eSATA
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Toshiba's 52- and 46-inch REGZA H3300 120Hz LCD televisions
What better way to start the day than with a pair of big-azz 120Hz LCD televisions with integrated HD recorders? Meet the new 52- and 46-inch REGZA H3300 sets for Japan. Each features a bevy of tuners and 300GB slot loading disk with a hunger for more via eSATA expansion. With support for 1080p (60p/24p) frame rates over 2x HDMI, Tosh's 120Hz panels will surely make the most of your native 24fps programming (read: Blu-ray or HD DVD films) without any messy frame doubling or interpolation (24 x 5 = 120, after all). But it's your world, and we're just a squirrel trying to get a nut, so the ¥620,000 (about $5,099) for the 52H3300 or ¥520,000 (about $4,276) for the 46H3300 makes us want to move our butt. Everybody dance now! Um, sorry for that. [Via Impress]
Philips SPD5130 external hard drive hits 1TB
Philips certainly isn't the first company to shove 1TB of storage into some form of external enclosure, but the recently-unveiled SPD5130 does manage to strip the NAS niceties and add an eSATA interface all the while. Of course, users can still plug this one in via USB 2.0, and everyone should appreciate the 32MB included buffer for "enhanced transfer stability." Externally, the 1TB drive is wrapped in a thick aluminum shell that should protect it from minor battles, touts a one-click backup button, and it even includes an intelligent power management feature that powers it up and down with the PC it is attached to. Reportedly, the SPD5130 should be available to customers in Europe and the US pretty soon, and while we haven't seen anything official just yet, we're hearing that it'll run €449 across the pond and $499 here on American soil.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Addonics unveils the Diamond internal / external hard drive enclosure
While flash drives and pocket hard drives are all well and good, sometimes you just gotta move all the data on that 1TB monster to another machine and go -- and Addonics has got you data-intensive road warriors covered with their new Diamond line of SATA / eSATA hard drive enclosures and cradles. Mounting a drive in the enclosure gives you what appears to be a regular, if somewhat slim, eSATA drive, but the entire unit can then be slid into one of the Diamond cradles mounted in a 5.25-inch bay, giving you a host of internal connection options, from plain ol' USB 2.0 to direct SATA to SCSI. Depending on how you configure your setup, prices range all over the place, but a standard SATA / eSATA rig should only set you back about $50, according to Addonics. Not bad, not bad at all.
WiebeTech's RT5, RT5e enclosures provide portable RAID solutions
Nah, WiebeTech's latest RAID enclosures can't quite offer up the internal storage capacity seen on Novac's iterations, but the RT5 and RT5e still pack an awful lot of capacity with a handle on top. The RT5 packs a nice variety of connection options, as users will find twin FireWire 800 ports along with one eSATA and USB 2.0 connector to boot, and there should be enough room in there to cram "up to 2TB" of HDDs for on-the-go redundancy. The RT5e differs ever-so-slightly by giving us the means to stuff five 750GB IDE drives in the case, leaving you with up to 3.75TB of space to read / write on via the sole eSATA jack. The enclosures sport five reloadable, lockable drive trays, a rugged exterior that shouldn't suffer from minor bumps and bruises, and while an empty rendition will run you $1,699.95, WiebeTech will gladly sell 'em pre-populated for anywhere from $2,259.95 to a steep $4,149.95 depending on drive selections.[Via Macworld]
Buffalo intros 1TB / 2TB DriveStation Quattro hard drives
Nah, Buffalo's latest don't sport a gigabit Ethernet connection, but the 1TB HD-Q1.0TSU2/R5 and 2TB HD-Q2.0TSU2/R5 external hard drives do feature both USB 2.0 and eSATA options. The Quattro drives are the outfit's newest additions to the DriveStation lineup, and aside from offering up terabytes of stores in RAID scenarios, it also sports SecureLockWare for automatic encryption, Memeo AutoBackup, and near silent operation. Each unit touts four 7,200 RPM HDDs, RAID 0/1/5 and JBOD functionality, and just in case your PC doesn't play nice with eSATA just yet, it comes bundled with a "free" eSATA PCI card and back plate to get you going. Available right now, the 1TB flavor will run you $599, while you can double your capacity for an extra four Benjamins.[Via TechDigest]
Logitec kicks out five new eSATA external hard drives
If you're looking to snag one of those externally bootable eSATA drives, but don't want to sacrifice that increasingly necessary USB 2.0 connectivity, Logitec has five new drives to fit the bill, regardless of storage space needed. Boasting a sleek, silver / black enclosure and a "silent" (read: fanless) design, this dual-port drive comes in 250GB, 320GB, 400GB, 500GB, and 750GB flavors. While an eSATA PCI card isn't bundled in, it's an optional accessory if your PC isn't already prepared for it, and the device also features a file mirroring tool to easily clone your boot drive and a "write protection button" to prevent data entry -- you know, in case you're faced with any Jack Bauer-like situations. Anyways, the LHD-EDSAU2 series can be snapped up in Japan next month for ¥17,800 ($152), ¥22,100 ($188), ¥28,500 ($243), ¥31,700 ($270), and ¥72,200 ($614), running from smallest to most capacious.[Via Akihabara News]
SATA-EC300 dual-eSATA ExpressCard for uh, Boot Camp
In a gesture of goodwill we appreciate at the end of a long week, System Talks Japan is here to value you up! with their Sugoi SATA card. Otherwise known as the SATA-EC300, this eSATA ExpressCard allows you to connect not just one, but two external SATA drives to your laptop computer and supports drive hot swap, 3Gbps transfer speeds, and NCQ for improved SATA performance. Better yet for MacBook Pro owners, the SATA-EC300 is said to work equally well under native OSX or when juicin' Mircosoft's OS under Boot Camp -- Made for Boot Camp Apple? So go ahead, slap a couple of 2TB DriveStations on your new MBP, you've earned it buddy. Expected early November in Japan for the up-valued price of just ¥9,800 (about $83). [Via Impress]
Buffalo's HD-QSU2/R5 DriveStations: 2TB and yummy eSATA
We say bring it, Buffalo, and your bigazz drives! Meet the new HD-QSU2/R5 DriveStations now with eSATA connectivity in either 1TB or 2TB models. Each ships with four, 7200RPM SATA drives allowing 'em to be conifigured as RAID 0/1/5. That's up to 500GB more capacity than before with eSATA throwing the bits 'tween the DriveStation and PC at 3x the rate of USB 2.0 -- that's over 100MB/s as tested under RAID 5. On sale starting mid-November in Japan (and likely abroad soon after) for about ¥83,580 (about $702) for the 1TB or ¥156,345 (about $1,312) for that biggie 2TB. Hmm, wonder if one of those new BitTorrent routers comes with eSATA? Er, was that out loud?[Via Impress]
Novac's SATA HDD Kit Mini: hooks up disks over USB
If you've every wanted to connect a SATA disk on the quick, then look no further for that fix than the SATA HDD Kit Mini from Novac of Japan. While it'll get you connected via accompanying cables to either SATA or eSATA disks just fine, don't expect this pup to be pumping data across the USB 2.0 bus anywhere near eSATA's 2.4Gbps transfer rate after that stick deals with the USB 2.0 step-down and protocol translation. If you really need that kind of speed but lack a native eSATA connector on your motherboard, then you'd better be looking the way of Ratoc's ExpressCard. Still, for just ¥3,980 or right around $34, this'll probably get you by in a pinch.[Via Impress]
Buffalo's IFC-CB2ES dual eSATA PCMCIA card
Although PCMCIA inputs may be waning in popularity (just don't tell Mercedes owners) while making way for those snazzy ExpressCard slots, we're sure quite a few laptop owners are still looking for a worthwhile component to shove in that unutilized port, and Buffalo's IFC-CB2ES just might be the ticket. This eSATA (external serial ATA) card doubles up on Ratoc's REX-EX30S by sporting two hot-swappable inputs for those moments when one external drive just won't cut it -- the device also includes Acronis' MigrateEasy software, which makes for easy system backups in case your notebook drive craps out, and Buffalo touts the card's ability to boot directly from an external drive in case of such emergencies. If you're running short on USB / IEEE 1394 ports and desperately need the spacious relief that only external storage can provide, you can dust off that PCMCIA slot and snag the IFC-CB2ES later this month for ¥4,700 ($40 US).[Via Akihabara News]
Iomega launches 320GB eSATA drive
Just a warning that peeps looking out for eSATA (external serial ATA) gear shouldn't have to wait too terribly much longer -- you know it's hitting critical mass when Iomega starts launching retail gear sporting the interface. Their new 320GB eSATA drive even comes bundled with an eSATA PCI card as well as Firewire 800 and USB 2.0 interfaces, should the eSATA thing not actually be your bag (or the machine you're temporarily using not have eSATA). It'll cost you $239, but at least you can get it precisely now, availability pending.[Via The Reg]
Sotec's WinBook DN8000: 17-inches of Core Duo
Sotec of Japan hopes you'll get your knickers in a twist over their new top-end WinBook, the DN8000. Like the DN7000, the DN8000 loves on the Intel Core Duo family of processors offering the 2.16GHz T2600 in that 8.2-pound slab. The DN8k maxes out with a 17-inch, 1440 x 900 pixel capable LCD, 2GB RAM, 120GB disk, WiFi, dual-layer DVD burner, slots for ExpressCard/54 and External SATA, four speakers, and suite of interfaces for Firewire, USB, S/PDIF and memory cards. Sound good so far right? But are you sure you want to bet your budget on a laptop sportin' Intel's 945GM integrated graphics with Vista's memory hungry UI on deck? Yeah, thought not. Prices start right around ¥119,800 (or about $1,035) for a lot less oomph than listed above. [Via Impress]
