRIVEs, you can no longer pop them out for portable use. Essentially, you need to decide ahead of time whether you want a pair of portable drives that you can pop out of a Thunderbolt dock or a Thunderbolt RAID 0 or RAID 1 array. That's why I think the G-DOCK ev is kind of an odd duck. For portable Thunderbolt drives, it's possible to get two 1 TB drives for about $300 -- much less expensive than the G-DOCK ev with its two 1 TB removable drives. If you're looking for Thunderbolt RAID setups, you can buy one of G-Technology's own 8 TB G-RAID arrays for about the same price as the 2 TB RAID 0 (or 1 TB RAID 1) G-DOCK ev -- but of course you lose the portability. Conclusion The G-Technology G-DOCK ev provides fast read/write of large files as a Thunderbolt RAID array and the removable USB 3.0 G-DRIVEs are reasonably fast as well. However, most users would be better served by selecting their most common use case -- need for large RAID storage or need for portability -- and purchasing a single solution that fits that need. The users would save money and most likely gain capacity over this odd "portable / RAID" hybrid solution. Pros Excellent construction, sturdy devices made of aluminum Relatively fast performer when reading and writing large files, although no faster than competing devices Cons Expensive compared to dedicated RAID arrays or separate portable drives Doors for removable drives are small and would be easy to lose No speed advantage of putting the removable USB 3.0 drives into the Thunderbolt dock Drives do not perform well with small file sizes Removable drives should dismount automatically when the drive button is pushed; instead, the drives need to be dismounted manually Who is it for? Due to the cost of the G-DOCK ev, it's relatively common performance, the fact that the removable USB 3.0 G-DRIVEs aren't any faster when placed in the Thunderbolt dock, and the fact that it's really an either/or solution (RAID or portability), we cannot recommend purchasing this product.
TUAW test-drives the G-RAID mini portable RAID storage system
G-Technology makes some of the better pro storage products we've tested in the past, and the company provided us with a new 2 TB G-RAID mini (US$449.95) portable RAID system. This is quite the powerhouse for those who need fast, portable storage, including USB 3.0 and FireWire 800 interfaces as well as a pair of 7200-RPM hard drives. Design This is one drive that you won't worry about getting scratched up on the inside of your equipment bag while out on a video shoot. The diminutive drive, which measures just 5.88" x 3.25" x 1.5" (149 x 83 x 38 mm), is wrapped in a practically bulletproof aluminum casing. That aluminum adds a bit of heft to the 2.2 pound (1 kg) case, but helps in terms of dissipating heat through the integrated heat sink. There's also a cooling fan built into the bottom of the case. %Gallery-195941% On the back of the drive you'll find three ports -- two are FireWire 800 ports that can also be used with an included FW 800 to 400 cable with Macs that only support the slower standard, and one is a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port. For our benchmarks, I used the USB 3.0 port and included cable as my MacBook Pro with Retina display does not include a FireWire port. When using FireWire, the drive is bus-powered; when connected via USB 3.0, it requires the included AC adapter for power. The company also provides a nice leatherette carrying case for the drive. If you don't need a full 2 TB of RAID storage, you might want to consider the 1 TB model that sells for $249.95. The drives can be used in either RAID 0 (striped set for performance) or RAID 1 (mirrored set for redundancy) mode, but realize that your usable storage in RAID 1 will be one-half of the installed storage amount -- in other words, the 2 TB array would be used as two 1 TB mirrored drives in RAID 1. Functionality and Benchmarks When I first took the drive out of its box and connected it to my test machine, it was obvious that another tech blogger had been testing the G-RAID mini. A proprietary bandwidth benchmark was on the drive, so I went into Disk Utility and reformatted the drive. I wanted to test the G-RAID mini in both RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations, but could not get G-Technology's RAID Configurator application to run without crashing repeatedly on my machine running OS X 10.8.4. The most recent version of this app is three years old; it's time for G-Technology to update it. I tried to set up RAID 0 using Disk Utility, but was unable to do so. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that one of the two drives in the casing had gone bad and I was just seeing one, as the only drive visible in all utilities was just one 1 TB unit. That being said, all results you see here for benchmarks are measuring essentially a single-drive unit. The results of 21 runs of the AJA System Test "Disk Whack" read/write test indicated an average write speed of 125.8 MB/s, with an average read speed of 122.7 MB/s. This benchmark indicates that the G-RAID mini is faster in both read and write operations than two other drives we've tested, a Western Digital WDC1001FALS-40U9B0 that measured in at 90.3 and 94.7 MB/s respectively on write and read speeds, and faster than G-Technology's own G-Drive Mobile at 86.0 and 103.6 MB/s. The G-RAID mini paled in comparison to the Seagate STBV30000100 drive we tested last November, which topped the charts with an average write speed of 171.5 MB/s and read speed of 170.7 MB/s. But for the most part, the G-RAID mini on USB 3.0 is faster than just about all FireWire 800 drives we've tested over the years. Conclusion The G-RAID mini is a sturdy, small and solid RAID array. Unfortunately, it appeared that the unit we tested had only one working drive, and the RAID Configurator app is not compatible with OS X 10.8.4. I would highly recommend that if you're interested in this array, you purchase one and do your own testing. G-Technology's warranty provides a 30-day return policy, provided that you return the device with all cables and in the original packaging in salable condition. Pros Very solid construction Dual interface design with USB 3.0 SuperSpeed and FireWire 800 Quite portable Cons RAID Configurator application is out of date Not bus-powered when connected via USB 3.0 Price is quite high; if you can put up with the extra weight, there are many larger RAID units that are available for much less Who is it for? The video or photography professional who needs a compact and light RAID array for work in the field.
G-Technology shows off a Thunderbolt-powered dock with dual hard drive bays
We have a feeling 4K is going to be a major theme at this year's NAB, which also means we'll be seeing a good deal of hardware that can actually handle such high-res content. Mostly, we're talking pro cameras and the like, but at least one company will be showing off some professional-grade hard drives -- after all, you're gonna need a solid storage solution to process those supersize files, right? G-Technology just introduced the "Evolution" family of products, the centerpiece of which is the G-Dock ev, a mini-tower with two hard drive modules and dual Thunderbolt connections. What you put in those hard drive slots is up to you: the company is offering both a 9.5mm 7,200RPM drive (rated for 136 MB/s transfers) and a beefier 15mm cartridge promising 250 MB/s. Once you choose your drives, you can arrange them in a RAID 1 configuration if redundancy is important, or RAID 0 for maximum speed. What's more, each of the drives has a USB 3.0 socket on board, so if you needed to you could hand it to someone else in your office and let them grab whatever data they needed off the HDD. In any case, the dock will come standard with two 1TB, 9.5mm drives -- look for it next month, priced at $750 for the bundle. If you later need some additional cartridges, the 9.3mm G-Drive ev will cost either $150 or $200, depending on whether you want 500 gigs or a full terabyte. The bigger 15mm G-Drive ev Plus will go for $350 (it'll be sold with 1TB only). Lastly, G-Technology also announced the G-Drive Pro with a Thunderbolt port and claimed transfer speeds of 480 MB/s. That'll ship this summer for either $700 or $850, depending on whether you want 2TB or 4TB of storage. All that's in the PR after the break, along with an endorsement from Vincent Laforet himself. Must be good, right?
G-Technology updates G-Drive mini and G-Raid mini with 1TB HGST Travelstar hard drives
G-Technology's G-Drive mini and G-Raid mini have been around for a bit, but the storage brand is taking the opportunity at CES to update the duo with Hitachi's (HGST) Travelstar hard drives. Both external storage repositories are set to get the 1TB 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch components that notch the measuring tape 9.5mm. The G-Drive mini is now available for $200 sporting one of the drives, USB 3.0 and Firewire 800 connections. Dual-wielding the Travelstar, the G-Raid mini touts 2TB capacity while remaining Firewire bus powered during USB 3.0 transfers, RAID configurability and is scheduled to arrive in Q1 for $450. A few more details about each model awaits in the full PR below. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
G-Technology G-Drive Mobile: Review and giveaway
It's been a while since TUAW reviewed a hard drive. Recently, G-Technology sent one of their 1 TB G-Drive Mobile USB 3.0/2.0/FW drives (US$179.95) to run through the paces. That relatively low price is a result of not having a Thunderbolt interface, and since all of the new Macs are coming with USB 3.0, I thought it would be a good drive to test out. I don't currently own a USB 3.0-equipped Mac, so the benchmarks listed below were provided by my colleague Erica Sadun. Design As the name implies, the G-Drive Mobile is designed for use with laptops. The enclosure is made to match the color of your favorite aluminum MacBook, broken only by a big "G" logo on the top, an LED on the front, and the ports on the back. The drive weighs just 10 ounces but for some reason seems more solid than that light weight would indicate. Size-wise, the G-Drive Mobile is quite compact, taking up a space 5 inches long x 3.27 inches wide x only 0.39 inch tall. Three ports line the back of the drive; two FireWire 800 ports (also compatible with FW 400 with the proper cable), and one USB 3.0 port. The drive is bus-powered and does not need an external power source. The drive ships with three cables; a USB 3.0 cable, a FW 400/800 cable and a FW 800/800 cable. Benchmarks TUAW uses a standard industry benchmark to compare the I/O capabilities of disks and arrays. The benchmark uses the AJA System Test, which simulates reading and writing video. The specific test used was the Disk Read/Write test, also known as the DiskWhackTest, set at a video frame size of 720 x 486 8-bit and a file size of 128 MB. As you can see, the results were quite encouraging for this portable bus-powered drive. Write test results for the G-Drive Mobile were just less than those achieved for the internal SATA drive on a 2009 iMac, while the read results were actually better than those of the internal drive. However, those results paled in comparison to another USB 3.0 drive that Erica Sadun picked up for $99 during a Black Friday online sale (now selling for $128.48). A Seagate Expansion 3TB USB 3.0 drive saw results consistently higher than those from the G-Drive Mobile, with a write benchmark result of 171.5 compared to the 86.0 from the G-Drive, and a read benchmark to match -- 170.7 compared to 103.6 for the G-Drive. The Seagate drive, however, requires an external power adapter. For desktop use, that's acceptable, but MacBook users are going to be happier with the G-Drive Mobile. What's encouraging about all of the USB 3.0 results -- even for the "slower" G Drive Mobile -- is that they're better than any of the FireWire 800 drive results to date and outpace the USB 2.0 drives by about two-and-a-half times. As Erica's Black Friday experience shows, the pricing on USB 3.0 drives is also incredibly low. This indicates that Mac users are now able to get speedy storage at a bargain price instead of having to pay a premium for professional-quality Thunderbolt drives. TUAW will begin testing Thunderbolt external drives in 2013, and we look forward to sharing those results for those of you who need the fastest drives possible. In the meantime, USB 3.0 seems to be a good reason for upgrading to a new Mac soon. Conclusion While it's not the fastest USB 3.0 drive we've tested, the G-Technology G-Drive Mobile still provides read/write speeds that are approximately the same as those of internal SATA drives. For mobile users who want a fast bus-driven external hard drive, the G-Drive Mobile is perfect. Pros Compact and lightweight Faster than all of the FireWire 800 drives we've tested Bus-powered, doesn't need an external power supply Exterior matches MacBooks Cons Not as fast as some other USB 3.0 externals Who is it for? Anyone with a USB 3.0-equipped Mac who wants a compact, bus-powered 1 TB hard disk drive Giveaway And now, per the TUAW policy on review equipment, it's time for some lucky TUAW reader to get his or her hands on this little USB 3.0 drive. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before December 6, 2012 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a G-Technology G-Drive Mobile external hard drive valued at $179.95 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Hands-on with G-Technology's Mac-friendly, USB 3.0-packing G-Drive slim
When we set out to get hands-on with a hard drive, of all things, you can bet we're going to do more than just pick it up and marvel at how lightweight it is. Here at a gdgt event in New York City, we spotted G-Technology's new Mac-friendly USB 3.0 drives on display and immediately got to work running some speed tests on the thinnest of the bunch, the G-Drive slim. Though transfer rates varied, both download and upload speeds tended to hover around 95 MB/s, and that was after ten or so runs in the Blackmagic benchmark. (Next time we'll bring a USB 2.0 cable to test a backward-compatible setup.) According to a company rep staffing the event, the other drives in the lineup, the G-Drive mini, mobile and mobile USB 3.0, should deliver similar performance. Really, the differences here are in the specs: the G-Drive mobile and mini have FireWire ports, and all three offer more storage (750GB to 1TB, as opposed to 500GB for the slim). Design-wise, all the drives on display here seemed fairly impervious to scratches, and that rubberized band around the edges also makes the devices feel a little less delicate. On that point, you can check out the hands-on photos to see what we're talking about, though you'll just have to take our word on the speed testing.%Gallery-159095% Zach Honig contributed to this report.
G-Technology kicks out USB 3.0 G-Drives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro well-fed
If you've just picked up a MacBook Pro with Retina display or a 2012-era MacBook Air, you may be jonesing for a matching external hard drive to take advantage of that much-awaited USB 3.0 support. G-Technology has you covered -- and how. Updated versions of the laptop-oriented G-Drive Mini, Mobile and Slim (you're looking at the Mobile up top) all roll in the higher peak speeds and progressively trade raw speed as well as 1TB capacities for sleekness, while the twin-drive, 1.5TB G-RAID Mini will tax that 5Gbps bandwidth without becoming too ungainly. Not taking your external storage on the road? The single-disk G-Drive now climbs to 4TB in addition to jumping on the USB 3.0 bandwagon, and the dual-drive G-RAID will serve up as much as 8TB at the newly brisk speeds. All but the G-Drive Slim support FireWire to ease those jitters over transitioning from old to new, although they won't all arrive at the same time. Most of the G-Drive and G-RAID gear will be showing up in August at prices between $110 and $810, but the two Mini-labelled drives could be a bit late to the party with a less defined summer target. You can get the full scoop after the break.
G-Technology G-Drive mobile: Rugged, pocket-sized, and fast
The march of technology amazes me. Yeah, I'm an old guy, but it still surprises me when I realize that the amount of storage that used to fill a data center can now fit in my pocket. G-Technology's G-Drive mobile (made by Hitachi, US$199.99 MSRP for 1 TB) is the perfect example of mass storage in a small, silent box. Read on for a review of this mobile companion and a chance to win one! Design There's not much too say in terms of the design of the G-Drive mobile -- it's a slim metallic box 5 inches long, a little over 3 inches wide, and about 3/4 of an inch high. There's no power port; the G-Drive is bus-powered by either FireWire (400/800) or USB 2.0. The device comes with cables for each connection. A single white LED on the front of the drive indicates when it is powered up and in use. On the inside, there's a 5400 RPM 1 TB drive with an 8 MB cache. For speed, I'd much rather see a 7200 RPM drive, but that would most likely drive up both the cost and power requirements of the drive. However, as you'll see with the benchmarks, this is still a pretty fast drive despite the slower rotation speed of the disk. The G-Drive mobile also comes in 500 MB ($149.99 MSRP) and 750 MB ($159.99) versions, although I'm at a loss why someone wouldn't want to double their capacity for just fifty bucks more. I found the drive to run a bit hot -- I had placed my iPhone on top of the drive at one point, and when I answered a call I wondered why the phone was so hot... As with other drives of this ilk, the G-Drive mobile is almost completely silent. Benchmarks TUAW uses a standard industry benchmark to compare the I/O capabilities of disks and arrays. The benchmark uses the AJA System Test, which simulates reading and writing video. The specific test I used was the Disk Read/Write test, also known as the DiskWhackTest, set at a video frame size of 720 x 486 8-bit and a file size of 128 MB. The drive read speeds were surprisingly fast in our benchmarks, matching almost every FireWire drive that we've tested (only one is shown below for space considerations). When it came to USB 2.0 read speeds, the G-Drive mobile was slightly faster than the competition across the board. Write speeds were slower for the G-Drive when connected via FireWire 800, while almost identical to other drives with a USB 2.0 connection. Conclusion and Giveaway If you're the owner of a MacBook Pro and have an available FireWire 800 port, or have a FireWire-equipped desktop Mac you'd like to back up while keeping a lot of available desk space, then the G-Drive mobile will fill your requirements. Those who only have USB 2.0 ports on their Macs should spend their money on less expensive USB-only drives that offer read/write speeds in the same range as the G-Drive mobile. Thanks to G-Technology and TUAW, you now have a chance to win one of these sweet little drives. Just fill out the entry form below (only one entry per person, please) and we'll pick a random winner next week. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before May 20, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a G-Technology G-Drive mobile valued at $199.99. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
G-Technologies' G-Raid with Thunderbolt drive now on sale, yours from $700
Thunderbolt-equipped RAID options from the likes of LaCie and Promise not satisfying your desire for a 10Gbps storage option? Good news, as Hitatchi's G-Technology is finally ready sell its G-Raid with Thunderbolt, which might just throw a smile on your face. We now know that you'll pay $700 for 4TB or storage, $850 for 6TB and $1,000 for 8TB. If you'll recall, the unit features a duo of T-Bolt ports for daisey-chains and two 3Gbps 7,200RPM HDDs that can be configured in RAID 0 for extra pep or RAID 1 for redundancy. That said, it'll require plug-in power, so don't expect to go mobile. Looking for more details in the meantime? Move your cursor over to the links below.
Hitachi unveils two new HDDs for G-Technology drives, gives Mac users new external storage options
Hitachi just released a couple of PC-centric storage solutions a few weeks ago, and now G-Technology, the company's Mac-centric brand, is getting new HDDs destined for its external dives. First up is the Travelstar 5K1000, a 2.5-inch, 5,400rpm hard drive with 6Gb/s SATA interface with up to 1TB of capacity. It's available in the G-DRIVE mobile, which offers connectivity via USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 for between $150 and $200, depending upon size. Next is the 3.5-inch 4TB Deskstar 7K4000, a 7,200rpm HDD found in the company's G-DRIVE and G-RAID offerings. It offers 3Gb/s eSATA, Firewire 800, and USB 2.0 connections, and will set you back $900 for a dual HDD 8TB G-RAID drive, or between $200 and $450 for the single disk G-DRIVE option when they start shipping in Q1 of this year.
G-Technology demos dual-drive 8TB G-RAID HDD, with a dash of Thunderbolt
Not to be outdone by Seagate's 4TB GoFlex Desk, Hitachi's G-Technology unit has now unleashed a jumbo-sized external HDD of its own, with the 8TB, dual-drive G-RAID. Demoed at this week's IBC conference in Amsterdam, the company's new storage house consists of two 4TB drives nestled within an aluminum enclosure, each of which clocks in at 7,200 RPM. Configured for OS X, the G-RAID also sports a Thunderbolt port that offers transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps, though it can also support Windows with some simple reformatting. G-Technology will begin shipping its 4TB drives in October (with eSATA, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports), whereas its "4TB-based" Thunderbolt-equipped drive won't hit the market until Q4 -- though it's still unclear whether either model will ship as single drives, or as a two-headed, 8TB beast. Pricing remains a mystery for the moment, but you can find more details in the full PR, after the break.
G-Technology's G-Connect offers 500GB of wireless storage, portable WiFi network to smartphone, tablet users
Hitachi's G-Technology unit has already showered us with a slew of external hard drives, but it's taking a slightly more hybridized approach with the G-Connect -- a device that offers both wireless storage and portable WiFi access to smartphone and tablet users. Designed with nomadic content-hoarders in mind, this little rascal boasts 500GB of mobile storage, can simultaneously support more than five different devices on its 802.11n wireless network, and, when connected via Ethernet, serves as a WiFi access point. It's also robust enough to stream up to five standard-definition movies at one time (or up to three HD flicks), and, at about 9.7 ounces, it won't add too much weight to your quiver of gadgets, either. If you're worried about security, you can surround the network with a password-protected fortress, or store some of your less mentionable content in your very own private folder. iOS users can further enhance their G-experience by downloading the accompanying app, which will allow them to view and access all of their G-stored documents and media from the comfort of their iDevices (an equivalent app for the Android crowd will launch this fall). If you're interested, you can pre-order the G-Connect from G-Technology's website for $200, or wait until it hits retailers next month. Full PR after the break. %Gallery-126886%
G-Technology crashes NAB with portable, Thunderbolt-equipped RAID arrays
The Thunderbolt goodness just keeps on rolling out at NAB. G-Technology just announced it will be adding support for the high-speed connection to its line of RAID devices for those who spend their days chopping up HD video. The first batch of products will hit in either Q3 or Q4 and start with the company's smaller arrays in the four to eight-disc size. A prototype of a four-drive model can be seen in the photo above, which rep Pete Schlatter described to us as "the sweet spot" in terms of portability and storage. Sure, calling an eight drive array "portable" sounds like a stretch, but don't forget: these are designed to be paired with laptops and carried by people editing video on the go -- you know, guys with giant cases of equipment and biceps to match.
Hitachi GST's G-Drive Slim: world's thinnest 2.5-inch external hard drive
Not like we need our 2.5-inch external drives to get that much smaller, but who are we to kvetch about progress? Hitachi GST has just outed what it calls the thinnest 2.5-inch external hard drive in the world. The G-Drive Slim is encased in a 128.6- x 82- x 9.9mm aluminum enclosure, and tucked within is a slimmer-than-usual 7mm Travelstar Z5K320 hard drive. The USB-powered unit comes formatted for use with Macs, but a quick reformat on your Windows machine will have its mind changed in no time flat. For now, it's only available in a 320GB flavor for $99.99, and you'll only find it at your local Apple Store.
Hitachi acquires Fabrik, looks to expand market presence
We keep hearing that it's a buyer's market out there, and for anyone with any amount of cash (that'd be Hitachi, in this scenario), the getting is pretty great. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) has just announced that it has snapped up Fabrik, Inc., a privately-held supplier of personal and professional storage solutions. You may be more familiar with the said company's brands, as G-Technology and SimpleTech tend to ring bells much better than a name easily mistaken for clothing. According to Steve Milligan, President of Hitachi GST, the acquisition will soon become "the cornerstone for the next phase of Hitachi's business transformation," though he certainly didn't bother to elaborate. Who knows -- maybe one day soon we really will see Hitachi taking on the likes of Western Digital and LaCie in the external sector.
G-Technology's external G-DRIVE mini / G-RAID mini appear with SSDs within
Across the way at Macworld, G-Technology has dropped in to launch what it (mistakenly) calls the industry's first family of external SSDs. Who knows, maybe it's playing up that "family" angle, but these certainly aren't the first SSDs to link up with machines from the outside. Minutiae aside, we're still pretty pumped about the G-DRIVE mini and G-RAID mini, both of which house 2.5-inch SSDs that promise to operate in a cooler, quieter fashion. The former unit is set to ship in 120GB and 250GB flavors, while the latter will arrive with 250GB or 500GB within. Also of note is the port assortment: USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and -- wait for it -- FireWire 400 (eSATA is included as well on the G-RAID mini). G-Technology asserts that the G-DRIVE minis will hit read rates of 75MB/sec and write speeds of 60MB/sec (the RAIDed siblings will top out at 195MB/sec), and nary a power supply is needed when using powered USB / FireWire sockets. Look for 'em to come pre-formatted for OS X later this month starting at $599.
