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Imation Apollo D300 pairs 2TB of storage with USB 3.0 connection for $220
Decisions, decisions. The $200 price range tends to be reserved for happy shiny smartphones in our minds nowadays, but spare a thought for the demure hard drive as well. Imation's just announced an overhaul of its Apollo line of external plate spinners, with the headliner being the Expert D300 unit you see above. Accompanied by its very own detachable stand and backup software, this $220 USB 3.0 drive promises oodles of room and a decent turn of speed as well. Set for an October launch, it'll find lower price points for archivists with needs closer to 500GB or 1TB in size, and there's also a selection of classically minded USB 2.0 HDDs for the more frugal among you -- learn more about them in the full press release after the break.
Apricorn's DVR Expanders get bigger, prettier, quieter with new 2TB option and fanless designs
Say hello to the latest iteration of Apricorn's DVR Expander series, now offering sizes up to 2TB. The drives are wrapped in a passively cooled design that not only upgrades the looks from its external storage units of years gone by but are also "ultra-quiet" after dropping the fans. The 1.5TB and 2TB ($169 and $249, respectively) models are only for compatible DirecTV boxes, while Dish Network and Scientific Atlanta (8300 and 8240 series) DVR users can plug in units of either 500GB or 1TB ($99 and ($129, respectively) in size. With up to 234 hours of HDTV recording on the eSATA/USB connected units, mentioning the possibility of connecting multiple drives to the satellite boxes seems like overkill, but if you want to record every episode of The Daily Show and Colbert Report left this year, we won't judge.%Gallery-99002%
Aegis Bio grows to 640GB of fingerprint-protected storage
Apricorn specializes in the fine art of making people believe their data is worth stealing and charging them for the privilege of protecting it. Its Aegis Bio range has now been expanded, both in number and in capacity, as the former ceiling of 250GB has been lifted with the introduction of 320GB, 500GB and 640GB variants. The 2.5-inch external disk validates user identity with that handy fingerprint scanner on top before allowing access to the otherwise 128-bit encrypted precious stuff within it. Prices of the new models top out at $160 for the most voluminous one, making them thrifty enough to buy even if you don't need secret agent-level security -- which, let's face it, you don't. Full PR after the break.
Hitachi unveils LifeStudio content-aware external hard drives, we go hands-on
If we said Hitachi's got a new line of external hard drives, you'd probably walk away -- but what if they were the smartest bricks of magnetic memory you'd ever seen? That's how Hitachi is billing the new LifeStudio array of drives, which feature not only the standard rotating disks, but also dockable USB keys, software that auto-organizes your media, and several gigabytes of cloud storage. At $80 for a basic 250GB 2.5-inch disk and $220 for the premium 2TB desktop unit, they're not the cheapest external storage on the block, but they claim to do so much more than store that we just had to give them a try. Read our full impressions after the break. %Gallery-97047%
Plextor gets all zen with PlexMedia: a modular, network-attached Blu-ray player
It's not often we come across an external drive that looks like anything but a brick, so we were pleasantly surprised to see Plextor demoing something a little more svelte at Computex. We can tell the PlexMedia network attached media player (bottom) is a looker right off the bat, but it truly becomes useful when you plug in the PX-B120U (top) designed to go with it. The combination is a fully-functional Blu-ray disc player that apparently outputs to a TV, but the smaller box can also detach, slip into your bookbag and become an external Blu-ray drive for your PC. Since there's no specs or pics of the unit's rear, we honestly have no idea how it accomplishes either, but we imagine the info will spontaneously pop into our being if we stare long enough at those azure ripples, and thus complete our meditation. On the off-chance that doesn't work, we've also dispatched a carrier pigeon to Plextor HQ for the answers; in the meanwhile, you can peruse the presser after the break.
MSI Graphics Upgrade Solution seeks an ExpressCard slot to call home
It seems like we've been talking about external graphics cards forever, but how many do you recall that look quite as raw and ready as this? The Graphics Upgrade Solution, set for a full unveiling at Computex, is MSI's latest answer to the eternal problem that is gaming on the move. Serving as a conduit -- via its own PCI Express interface and the oft-neglected ExpressCard slot -- between desktop GPUs and laptops, the GUS comes with its own power brick that can support cards with up to an 84W TDP. That, together with the limited bandwidth on offer, makes the ATI Radeon HD 5670 bundle pretty much the top of the GUS pile, but at somewhere around $229 that doesn't look like a terrible deal at all. Alternatively, you can buy the bare unit for around $100 and make use of some old GPU to give a little extra pep to your laptop. It's all good.
TiVo Premiere is updated and expanded, but is it ready?
It's not streaking through downtown Dallas remaking Matt & Kim videos just yet but after an uneven start the TiVo Premiere continues to evolve, this time towards something with even more capacity and (hopefully) less lockups. ZatzNotFunny mentions a new software update to version 14.1c has gone live this weekend which is intended to fix lockups some customers are experiencing with more revisions promised over the coming weeks and months to address various performance and stability issues. Forum reactions are mixed, with some dropping back to the old UI for more stability and speed but if you're living the Premiere lifestyle let us know how things are going for you. Those still on the outside looking in who haven't been scared off by the growing pains can also consider a few new larger capacity options courtesy of longtime modder/reseller WeaKnees, now ready to deliver units with up to 2TB of storage internally or even externally for those who like it like that -- you know who you are.
Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive review
Imation was set to announce its first-ever Wireless USB hard drive a year ago, but it lost a dear friend shortly before it materialized and we'd heard nothing since then. Today Imation has returned -- holding hands with its new partner, Staccato -- to release the Pro WX 1.5 terabyte Wireless USB hard drive for both Windows and Mac. At $449.99, though, we thought to ourselves: does the Pro WX offer something extraordinary for the premium price? Or are you better off with a NAS device like Apple's infamous Time Capsule? We ran some quick tests to find out -- do read on for some juicy results.
Laptop Battery Express' external battery works with 10,000 laptop models, just not yours
If you're toting a new laptop with non-removable battery then you've got an obvious problem: it will run out of juice, likely at the moment you need it most. That's Murphy's law. Fortunately, a number of vendors have started to introduce these external battery packs designed exclusively for laptops. The practically named Universal External Laptop Battery from Laptop Battery Express ships with enough interchangeable tips to provide an extra 4 hours (rated at 66Wh) of power to thousands of laptops from just about any of the big-boy brands you can think of. There's even a USB port for topping-off your cellphone or portable media player. Unfortunately, the most notorious fixed-battery laptop, the MacBook Pro, is not supported. Ah well, that's just more business for Hypermac, eh? One more glamor-shot after the break.[Via SlashGear]
Pioneer's ultraslim DVR-XD09 burner is more jewel case than drive
While ASUS is busy stuffing DVD burners into Eee PCs, Pioneer and others are working hard to make the integrated optical drive a thing of the past. The freshly announced XD09 measures in at 5.24 x 0.58 x 5.24-inches and 8 ounces, or slightly beefier than your average CD case. Pioneer claims that it's the most compact drive design yet. Essentially this means if you can carry your optical media around with you, then you can carry the player for it too. Power comes via the USB 2.0 connection, and all the usual DVD plus, minus, reading, writing, dual-layer mumbo jumbo is retained with top writing speeds of 8x on single-layer and 6x on double-layer media. This inspired minimalism can be yours for $79.99 in August.[Via Hot Hardware]
Toshiba's inaugural 3.5-inch external HDD is exactly what you think it is
Good old Tosh is putting a little more heft on its drives, unveiling what the company cites as its first ever 3.5-inch external hard drive. It spins at 5400RPM, features USB 2.0 and eSATA output, and an aesthetic that's easy on the eyes. Not much else to say about this space saver, but you can be sure it's just the first of many that are in the pipeline. The presser says it's available now, but we've been looking and have yet to find it on Toshiba's retail site or other online retailers like Amazon. When it does show its face, expect it to cost $130 for the 640GB model and $160 for a cool 1TB. [Via Testfreaks; thanks, Nickolas R]
Seagate's FreeAgent Go series bumped to 640GB
Seagate's giving its FreeAgent Go drives a fresh new 640GB capacity ceiling, and while it's not the first external to cross that 500GB threshold, it's certainly on the thinner end of the totem pole, physically. Nothing revolutionary here otherwise, it's still the standard USB-connected with up to 480Mbps transfer with multiple color options. Also distinctly the norm? Not a bit of info on pricing or availability, but if Seagate's posting promotional materials on its main site, we suspect it's not too far off.[Via Slashgear]
Buffalo's LinkStation Mini external hard drive goes SSD
Buffalo has already shown its willingness to cram a pricey SSD into an external enclosure for those who prefer quiet, quick operations over the pure vastness of traditional HDDs, and now it's doing so once more with the SSD-equipped LinkStation Mini. Easily titled LS-WSS240GL/R1, the 240GB device houses a pair of 120GB solid state drives and features DLNA / iTunes server capabilities, an Ethernet port, RAID 0 / 1 compatibility, a USB 2.0 socket and a nifty function to turn it off and on with the PC it's connected to (should you want it to). It's expected to hit Japanese peripheral shops late this month with a ¥111,300 ($1,200) sticker in tow, so you'd better be exceptionally wealthy or really, really through with HDDs before okaying the transaction on this one.
OWC introduces first external Blu-ray drive with quad interface
It's debatable whether or not Apple is losing its touch with FireWire, but you can rest assured that OWC hasn't. Said outfit has just announced the industry's first Blu-ray external drive with a quad interface, meaning you can link it up to your PC or Mac via FireWire 400, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 or eSATA. The Mercury Pro SW-5583 arrives with the capability to toast BD-Rs at a rate of 4x and includes a pair of 25GB BD-R discs for $499.99; the closely related Mercury Pro SW-5583T throws in a full retail version of Roxio Toast 9 Titanium (OS X) and sells for $579.99. Now, if only we could convince Steve that Blu-ray and Macs could indeed get along together, we'd really be satisfied. Full release after the break.
Philips and Lite-On push out external Blu-ray drive
Yeah, just another Blu-ray drive for your perusal: this one, called the DX-4O1S, reads at 4x, and will be the first by Philips and Lite-On Digital Solutions, that joint venture formed about a year ago. Exciting stuff, this; due out next quarter.
Buffalo offers up external HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive in Japan
Nah, Buffalo isn't manufacturing the HD DVD / Blu-ray drive that sits comfortably within its new external enclosure, but those parked in Japan can reportedly get ahold of this peace maker for just ¥51,000 ($440). Apparently, Buffalo chose the GGC-H20N optical drive to read both high-definition formats in its BHC-6316U2, and CyberLink's PowerDVD7.3 Ultra will also be thrown in for good measure. Next month, Buffalo will be loosing the BRHC-6316U2, which will utilize the GGW-H20N Blu-ray burner / HD DVD reader and will run customers a respectable ¥74,800 ($644).[Via EverythingUSB]
Buffalo shows off mini 300GB external drives
Not wanting to leave traditionalists in the cold after making its 56GB SSD offering, Buffalo has introduced a "shock-resistant" 300GB, external USB drive for neo-luddites. The skinny little number likely houses one of Fujitsu's new-ish 300GB 2.5-inchers, as the drive manufacturer is pretty much the only name in the game for that capacity. The portable drives come in black for your Cradle of Filth album collection, or white for your DC Talk FLACs. Available next month in Japan for ¥38,000, or around $315.[Via Akihabara News]
Buffalo intros the 56GB SHD-UH external SSD
Japanese peripheral manufacturer Buffalo has cooked up a storage option you might want to crack open your wallet for: a whopping 56GB SSD in a thin, external form factor that's just shy of credit card-size. Of course, it's not nearly the mind-blowing capacity of PQI's monster, but for an external SSD, they don't get much bigger. Sure, it's priced at ¥94,980 (around $783), which isn't exactly cheap, but if this trend continues these prices are bound to drop -- and just think of the possibilities of never having to hear a drive mechanism failing again. 8GB, 16GB, and 24GB models available late July, but the 56GB variation hasn't been given a release date yet.[Via Akihabara News]
LaCie's Ethernet Big Disk NAS hits 2TB
Now that just about everyone else has went and upped their NAS capacity to two whole terabytes, LaCie is strutting in fashionably late with its forthcoming 2TB Ethernet Big Disk. The 2- x 7- x 11-inch enclosure sports the typical metallic LaCie design scheme, plays nice with Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems, and sports a web user interface that's apparently so easy a caveman (or your grandmother) could use it. The drive sports an Ethernet jack for connecting to a network, handles media streaming to UPnP-compatible devices, and packs a duo of USB ports that can be used to interface directly with a computer or for daisy-chaining another external HDD. Look for LaCie's 2TB NAS to land anytime for a stiff $1,099 here in the US.[Via TGDaily]
OWC crams 2TB into Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual RAID HDD
Nearly two years ago we all stood in awe of OWC's 1TB Mercury Elite Pro Aluminum Dual RAID, and just a few days after the company announced its multifaceted Quad Interface variety, now its upping the ante again. The 2TB edition of the external HDD presumably packs a pair of Hitachi's 7K1000 drives into an enclosure no bigger than any other twin-stuffed unit, and provides data transfer rates of over 80Mbps. The RAID 0 array is reportedly "designed to meet the performance demands of video and audio production," and while it's not exactly implied, to put a solid dent in your wallet as well. The drive connects up via USB 2.0 or FireWire 400 / 800, and can be snapped up now if you're willing to hand over $1,099.99.[Via MacMinute]
