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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.
HGST launches new CinemaStar drives for media PCs and set top boxes
What's 2.5-inches wide, 7mm tall and silent as a whisper? Well, hopefully it's HGST's new CinemaStar hard drives. We know for certain that these platters of polarized bits will fit in your standard 2.5-inch drive bay, we'll just have to take this Western Digital subsidiary at its word (for now) on the silent bit. Three new families of disks just hit the market, the Z7K500, Z5K500 and budget-friendly C5K1000. The first two options are 7mm high, allowing them to slide nicely into small form factor PCs, DVRs and even laptops. Both top out at 500GB, but the Z7K ekes out better performance by whipping its platters around at 7,200 RPM, while the Z5Ks save energy and noise by ratcheting back to 5,400 RPM. The C5K comes in a slightly bulkier 9.5mm height, but this 5,400 RPM drive does reach the lofty storage size of 1TB. For now the drives are available in limited quantities to OEMs, but hopefully that will change soon enough. Check out the PR after the break for more details.
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%
Western Digital drops $4.3 billion to acquire Hitachi GST, enter staring contest with Seagate
Yow. Western Digital -- the company responsible for shipping the planet's first 1TB 2.5-inch hard drive way back in 2009 -- just announced a monstrous deal to acquire one of its primary competitors, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. Both outfits have actually shown quite a few interesting HDD designs in recent months, and it's pretty clear that WD would rather not go at it alone any longer. Granted, these types of deals aren't entirely unheard of -- in fact, Seagate swallowed up Maxtor back in 2005 for a cool $2 billion. Under the deal, which is a mix of $3.5 billion in cash and $750 million in WD common stock, the two will combine in a way that sees the Western Digital brand and headquarters surviving, while Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer of Hitachi GST, will join WD at closing as president. Hard to say what this will mean for consumer pricing and competition, but we're pretty certain the powers that be will be looking it all over for fairness before they hop in the blender during Q3. Full release is after the break.
Hitachi GST releases CinemaStar hard drives aimed for a DVR near you
Hitachi GST has announced two new drive families that it hopes will find happy homes in living rooms soon. To survive the mean streets of entertainment, both the 2.5-inch CinemaStar C5K750 and the 3.5-inch CinemaStar C5K750 families are lauded as quiet, energy sipping, and compact -- though they're positively fat compared to their 7mm thick Travelstar brethren. The 2.5-inch line ships in capacities of 750, 640, and 500GBs, while sipping 1.5W power during read/write operation and generating 2.3 idle bels. The 3.5-inch family bumps up the storage up to 1.5TB and 2TB capacities and features a CoolSpin Technology for A/V performance when handling the onslaught of recording and playing multiple video streams. For full details check out the PR after the break.
Hitachi's 7mm-thick hard drives grow to 500GB, keep slimline profile
If you can't beat SSDs (and you can't, we've checked), you might as well try and dress like them by squeezing into the unreasonably low profile of just 7mm. Such must be the reasoning behind Hitachi's svelte 7mm-thick HDD series, which today gets augmented with a new top-of-the-line drive boasting 500GB of storage room. This single-platter archivist measure 2.5 inches diagonally, but as its Z5K500 product name suggests, it only spins at the tame rate of 5400RPM. The less generously proportioned Z7K320 offers 7200RPM if you're after more oomph, but it's most likely that your first real contact with either of these drives will be when you see them built into whatever larger device you're buying. Like, say, an ultrathin netbook or a PMP that's eager to swallow your music collection whole.
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 intros Travelstar 5K750 and 7K750 mobile hard drives: 750GB at 9.5mm
It's a common story, really. Your puny 120GB mobile hard drive has been overflowing for months, and you've been waiting for what feels like an eternity for an affordable, capacious SSD. It's about time to give up the fantasy and get real, and thankfully Hitachi GST is making said pill a touch easier to swallow. The company's new Travelstar 5K750 (5400RPM; 8MB buffer) and 7K750 (7200RPM; 16MB buffer) have been announced this morning, and they're the company's first to feature Advanced Format. In other news, they're also the industry's largest drives in a standard-height form factor, cramming up to 750GB (375GB per platter) into a conventional 9.5mm shell that'll slip into just about any laptop made in the last decade. Yeah, WD managed to stuff 1TB into a laptop drive earlier in the year, but you'll need a machine that's beefy enough to handle a 12mm height drive in order to take advantage. At any rate, the drives will also be available in 500GB and 640GB sizes for those who can't handle three-quarters of a terabyte, and while the 5K750 family is already shipping in volume with a starting tag of $129.99, the speedier 7K750 crew won't be out until Q1 2011.
Hitachi stuffs 320GB into world's fastest 7mm hard drive
Well look at that: it's the world's first 320GB hard disk drive to spin at 7,200 RPM in a 7-mm high package -- take that Seagate. The 2.5-inch Serial ATA 3Gbps Travelstar Z7K320 features a 1,334Mbps max transfer rate assisted by a 16MB cache. The HDD draws 1.8 watts during read/write operations and 0.8 watts on lower-power idle while humming along at 23dB when idle or 24dB when seeking. And that skinny 7-mm form factor means it'll go places no standard 9.5-mm thick drive could even dream of when it hits the mass production lines in August -- like say next generation ultra-thin netbooks.
Hitachi introduces 2TB SimpleDrive for digital pack rats
Hitachi GST has been pushing 2TB hard drives for quite some time, but for whatever reason, the outfit's long-standing SimpleDrive line has been held back from enjoying the spoils. Until today, obviously. The outfit has just introduced a 2TB edition of its external SimpleDrive, and it also announced that all of its 3.5-inch retail drives are now available in 2TB capacities. There's also an upgraded Hitachi SimpleTech Pro Drive and Duo Pro Drive (2 x 2TB), with prices for the entire lot checking in at $249.99, $299.99 and $499.99 in order of mention. Oh, and in just case your 250GB drive from 2002 just hit its limit today, you'll be elated to know that each of these are available as we speak.
Hitachi intros two new portable HDDs, SimpleNET NAS adapter
If you'll recall, Hitachi GST snapped up Fabrik in February, and with that acquisition came the latter company's highly-regarded SimpleTech line. Today, Hitachi is introducing its first consumer products since the pickup, and while you'll notice a hint of 'Simple' in the titles, the branding is all Hitachi. First up is the water-resistant and shock-proof SimpleTOUGH portable USB drive (250/320/500GB for $99.99/$119.99/$149.99), which can survive a 3-meter fall and boasts a twistable USB cable that's permanently affixed to the enclosure. Next, there's the SimpleDRIVE Mini, which is a stylish, colorful portable HDD that is now shipping in red wine (250GB; $89.99), blue dusk (320GB; $109.99) and carbon fiber black (500GB; $139.99). Finally, there's Hitachi's alternative to the Pogoplug: the SimpleNET USB/NAS adapter. Put simply, this $79 device enables up to two USB HDDs to be placed on a network, though Hitachi makes clear that this is a convenience device, not a performance device. The 10/100 Ethernet jack is evidence of that, but hey, if you need a quick-and-dirty way to get your hard drive (regardless of format, by the way) on the web, this will certainly do it. Full release is after the break.
