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WD's G-Drive USB-C adds storage and power to your laptop
Apple's courageous decision to equip the MacBook with just one USB-C port for charging and external storage forced owners to carry a pricey dongle if they wanted to do both at once. If you're in that camp, or would rather not sacrifice a port on your MacBook Pro or other USB-C device, Western Digital has a drive that could make your day. The G-Drive USB-C gives you 4, 8 or 10TB of storage, while simultaneously charging your laptop with up to 45 watts of power.
Samsung's first portable SSD packs fast storage for relatively little cash
You don't exactly have a ton of options when it comes to portable solid-state drives. You can get fast performance or high capacity at a halfway affordable price, but rarely both. Samsung thinks it can strike that tricky balance with its first-ever external option, the Portable SSD T1. The USB 3.0 storage is based on the same speedy-yet-cheap V-NAND chips as the 850 EVO drive you might buy for your gaming PC, letting it hold a large chunk of your files without devastating your wallet or slowing down -- it reads and writes at 450 MB/s, or just about desktop-level speeds. The line starts off modestly with a 250GB drive that costs $180, but you can opt for 500GB ($300) or 1TB ($600) if you have a lot of games or movies to carry around. That's still expensive compared to spinning hard disks, but it's a relative steal for the performance. Look for the T1 to hit US stores around mid-January.
Xbox One June update arrives so you can drop the nickname and add storage
Whether or not we love the update process, we're quickly getting used to the rapid pace of improvements coming to Microsoft's Xbox One. After the usual beta period, the promised June update is here, and brings several features we've been waiting for since launch. Old school automatic logins are once again an option, so even if your Kinect is unplugged (or nonexistent) all saves and settings will be available right away without any extra clicks. There's also support for up to two external hard drives, as long as they're USB 3.0 and at least 256GB. That's a boon not only for the extra storage space, but for speed too -- some beta testers reported faster loading times after adding 7200RPM drives that outpace the standard laptop option Microsoft put inside the XB1. The Xbox One version of Games for Gold and a new VIP section are here too, letting subscribers nab Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault without spending another dime or try out Hulu Plus free for three months.
Upcoming Xbox One update might let you use external drives
According to Microsoft product director Albert Penello, external drive support for the Xbox One has always been on the company's docket to enable in a future update. That refresh looks to be on the horizon after an unnamed Xbox developer took to Reddit to tease an image showing that very feature in action. Members of the Xbox One preview programme are often privy to early features, which have recently included improved Party Chat and manual checks for system updates, but this leak will likely attract the most attention. Although the Xbox One ships with a 500GB internal hard drive, blockbuster games can command 50GB without breaking a sweat. That game storage, of course, adds up over time. Attaching an additional drive will not only stop you from running out of space, it'll also stop you from voiding your warranty with a do-it-yourself replacement.
Anker Astro 3 12,000 mAh External Battery won't keep you tied to an outlet
Whenever I review an external battery pack, there's always at least one commenter who says "get an Anker battery pack -- they're just as powerful and much less expensive." So when a PR firm pitched me on Anker's Astro 3 12,000 mAh External Battery (US$99.99 MSRP, available on Amazon for $44.99), I decided to jump on the opportunity. Check out this short review, and then enter for a chance to win one of these units for yourself. Design If you're looking for fancy packaging, don't bother with Anker. You're getting a plain brown box with a little slip of cardboard around it. But it's what's inside the package that counts. The Astro 3 comes with a nice mesh-like carrying bag, full well-written instruction manual, returns and exchanges policy, and even a USB to microUSB charging cable with a micro-USB to 30-pin Dock connector adapter. That's everything you'll need to be able to charge most pre-2013 iPhones and iPads. The battery itself is a 10.5 ounce (approx. 300 grams) black rectangle measuring 4.375" x 3.25" x .94" (11.1 x 8.26 x 2.39 cm). The long sides of the unit are rounded to make it easy to hold, and it's covered with a soft touch black matte plastic. On one end, you'll find four ports -- a micro-USB port for charging the battery, and a trio of USB ports. The ports provide 5 Volts at a combined 4 Amp output; one of the ports is referred to as a "smart port" that provides a maximum of 2.4 Amps of current to quickly charge one device. For some odd reason, Anker doesn't list any iPads except the original and the iPad mini as being compatible with the Astro 3, although the old 2.1 Amp AC charging adapters worked just fine with most of the earlier iPads. Unlike just about all of the competitors, the Anker Astro 3 has no external buttons on it. Instead, to either get a reading of the battery charge on the device or "wake it up" for charging your phone or tablet, you just give the Astro 3 a shake. When the white LEDs arrayed in a circle on the top light up, you're ready to go. Functionality What can I say? The Astro 3 works fine with any iPhone, and I was also able to get it to power my third-generation iPad with no problems. I like the fact that the white LEDs pulse gently while the Astro 3 is charging your device, giving you a reminder that power is flowing into your iPad or iPhone. If it's an iPhone you want to keep topped off with power, Anker says you'll be able to recharge it "6 or 7 times". Conclusion At a price point through Amazon that is similar to other 12,000 mAh batteries on the market, the Anker Astro 3 provides some nice little extras and a unique user interface. It'll keep your gear going long after you've left the power outlet behind. Pros Good capacity at 12,000 mAh Buttonless design and "shake to wake" work well for determining charge capacity and starting charge Included carrying bag and cables are useful although you'll need to supply your own Lightning cable for newer devices Price is very reasonable, and manufacturer has a good reputation Cons Soft finish tends to pick up fingerprints quite easily Who is it for? The budget-minded iPhone or iPad owner who wants a way to keep devices powered up away from the wall socket Giveaway TUAW and Anker are teaming up to give away one Astro 3 External Battery. 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 August 7, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive an Anker Astro 3 12,000 mAh External Battery valued at $99.99 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Antec PowerUp 6000 offers iPad-capable portable power
Mid-June is an odd time of year. Apple's hardware refresh cycle isn't really due until October -- likely six full months away -- so you might consider picking up an external battery pack to use with your current iOS device to tide you over until then. Internal batteries drop in efficiency as devices age, and replacement prices can be a little steep. An out-of-warranty iPhone or iPad battery replacement can cost upwards of US$85 or $105 with shipping. If you're a developer, this goes double. With iOS beta season under way, mobile devices are eating up batteries in new and curious ways. This isn't uncommon, as early releases of operating systems often contain debugging processes that are removed before the system goes "gold." External battery units are becoming more affordable than ever and newer systems like the Antec PowerUp 6000 support recharging both iPhones and iPads with high-amperage USB ports. I've been using an Antec review unit for the last couple of weeks and have found it a solid performer for light-weight emergency power. The Antec is a portable pack that fits nicely into a pocket. Its design has soft edges, easy port access and a built-in indicator light. You charge it using USB (rather than, say, plugging directly into a wall socket). I've tested it with iPhones, iPads and a variety of other USB-powered devices including the Kindle Fire and Bluetooth speakers. It's a bit hard to fully review the Antec PowerUp external battery ($60 MSRP, $42 street price) as Amazon customer criticisms of the product center on it losing its mojo after a few months of continuous use. My work style doesn't include long periods of off-grid demands; I haven't regularly drained the unit and I've been pretty faithful about plugging it in at nights. A spokesperson from Antec promised to get back to us with a statement about these issues. We'll add an update when he does so. Because of these issues, TUAW does not feel comfortable recommending or not recommending the product based on our testing. Update: Antec replies, "We haven't seen that many returns or failures on the PowerUp line. In the case of those two customers on Amazon (and anyone who reports issues or problems) our tech support and customer service reach out to them to either return or replace the unit."
ASUS teases mystery product on its Facebook page (update: it's a 3D Blu-ray writer!)
What's this? ASUS is teasing a mystery product shrouded in shadows on its Facebook page. From the looks of it, the piano-black hardware is mounted vertically onto a brushed metal cantilevered stand that just oozes style. Our vague, uninformed reckonings make us wonder if it's not an art-deco styled EeeBox, a desktop PC you'd be ashamed to hide under your desk, or the prettiest router we've ever seen. Either way, we'll keep our eyes peeled and in the meantime, you can cast your own idle speculation into the comments below. Update: Ah, and here it is: the SBW-06C2X-U 3D Blu-ray writer that supports 6X Blu-ray writing speed! Thanks, Kiran.
Elgato's Thunderbolt SSD delivers fast portable storage at premium prices
Update: Added BareFeats performance testing information. If there's one word I'd pick to describe Elgato's newest Mac peripheral, the Thunderbolt SSD external drive, it would have to be "minimalist." With this product, the company has delivered storage so simple that it's almost featureless. The Germany-based accessory maker (best known for the EyeTV line of tuners and video capture gear) jumps into the slowly-growing Thunderbolt market with these two drive models, identical save for capacity: the 120GB unit retails for $429.95 and the 240GB unit for $699.95. Unboxed, the drive is a compact gray metal oblong -- no lights, not much adornment, and just the single Thunderbolt port dead center on the back. It feels quite solid and is about as heavy as a LaCie rugged compact FireWire drive. Plug it in, and it mounts on any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac; it's thoughtfully preformatted as HFS+, since precious few Windows users would have any use for it. Note that the drive also requires, but does not ship with, a Thunderbolt peripheral cable -- so add that $40 to your net pricing. In use, it's fanlessly silent, although it does grow warm over time. You gain all the benefits of SSD storage, including no-moving-parts reliability and full resistance to magnetic field interference. Given the premium price (not as steep as LaCie's TB external SSD, but that includes a passthrough Thunderbolt port that the Elgato drive lacks), what are you getting for the money? Standalone storage for your Mac that beats USB drives on speed; it also blazes past external FireWire 800 drives, for machines that have that interface option. Update: BareFeats also performed tests on the Elgato drive with several different performance tools (AJA System Test, QuickBench & others) and saw dramatically better sequential write performance than I did; however, when they tested with the BlackMagic utility, they saw the same performance I reported. It is possible that the BlackMagic utility is doing something with write testing that is not optimized. BareFeats also noted that the Elgato unit is using a 3G SSD internally; when they replaced it with a 6G SSD storage module they saw a corresponding bump in speed. Elgato cites an optimal data transfer rate of 270 MB/second for data reads in its testing. When I fired up Blackmagic's speed test utility, I didn't get quite that fast a show, but it was definitely respectable: 222 MB/s on reads, 112.7 MB/s on writes. Compare that to an external FW 800 1TB drive, which leveled off at about 80MB/s on both writes and reads. My MacBook Pro's internal SSD (an OWC Mercury Pro 6G), connected directly to the SATA bus, topped out at 281/163 read/write. Of course, none of these speeds measure up to the fastest rated SSDs out there. One can't expect to do too much data sharing with the Thunderbolt drive, at least not until most of your fellow travelers also have TB-enabled machines. If you're looking for additional storage for your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, it's fast and sleek; you're paying for speed and simplicity, but slower USB or FireWire storage can be had in much higher capacities for a fraction of the cost, which would be more appropriate for Time Machine backups or archival storage. For now, the Elgato drive is a premium option that's great if you have the cash -- but it might be overkill for most casual users.
G-Tech G-Drive slim: stylish storage in a small package
I've been trying out the G-Tech G Drive slim portable hard drive for a few days and I'm quite impressed with it. The unit I tried was the 320 GB version, and in my "everyday user" tests, the drive performed remarkably well. Design The first thing you notice about the G Drive is that it looks like it was designed by Apple. As usual, that's a very good thing. And as a matter of fact, the G Drive website says that the external hard drive was made to mimic the look and feel of the MacBook Air. Perhaps it's the design of the G Drive that made Apple give this external their unofficial blessing. In a retail setting it's sold exclusively at Apple Stores and can usually be found hooked up to one of the MacBook Pros on display. The G Drive slim is made of a lightweight compact aluminum enclosure with a black rubber trim around the edges and features a single USB 2.0 port. The size of the enclosure is roughly 5"x3.2" and only 9.9mm thick. Best of all, it weighs only 0.33 pounds, so throwing it into your backpack, laptop case, or even a jacket pocket hardly adds any noticeable weight to your baggage. Usage Inside the G Drive slim you'll find a 2.5" 5400RPM Hitachi hard drive. Since the G Drive slim uses a USB interface, you've got a theoretical data transfer rate of 480 MB/s. But as to be expected, real-world usage is always slower. Still, transferring a 1 GB folder full of photos from my Mac to the drive took only about 38 seconds. That's not too bad for a consumer drive where design is clearly the most important element. Out of the box the G Drive slim is Mac-ready. It ships formatted for any Mac running OS X 10.5 of later. The drive is also Time Machine-compatible right out of the box. Also, for those of you with a Mac and PC household, though the drive is Mac-inspired and ready, you can still use it with any PC running Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7. Conclusion Nowadays a 320 GB USB drive doesn't sound like much, especially one that costs US$99. However, the target audience for this drive isn't one who wants to back up dozens and dozens of HD video files or use the drive as a scratch disk for video editing. It's for those people who want a quick, stylish, and easy way to store and transfer their photos, documents, and music. And most of the people in that group (including me) care more about design and portability than having the latest and greatest Thunderbolt devices. The 320 GB G Drive slim is available for US$99 at Apple retail stores, Apple Online, and on Amazon.com.
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.
Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB tuner priced at $299, ships September 19th
Once its certification was official we knew a release date for the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB was just around the corner, and today the company announced it expects to start shipping the external CableCARD TV tuners September 19th. Starting tomorrow, customers can preorder for $299 from Cannon PC and Fluid Digital, with other retailers like Amazon and Newegg getting stock later in September. Also, the price on the existing internal PCIe model has officially dropped to $299, no rebate necessary. The market is suddenly full of options for the HTPC enthusiast looking to get some premium cable TV channels on their Media Center PC, check the press release after the break and let us know if this one catches your eye.
Apple's OS X Lion USB sticks now available online, for $69
After more than a week's worth of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally released its OS X Lion USB thumb drive, available now at its online store. This little stick offers a physical media alternative to Cupertino's otherwise App Store-centric distribution model, providing access to OS X Lion for $69. One caveat, however, is that users who download the software via thumb drive won't be able to re-install it using the recently released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, but will have to rely upon the USB stick, instead. The other caveat, of course, is price, as just $29 will get you the exact same OS, via the App Store. To grab one for yourself, hit up the source link, below.
Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB is CableLabs certified, almost ready to go
Not finding the current CableCARD tuner options satisfactory? Perhaps the Ceton InfiniTV 4 USB will fit the bill. We first got our hands on it at CES (along with the InfiniTV 6) in January and the company tweeted tonight that it is now CableLabs certified. There's still no word on details like ship date and pricing, but with regulatory hurdles cleared it should be shipping very soon. Check a few more hands-on shots in our gallery.
HDHomeRun Prime TV tuner officially available for preorders for $249, six tuner version next week
After a false start when it passed certification earlier this month, SiliconDust's three CableCARD tuner HDHomeRun Prime is finally available for preorder from Newegg for $249. The release date is scheduled for June 29th but those interested in getting it hooked up to their HTPC as quickly as possible may want to wait until next week when the six-tuner 6CC version goes up for preorder, as those are expected to begin shipping first. There's no volume discount on the tuners at $499, but at $83 per tuner you might be able to justify it as a better value than the four-tuner and also network-sharable InfiniTV 4. Either way, if you just need a bit more information before purchasing, you'll find it on the sales page, on the linked PDF below or in the video trailer embedded after the break. [Thanks Justin & @TheReal_PeterF]
Apple patent application reveals plans for external battery pack, spells further trouble for HyperMac
Way back in September of last year, Apple filed a patent-infringement suit against HyperMac, the folks behind these external batteries. At the time, it looked like Apple was protecting its patented MagSafe power connector, but a newly released USPTO application for a "Power Adapter with Internal Battery" might reveal a more accurate view of the company's litigious motivations. From the look of things, the outfit intends to make its mark on juicing solutions with what is basically a wall charger packing an internal battery. According to the patent filing, the contraption would include a processor for parceling energy to the host device as well as the adapter, and could also incorporate a supplemental energy source like a solar cell. Among other things, it would also communicate with the device being charged to allow users to monitor the juice stored in the extra battery. If the thing does end up making it to market, it looks like HyperMac could have a whole lot more trouble on its hands than a little patent-infringement suit.
Buffalo reveals slimline external BDXL burner for $275, affiliated media still makes your wallet weep
BDXL is the optical storage medium du jour, but the options for those wanting its capacious quad-layer burning capabilities in a tasty to-go form factor are fairly limited. Previous drives have lacked a certain... aesthetic appeal, but now Buffalo has unveiled its BRXL-PC6U2-BK, a slim and shiny external model that'll handle all of your BDXL disc-creation needs. The drive can run off a single USB 2.0 plug, though writing at 4x speeds requires a second USB connection to give it the juice required to do the deed. Slated for a release by the end of March, otherwise known as next week, this hot little onyx number will set you back ¥22,100 (about $275). Just don't go blowing all your cash on the drive -- BR-R XL discs ain't cheap, y'know.
Sanho announces new HyperDrive line-up, still enough storage for your Frank Zappa discography
Surely you remember Sanho's HyperDrive lineup -- ya know, the only portable HDD that plays nicely with the iPad? Well, if you don't dig the $249 entry level price, you're in luck. The company just announced a bunch of new HDDs for you to take with you and your iPad on that road trip you've had planned for years. As we saw at CES, the new drives no longer sport the QVGA color display or the CF and SD card slots -- instead, the black case has two mini USB ports and a power socket. The HyperDrive doesn't come with the traditional AC adapter but instead a USB-to-DC cable and the user-replaceable battery will allow up to 40GB of transfers on a single charge. And if you're wondering why there's two USB ports, we really couldn't tell you. Perhaps if you choose the right port while connected to your PC and enter the Konami code, unicorns and fairy dust will pop out of your screen -- wishful thinking, we know. The HyperDrives ship in March (pre-ordering is available now) with prices starting at $99 for a bring-your-own-drive housing, 1TB for $349 and various sizes in-between. So, if your photo/video library is worth accessing at all times, well, props to you. Press release is after the break.
LaCie Float concept combines external HDD with trackpad, ingenuity with fantasy
How do you freshen up the typically unexciting external storage unit? You slap a multitouch trackpad on the top of it, of course. And since you're dreaming up wild concepts, make that top out of carbon fiber, provide a base made out of glass and insert some LEDs next to it to provide ambient illumination -- with an integrated light sensor adjusting their brightness on the fly, obviously. Yes, André Silva's LaCie Float is indeed out of touch with things like "feasibility" and "economics," but don't tell us you wouldn't love that slice of converged awesomeness sidling up next to your laptop. USB 3.0 comes standard and an SSD option is also available, if you wish for it hard enough.
Kingston unveils HyperX Max 3.0, a SuperSpeed SSD for your pocket, we tear it down (video)
USB 3.0 and SSDs, they were just made for each other, don't you think? Kingston certainly seems to agree, as it's now rolled out its first SuperSpeed portable solid state drive, giving it the catchy title of HyperX Max 3.0. It fits within the dimensions of a conventional 2.5-inch hard drive, but differs in being able to pump 195MB of data per second when reading or 160MBps when writing. Although pricing and availability details aren't yet available, we can expect 64GB, 128GB and 256GB varieties to crop up some time soonish. Until then, can we interest you in some unboxing and teardown action, courtesy of our brethren over at Engadget Spanish? You'll find it on video just past the break.
Memorex intros Mirror for Photos external HDD, dares you to skip a backup
Taking a note from Clickfree, are we Memorex? The company that continually attempts to blow everyone away is back with its latest gust, Mirror for Photos. It's an odd name for an external hard drive, particularly when you realize that it functions nothing like bona fide photo backup drives that are designed to tether to your DSLR. At any rate, this here drive ships with software (PC and Mac compatible, in case you're curious) that instructs the HDD to backup to a host machine as soon as it's plugged in. Sounds great in theory, but we've always found it superbly annoying to try and halt those automated processes when you're just trying to drag and drop a critical meeting file while darting out the door. The unit itself measures in at 3- x 5- x 0.5-inches and gets all the power it needs from a USB connection; it's on sale today at Toys R Us (yeah, seriously) for $79.99 (320GB) / $99.99 (500GB) / $119.99 (640GB).
