Seagate is predicting the shortage of hard drives by the end of 2012 is likely to be about 150 million units. Computerworld reports that Seagate’s prediction is in line with estimates from research firms such as Gartner. Analysts have said all along that the biggest impact of the hard drive shortage wouldn’t be felt until this year.

The flooding in Thailand already had a significant impact on shipments for Seagate in 2011. When the company reported its quarterly earnings, shipments were down 4% from the same quarter of 2010, and the reason cited was component shortages due to the flood. With the shortage becoming more significant this year, we could see prices for computer systems increase as well as prices for retail packaged hard drives increase. I still wonder if we may see more transitioning to solid-state drives that are readily available, even though they’re more expensive and tend to offer less storage space than traditional hard drives.

[via Computerworld]

The 500GB conventional drive acts as a standard shared drive/file server for up to three active users, just like Seagate’s similar WiFi-only FreeAgent product available today. It comes with a battery as well, so untethered access should be god for a few hours, though excessive use of the hard drive will lower this. The unit is being developed for corporate customers at the moment, with consumers coming some time after initial release.

To that end, the drive also includes remote server access built-in t its software. Connect to your FTP site, and files can be automatically downloaded to the drive’s on board storage. To keep things interesting while you’re waiting for your flight, it connects naively with Netflix and streams it to any computer or mobile device – no app required. The device has no set release date, but a Seagate representative said they’ve been working on it for 18 months, and it would be available soon.

“Samsung employees joining Seagate include a number of senior managers and design-engineering employees from Samsung’s Korea facility,” the two companies have confirmed, “who will focus on development of small form-factor products for the mobile compute market.” The exact nature of those SFF products is unclear at this stage.

Hard-drives currently found in Samsung’s line-up will, in some cases, continue to be available with the same branding for the next 12 months. Those with Samsung drives still under warranty will continue to be covered for that period, of course.

However, moving forward Seagate has slashed its warranty period on certain drives, a shift it describes as keeping the company’s offering in line with what the rest of the market promises. Some models have been trimmed down to a single year, while others have been curtailed to three years.

The warranties will vary in length depending on the drive families in use. The Constellation 2 and ES.2 drives will have a 3-year warranty. The Barracuda and Barracuda Green drives will have a 1-year warranty. The Barracuda XT and Momentus XT will have a 3-year warranty. The 2.5-inch Momentus HDDs will offer 1-year warranties.

The SV35 series for video surveillance will get a 20-year warranty as will the Pipeline HD Mini and Pipeline HD. Seagate notes that mission critical and retail HDDs will not be affected by the warranty change.

Seagate says it is standardizing warranty terms “to be more consistent with those commonly applied throughout the consumer electronics and technology industries. By aligning to current industry standards Seagate can continue to focus its investments on technology innovation and unique product features that drive value for our customers rather than holding long-term reserves for warranty returns.”

[via The Register]

Starting immediately, you can pick up the second generation Seagate Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive at Memory Express, NCIX, Newegg, Canada Computers, CDW, and TigerDirect for $245 MSRP. Inside you’ll find that your Serial ATA 6Gb/second interface and 8 gigabytes of Single Level Cell NAND flash both double the NAND and interface read-write speeds of the previous generation Seagate drive, and a design which makes for a simple upgrade for any compatible laptop or desktop computer.

It’s Seagate’s Adaptive Memory and FAST Factory technologies that make this drive the real masterpiece in Seagate’s line of drives. FAST Factory technology take the strengths of hard disk drives and SSDs and combines them for quicker bootup, higher system speed, and faster access to all applications on your computer. Adaptive Memory works with you, the user, to learn your work patterns and move your most frequently retrieved information to solid state memory for fast access.

Have a look here at the Momentus XT 750GB SSHD working on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.7 GHz i7 processor and 4 GB of RAM running OS X Lion 10.7. You’ll see three different drives running here in a simple working test: a stock 5400 RPM HDD, a stock Apple SSD, and the new Momentus XT.

Next see a test of a Dell 15z complete with a 2.3GHz i5 processor, 6GB of RAM, and Windows 7 Professional. The test drives here are a stock Dell 7200 RPM HDD, an Intel 320 series SSD, and the new Momentus XT.

Finally see a Dell Optiplex 980 running a 2.6GHz Intel Pentium processor, 1GB or RAM, and Windows 7 Professional, with the two test drives being the new Momentus XT and a WD Velociraptor 10K HDD. Just like the other tests, you’ll find the Seagate contender to be most impressive.

Let us know what you think of this new drive, if you’ll pick one up, and if you think everyone else should (or shouldn’t) as well!

An example is the price of a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5-inch HDD sold on Newegg. The price back in August before the flooding for this HDD was only $50 to $60. As of November, the price on that HDD has soared to $139.99 thanks to the shortage. You can bet that the computers out there using that HDD are seeing a more significant price increase than that add-in drive has seen.

I wonder if the price increase on the HDDs will make more people look to SSDs as an alternative. Even at the 180% price increase for that Samsung 1TB drive it is still much cheaper than the alternative SSD. I don’t really see the shortage of HDDs driving more folks to similar capacity SSDs since the price gap is still very large.

[via Zorinaq]

Seagate has axed all 5400 rpm HDDs and is now going with nothing but 7200 rpm desktop offerings. Seagate points to reduced power consumption in the 7200 rpm drive market allowing it to leave the 5400 rpm units behind. I wonder if the flooding and HDD shortage we are facing had something to do with this too. The 7200 rpm HDD is the more popular choice so loosing the 7200 would free up more space for the popular choice.

New read/write tech that allows more data to be stored on a single platter is where the power savings comes from. The 5400 rpm drives will apparently still be offered in the mobile category. The new Seagate OptiCache tech also helps to improve performance in Seagate HDDs with a 45% boost in performance compared to older tech.

[via Computerworld]

Seagate says that its plants are all functional and there are no logistical issues with its workers reaching plants. However, Seagate is warning that there are disruptions in the supply chain for the parts that it requires to make the HDDs it sells. With flooding in the region ongoing Seagate can’t predict the severity of the slow down at this time.

Due to this Seagate is expecting HDD supplies to be constrained through the quarter. All of Seagate workers in the region are reportedly safe. A shortage of HDDs will drive the price of the HDDs available up and likely lead to increased prices for devices that use HDDs for storage over the coming months. Seagate will talk more about the situation on October 20 during its quarterly conference call.

Other ports include stereo audio output, an S/PDIF digital optical audio output and a USB 2.0 connection which allows you to treat the GoFlex Cinema as an external drive and dump media straight onto it. Meanwhile the drive can also be used standalone with digital cameras and camcorders, pulling your content straight across ready for playback.

Format support includes Xvid HD; AVI; MPEG-2 (VOB/ISO); MPEG-1; MPEG-4 (Xvid); AVC HD; H.264; TS/TP/M2T; MOV; M2TS; MKV; FLV; VC-1; and WMV9 video, along with ASF; MP3; WAV; AAC; FLAC; WMA; LPCM; WMA Pro; Dolby® Digital; and DTS audio. There’s also support for up to 20-megapixel images and subtitles.

The Seagate GoFlex Cinema is available now in Europe, priced at €99 ($136) for the 1TB model, €129 ($177) for the 2TB model, and €179 ($246) for the 3TB model. No word on North American pricing or availability at this stage.

Connectivity for the drive includes a USB 3.0 adapter and Firewire. The drive comes loaded with software for automatic, continuous backups with encryption for all the files. The drive also has an illuminated display that shows how much space is left on the GoFlex at a glance. The new GoFlex has the same modular interface design as the line has always had and new interfaces will be coming for things like Thunderbolt and others.

The GoFlex can also be used with a home interface to make the drive a network drive. Inside the case of the external HDD hides 3.5-inch standard HDDs. The drive is made to be used on either Mac or Windows machines. 4TB of storage is enough space for 2,000 HD movies and gobs of music or photos.

Two models are on offer, with either 500GB or 750GB of storage. Both GoFlex Turbo drives use 9mm 7,200rpm 2.5-inch HDDs, and Seagate bundles a copy of Memeo backup for PC and Mac so as to help you fill it up in the first place. As it’s a GoFlex drive, while it comes with a USB 3.0 adapter you can pop that off and replace it with a FireWire, eSATA or other connector, or indeed dock it into one of Seagate’s media docks.

You only get coverage of one incident under the bundled SafetyNet plan, but to be fair that’s more than most drives offer, and professional data recovery services can be expensive things to buy on their own. The new Seagate GoFlex Turbo HDDs are available now, priced at $119.99 for 500GB and $139.99 for 750GB.

Users of the GoFlex Satellite hard drive have been able to easily access files on the drive via a web interface, but now with an Android app, the process is even easier. But even without the apps, the hard drive itself is really neat as users can access it by being within the WiFi range of the device without needing to connect to the internet or a cellular network.

Now with all the data throttling of “unlimited” data plans and the switch to pricier tiered data plans these days, the GoFlex Satellite could be a great solution. This is especially so for those that get dinged by data limits due to streaming large amounts of movies and other video content while on the go. Instead of streaming, simply download and store everything you need on the portable hard drive before your next trip.

The Seagate GoFlex Satellite WiFi hard drive retails for $200 for a 500GB storage capacity. The new app for the hard drive works with Android 2.2 and above.

[via Pocketnow]

The Archos 80 G9 features is the 8-inch version with a 4:3 ratio and 1024 x 768 resolution. The Archos 101 G9 is the 10-inch version with a 16:10 ratio and 1280 x 800 resolution. Inside, the G9 series is powered by Texas Instrument’s 1.5GHz dual-core OMAP 4 processor that Archos touts as 50% faster than NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processors. There’s also HDMI output and support for 1080p playback.

But perhaps most impressive is the use of Seagate’s HDD with a 250GB capacity that’s the largest used on any tablet currently in the market. Archos says its 8 times more storage at the same cost of a standard 32GB tablet and with all that space you can store over 50 hours of full 1080p HD content.

Both tablets are 3G-ready, meaning that there’s only one version instead of both a Wi-Fi-only and a 3G/Wi-Fi version. The one version supports Wi-Fi and can also support 3G with the addition of a USB dongle. The Archos G9 3G Stick is designed to fit into the back of all G9 tablets to get 3G connectivity. It costs $49 for the 3G Stick.

The Archos 80 G9 is priced at only $279 while the Archos 101 G9 is priced at $349. Competing tablets with similar specs are generally priced starting at $499. This is quite an amazing deal and its scheduled to arrive by the end of September.

Once connected, you can browse movies, pictures, music and documents stored on the GoFlex Satellite from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android smartphone or laptop. Currently Seagate only has an iOS-specific app, GoFlex Media; Android phones and tablets, and any other devices, have to access shared media through a web interface. The company tells us an Android version is in the works, however, and should arrive later in the summer. Up to three devices can connect simultaneously, either viewing the same content – so three iPad users can watch a film together in the car – or accessing different media.

Seagate predicts GoFlex Satellite users will see five hours of active video streaming out of a full charge, or up to 25hrs standby. The iOS GoFlex Media app actually caches the video you’re watching on the device itself, so that the drive can go into standby. There’s some intelligent content management, too: dump all your videos, photos, music and documents onto the drive however you want, using the bundled Media Sync app for Windows or Mac, and it will automatically index them into categories for the app or web interfaces. The drive is visible to third-party apps, too, so if you have DivX video you want to watch on your iPad, you’ll be able to play it using VLC for iOS or an alternative app.

Right now, the biggest issue is that the drive demands a direct WiFi connection, which means that you can’t, say, hook your iPad up to it and simultaneously have the tablet connect to your WiFi router or mobile hotspot. However, Seagate is promising a firmware update in the near future that will allow the GoFlex Satellite to connect to a WiFi router itself and – since it actually has twin wireless radios inside – bridge that connection to whatever gadgets are accessing its storage.

The Seagate GoFlex Satellite will go on sale in the US in July 2011, priced at $199.99. Global availability should be later this summer.

Press Release:

SEAGATE DEBUTS FIRST MOBILE WIRELESS STORAGE FOR iOS AND OTHER MOBILE DEVICES

GoFlex Satellite™ Mobile Wireless Storage Expands the Media Capacity
Without Wires or the Web

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — May 16, 2011 —Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), today announced GoFlex Satellite™ mobile wireless storage, the first battery-powered external hard drive to wirelessly extend the storage capacity of any Wi-Fi enabled mobile device. With 500GB and Wi-Fi access over 802.11 b/g/n and a rechargeable battery, this latest member of the GoFlex® family provides the ability to carry an entire library of video, music, pictures and documents with you. Devices are wirelessly connected directly to the GoFlex Satellite drive by use of the free GoFlex Media™ app—available now on iTunes and the Apple App Store—or a web browser. GoFlex Satellite is available immediately for preorder from Seagate.com, Amazon and BestBuy.com for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $199.99, and is scheduled to arrive in Best Buy stores in July 2011. Global availability is planned for later this summer.

“With the growth of the tablet and iPad markets and the larger volumes of high-quality media now being consumed, there is a clear need for access to content that is not plagued with the challenges of streamed video over the Internet,” said Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of Seagate’s retail group. “The unfortunate fact is that these popular new mobile devices are hampered by their limited storage capacity while one of their primary functions is that of media consumption.

“With the GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage, we wished to create an elegant solution that provides real value to the multitude of iPad users out there by delivering a seamless connection to local storage. No longer will a consumer feel as though it is a compromise to purchase a lower capacity tablet or iPad. With GoFlex Satellite, people will be able to carry their entire media library with them without the need for wires or the web at a fraction of the cost of adding 3G or purchasing or a higher capacity tablet.”

Streaming over the Internet has enabled video access for tablet owners, but the quality is at the mercy of the Internet connection, be it over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. With more connected devices per hotspot, it’s often difficult to watch video without choppiness or pixilation. Rather than rely on a buffered stream from a distant provider, GoFlex Satellite mobile storage wirelessly serves up media content as a local attached storage for up to three devices at the same time. With a stand-by battery life of up to 25 hours, the powerful lithium polymer battery delivers up to 5 hours of continuously streaming video. To help with extending battery life, the free GoFlex Media™ app provides a progressive download feature, which temporarily loads the video on to the iOS device it is being streamed to, allowing the drive to go into stand-by mode.

GoFlex Media™ App

Initially available for Apple iOS devices, such as: iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; the GoFlex Media app provides a seamless way to connect the mobile wireless storage to your iPad or iPhone. The Android app is expected to be available by this summer. Those that currently use an Android smartphone or tablet can access content on a GoFlex Satellite device through its browser.

Media Sync software

The easy-to-use Media Sync software, also included free with purchase, makes grabbing media from a Windows® PC or Mac® OS X computer a breeze. Wherever the files are stored, whether that is a file structure of your own creation or in an iTunes library, the Media Sync software will load all of your desired music, videos, photos and documents on to the GoFlex Satellite drive. Media Sync is easily configured to only place files on the drive that are compatible with your iOS device. Even music and videos purchased through iTunes can be loaded to the GoFlex Satellite drive and will play on all authorized devices.

Loading Media

For rapid loading of media content, the wireless mobile storage comes equipped with the superfast USB 3.0 cable to get files from your computer to the GoFlex Satellite drive. The USB 3.0 cable will also continue to work with USB 2.0 ports and is easily removed for portability. In addition to the USB 3.0 cable, the GoFlex Satellite drive comes complete with a car charger and a compact wall charger.

Samsung will combine its HDD operations into Seagate and the two firms will extensively cross-license technology. In exchange, Samsung is getting a significant ownership stake in Seagate of about 9.6%. The deal is costing Seagate $1.375 billion. Half of that amount is being paid with stock and the other half in cash.

Samsung will provide Seagate with NAND flash for use in SSD products, hybrid drives and other gear under the agreement. The two firms expect the deal to close by the end of 2011. Samsung will also get to designate a nominee to join the Seagate board of directors.

[via Seagate]

The Pulsar XT.2 is SLC NAND-based and is available in 100GB, 200GB, and 400GB capacities. It features native SAS 6Gb/s interface. According to Seagate: “The Pulsar XT.2 is the fastest drive in the Seagate portfolio, with sustainable random reads at 48K and writes at 22K IOPS and sequential reads at 360MB/s and writes at 300MB/s.”

The Pulsar XT.2 is currently shipping to OEMs, and both of the SSDs will be available beginning in Q2 2011.
[via Xbit Laboratories]

As for the Mac range, that consists of the GoFlex for Mac ultraportable drive in 1TB ($199.99) and 1.5TB ($249.99) capacities, the GoFlex for Mac Limited Edition 1TB portable drive ($199.95), and the GoFlex Pro for Mac ultraportable, offering 500GB for $149.99 or 750GB for $179.99. Finally there’s the desktop GoFlex Desk for Mac drive, a 3.5-inch unit available in 2TB ($219.99) or 3TB ($279.99) capacities.

Press Release:

SEAGATE SHOWCASING ITS SLIMMEST DRIVE YET AT CES 2011

The continued growth of personal digital media stores, our increasingly
mobile lifestyles and proliferation of mobile consumption devices are
driving the demand for slimmer, more portable storage solutions.
Netbooks and mini-computers are great at consumption, but limited when
it comes to creation or accessing and storing high-definition content.
The new thin GoFlex is a super-slim, 2.5-inch external hard drive
designed for portable, entry-level laptops and netbooks. At a
razor-thin 9mm-38 percent slimmer than the current GoFlex ultra-portable
drives-the new thin GoFlex fits easily in a pocket, purse, briefcase or
backpack, allowing consumers to carry, access and enjoy their favorite
digital content with them wherever they go. At official launch the
product will be available in 320GB capacity, and is equipped with a
USB3.0 interface to accelerate transfer speeds up to 10x faster over
USB2.0, this prototype drive delivers quick access to large, multi-media
files such as HD movies and video games. This thinner GoFlex also allows
consumers to save, access and share files with either Windows or Mac OS
X systems or devices, while maintaining cross-platform interoperability,
making it the perfect storage enhancement to every mobile lifestyle.
The thin GoFlex 9mm drive packages style, mobility and performance,
making it perfect for customers who desire cutting-edge technology with
a fresh, cool look.. Its ultra-slim, black, brushed aluminum enclosure
with tuxedo black lining make a swanky accoutrement to any home or
office environment, while still looking chic on the go. The product is
expected to be publicly available in spring 2011.

Press Release:

SEAGATE INTRODUCES GOFLEX FOR MAC EXTERNAL DRIVES DRAFT

-New Collection of FreeAgent(r) GoFlex(tm) for Mac External Drives Are Designed for Mac Enthusiasts While Maintaining Cross-Platform Compatibility

LAS VEGAS, NV – January 4, 2011 – Addressing the personal preferences of
the Mac community, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today introduced a new
collection of GoFlex(tm) for Mac external drives designed to make it
easy for those who use Mac OS X and Time Machine to backup, shuttle, or
share their digital content.

These new portable and desktop solutions are HFS+ formatted
out-of-the-box, making them fully compatible with Apple Time Machine(r)
backup software, while maintaining the ability to work across both
Microsoft(r) Windows(r) and Mac OS X computers. A truly unique feature,
GoFlex for Mac drives can also be used with computers running Windows by
simply downloading an HFS+ driver for Windows from Seagate.com
, which will provide full
read-write access to the drive from a Windows computer.

Each GoFlex for Mac product comes bundled with FireWire(r) 800 and USB
2.0 adapters and cables-the most popular interfaces for Apple
computers-but also delivers the flexibility to change the drive’s
interface to USB 3.0 or powered eSATA for use with Windows computers.
The GoFlex(tm) interface cables help deliver the speed, performance and
connectivity people need, as well as to help safe guard their
investments against changing technology. To deliver a fresh look that
fits seamlessly with today’s Apple product line, each 2.5-inch,
ultra-portable drive in the family features a durable, soft-touch,
metallic finish, which is also designed to withstand scratches,
fingerprints or other marks incurred from travel.

The new line-up of GoFlex(tm) for Mac external drives include:

o GoFlexTM for Mac ultra-portable drive- This 2.5-inch portable drive
is now designed specifically for use with Apple’s Time Machine right
out-of-the-box, easily go back in time to access changes or file updates
were before they were made. MSRP $199.99 for 1TB, and $249.99 for 1.5TB.

o GoFlexTM for Mac Limited Edition ultra-portable drive-The GoFlex(tm)
for Mac Limited Edition ultra-portable drive packs 1TB of storage into
the standardized 2.5-inch form factor, making it the slimmest high-cap
drive available on the market today. With a depth of 12.5mm and shorter
in length than an iPhone , the GoFlexTM
for Mac Limited Edition is perfect for use with GoFlex TV or GoFlex Net.
MSRP $199.95 for 1TB.

o GoFlexTM Pro for Mac ultra portable-This 7200RPM, 2.5-inch drive
delivers advanced performance for those professionals who place high
demands on their storage, such as graphic artists, musicians,
videographers or photographers. Using the included Firewire 800 cable to
achieve transfer speeds up to three times faster than USB 2.0. MSRP
$149.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB.

o GoFlexTM Desk for Mac drive-This 3.5-inch high-capacity external
drive includes a flexible design that can sit horizontally or vertically
to fit your workspace. Back up files using Apple’s Time Machine.
Optional software displays the drive’s real-time capacity with lights on
the dock and includes other useful tools. MSRP $219.99 for 2TB; $279.99
for 3TB.

In addition, each GoFlex for Mac drive can be used with other devices in
the GoFlex(tm) Storage System such as the GoFlex(tm) Net media sharing
device
and the GoFlex(tm) TV HD media player
[1]. These solutions provide the flexibility to enjoy content on
a TV or a mobile device, such as an iPad or smart phone. There is also
an option to download additional software for use with all GoFlex for
Mac drives that will provide helpful utilities such as a control to turn
the activity lights off and a tool to verify that the drive is
functioning properly. Each drive in the family also comes backed by a
Seagate three-year warranty, helping to protect your investment and
providing peace of mind.

“With over 10 billion songs downloaded from the iTunes(r) store and
Apple’s market share continuing to grow year-over-year, the growing
audience for Mac OS X will need external storage to backup all their
digital content,” said Darcy Clarkson, vice president of Global Retail
Sales and Marketing for Seagate. “Today’s product introduction addresses
these current market trends and underscores Seagate’s commitment to
delivering flexible, easy-to-use solutions that meet varying customer
needs.”

So far, Seagate has signed Antec, GIEC, Hi-Sense, Ionics and Thermaltake up to the Certified GoFlex Storage System, and the company will be showing off GoFlex docks in TVs, notebook and desktop PCs, a plug computer, DVD and a docking station. No word on when we could expect to see the first of these reach the market, however.

Press Release:

SEAGATE UNVEILS CERTIFIED GOFLEX STORAGE SYSTEM FOR THIRD-PARTY MANUFACTURERS DRAFT

Continuing the Vision of Interoperability and Removable Cartridge
Storage, Seagate and Partners

Showcase Concept Products at CES

LAS VEGAS, NV – January 4, 2011 – Driving a new era of how people
consume their digital content, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today announced, at
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a new program to allow
third-party companies to incorporate slots on their products to support
removable GoFlex(tm) external hard drives. First introduced in May of
2010
, the GoFlex(tm) family is the
next evolution of consumer external hard drives providing the ability to
use an assortment of storage products and interfaces to correspond with
consumer’s needs. The Certified GoFlex(tm) Storage System concept
products on display range from media players and set-top boxes to
computers and televisions, and each will incorporate a slot to accept an
ultra-portable drive compatible with the Certified GoFlex Storage
System. This group of third-party prototype products underscores the
growth of digital media consumption on an increasing number of consumer
electronic products. The Certified GoFlex Storage System will provide a
seamless method by which people can copy, record, access, share and
enjoy more of the music, photos and videos they crave on a wider range
of devices.

The Certified GoFlex Storage System initiative is a certification
process whereby Seagate will qualify products from participating
companies to incorporate slots that meet the specifications of accepting
ultra-portable drives that meet the Certified GoFlex Storage System
standard. The Certified GoFlex Storage System will establish placement
of both slot-based consumer electronics devices as well as certification
of third-party external storage modules. Seagate’s certification also
endorses the soon to be established SATA – IO Universal Storage Module
(USM) specification.

“When Seagate first introduced the GoFlex(tm) storage family last year,
our objective was two pronged: first, address the three major hurdles of
storage adoption — interface flexibility, operating system freedom and
enjoyment of content beyond the compute environment. Secondly, Seagate
wishes to expand the use of storage beyond the typical use-case scenario
of back up and migration of files for the computer,” said Patrick
Connolly, vice president and general manager for Seagate Retail. “The
Certified GoFlex(tm) Storage System is the next step in realizing this
vision and establishing hard drives as the next generation of recordable
media.”

Since the GoFlex ultra-portable drives are also standardized on the new
SATA USM specification
, third-party manufacturers can build GoFlex certified products to
accept a 2.5-inch ultra-portable external hard drive. These third-party
products will help transform the GoFlex ultra-portable drives from an
external storage device to an easy-to-use, detachable storage module
that will enable consumers to access digital content from a variety of
consumer electronic devices. With this initiative, Seagate is actively
involved in leading the shift of digital media consumption from mobile
and computing environments to the living room using home entertainment
devices. These Certified for GoFlex Storage System third-party products
will, for the first time, allow consumers to make choices based on their
own storage needs.

The SATA USM specification is a standard specification to accept a
complete, powered external storage device into consumer electronic
devices. Modules designed according to the SATA USM specification will
enable consumers to instantly access their music, movies, photos and
other content from a variety of consumer electronics products, and to
seamlessly transfer content between devices.

“The growing number of consumer electronics product types with embedded
storage is allowing hard disk drive manufacturers to expand into new
markets. As they expand beyond their traditional home computer markets,
drive manufacturers are pursuing embedded storage solutions in products
other than personal computers,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and
principal analyst with Parks Associates. “Seagate Technology’s emphasis
on targeting consumer electronics such as digital video recorders,
gaming devices, digital music players, and digital cameras has allowed
it to expand sales of hard drives and provide consumers with greater
flexibility when it comes to consuming, sharing, saving and enjoying
their content.”

Seagate will highlight a variety of applications enabled by USM devices
using the Certified GoFlex Storage System. Additionally, several
consumer electronics manufacturers will be showcasing their Certified
GoFlex Storage System concept products at the 2011 Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas. The showcase will include a television, notebook
computer, desktop PC, plug computer, DVR and docking station. The
companies showcasing these new prospective product capabilities include:
Antec , GIEC ,
Hi-Sense , Ionics
and Thermaltake
.

Available only in glossy black, the new 1.5TB FreeAgent measures a reasonable thick 4.71 x 3.51 x 0.87 inches and weighs 0.62lbs. It comes pre-fitted with the GoFlex USB 3.0 adapter, a dongle that snaps onto the HDD’s SATA port and has a short USB 3.0 cable. Seagate preload a copy of their Memeo-based backup software together with an NTFS driver for Macs that allows OS X users to access content without needing to reformat first. Unfortunately you’ll still need to reformat as HFS+ if you want to use Mac backup software or Apple’s own Time Machine utility.

If you’re unfamiliar with GoFlex, it’s a straightforward concept. Rather than integrate the connectivity with the drive itself, Seagate use a regular SATA connector and then offer a range of different adapters. This 1.5TB model comes with the USB 3.0 adapter – backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports – but eSATA, FireWire and others are also available. Seagate also has a range of docking stations – for desktop use – and media players, which allow you to slot the hard-drive into an HDMI-equipped caddy and play media content directly on your HDTV.

It adds something to the upfront cost, of course, but it does give increased flexibility. Our argument against GoFlex in the past has been that, by the time most users would be worried about a newer, faster interface, they’d also likely be wanting a significantly larger drive too. With 1.5TB on offer, this new FreeAgent does at least promise greater longevity than the smaller models in the line-up. To get an idea of just how usable all that space is, we copied across a 5GB file and it took a mere 1 minute and 10 seconds to transfer.

At $229.99, the FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5TB is obviously more expensive than other drives of the same capacity, but it’s unique in not requiring a separate PSU. That makes it particularly useful to those wanting a hefty chunk of storage while on the move. Desk-bound users willing to put up with a power supply can get the same capacity for less than half the price, but you’re sacrificing mobility in the process. On a $-per-GB basis, it’s the cheapest of Seagate’s portable FreeAgent drives (based on the RRPs; you’ll likely find them cheaper from third-party vendors) which only come with the USB 2.0 connector as standard, too. If you’re transporting large quantities of data, such as HD video, the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5TB is a compact way of doing it, and being able to slot it straight into one of the company’s media players and play it back on your TV is a neat bonus; you’ll just need deep pockets upfront.

Of course, it also means owners can snap off that adapter and use Seagate’s FireWire version or, indeed, slot the drive into one of the various desk docks and multimedia players.  Seagate offers a range of these, from the GoFlex Home NAS through to the GoFlex TV HD we reviewed a few months back.

Seagate are asking $229.99 for the new 1.5TB FreeAgent GoFlex – $20 less than MRSP – which is available to order now.

Press Release:

Seagate Introduces Industry’s First 1.5TB Portable External Drive

New FreeAgent® GoFlex™ Ultra-Portable External Drive Packs a Punch with Unprecedented Amount of Storage, Blazingly Fast USB 3.0 Connection and Pre-loaded Films

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – September 21, 2010 – Designed to address the explosive worldwide demand for digital storage, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today launched the world’s first 1.5 terabyte (TB) 2.5-inch portable external drive. Available immediately, the new 1.5TB FreeAgent® GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive delivers an all-in-one, technically advanced solution to help store, share and enjoy libraries of digital content in one’s preferred medium—whether on a Mac or PC, or a television, at home or on the go. With 1.5TB of capacity people can now store and carry up to 60 HD movies, 750 video games, thousands of photos or countless hours of digital music.

Seagate introduces the world’s first 1.5TB portable, external hard drive with a Blazingly Fast USB 3.0 Connection and Pre-loaded Films.

“Today’s announcement is a ‘triple-crown’ of consumer technology—packaging record breaking capacity, blazingly fast USB 3.0 connectivity and the bonus of movie entertainment—making the 1.5TB GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive an unprecedented and innovative solution,” said Darcy Clarkson, vice president of Global Retail Sales and Marketing for Seagate. “Bringing this solution to market on the heels of our 3TB GoFlex™ Desk drive and the Momentus® XT solid state hybrid drive is proof of Seagate’s continuing technology leadership and tradition of setting storage industry milestones.”

Shipping now in the United States and rolling out globally later this year, all 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drives¹ will ship with a USB 3.0 interface cable, accelerating the transfer speed of a drive up to 10x when connected to a USB 3.0 port, when compared to a USB 2.0 port. For example, a drive using a USB 3.0 connection can transfer a 25GB file in under five minutes versus the 14 minutes it would take using a traditional USB 2.0 drive². In addition, all GoFlex ultra portable drives will now also ship with the new Superspeed USB 3.0 cable, which will still continue to work with existing USB 2.0 ports.

“Consumers continue to push the growth of digital music, photos, and video content, and increasingly want access to this content from a variety of CE devices, including a PC,” says John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives. “Higher capacity disk drives in combination with higher bandwidth interfaces like USB 3.0 will help to make a greater number of large multimedia files more accessible from multiple devices in the home.”

A key addition to the GoFlex™ family, the new 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drive delivers ultimate flexibility in how people collect, protect, share and enjoy their digital libraries, all in a convenient compact package. In addition to coming bundled with USB 3.0 connectivity, the drive can be used with an array of add-on cables and accessories such as the GoFlex™ Net media sharing device and the GoFlex™ TV HD media player, that provide the flexibility to enjoy your content on a TV, a network, using a mobile device, or via the Internet.

All 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drives are compatible with both the Windows® operating system and Mac® OS X computers. Each drive includes an NTFS driver for Mac, which allows the hard drive to store and access files from both Windows and Mac OS X computers without reformatting. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on the Mac® OS X computer, allowing it to read and write files on a Windows formatted³ drive.

The 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drive with USB 3.0 adapter is available in black and can be purchased on Seagate.com and through select retailers for $249.99.

Seagate start off with their Momentus 7200 HDD – available in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities – which as the name suggests spins at 7,200rpm; it has 32MB of cache and a SATA 3Gb/s interface. To that they add 4GB of solid state SLC NAND flash storage, all in a 2.5-inch drive that’s 9.7mm thick.

Naturally there’s more to it than just two types of storage bolted together. Sitting in-between is Seagate’s Adaptive Memory technology, which basically tracks which applications and data are most frequently accessed and then moves them to the 4G of flash storage. That way, while not everything is as instantly accessible as on a regular SSD, the files individual users require most often are prioritized.

As a result of that personalization, the benefits of the Momentus XT over a regular hard-drive aren’t immediately visible. In fact, out of the box the hybrid drive is in line with the performance of the Momentus 7200 it’s based upon, reasonable for a 7,200rpm HDD but well short of a traditional SSD. Over time, though, Adaptive Memory learns which files are being used most frequently, and builds up a custom, persistent cache of them within the flash store. The net result is a system that gradually gets faster the more you use it.

There isn’t a long wait to see the effect, either; after a handful of reboots the time it took our test machine to load into Windows 7 was effectively halved. Commonly used programs like Firefox, Photoshop and Word saw their load times almost quartered, while the local cache of our email inbox was available significantly sooner than with a regular HDD. As for basic read/write performance, that’s on a par with a regular Momentus 7200 HDD: read speeds averaged out to 94.7 MB/s, while write speeds averaged at 85.4 MB/s.

Although there have been flash-augmented HDDs before, the Seagate is distinct by virtue of its standalone Adaptive Memory technology, which means your PC or Mac simply recognizes the Momentus XT as just another drive; the caching is completely system agnostic. Where the Momentus XT’s hybrid technology doesn’t work is in situations where you’re consistently accessing a changing array of data: obviously the drive needs time to track use and build its cache accordingly. For pure speed – not to mention ruggedness, since there are still spinning platters involved – an SSD is still the best option.

Nonetheless, the Seagate Momentus XT is – for regular users, whether consumer or enterprise – a real step ahead of traditional hard-drives. With a street price of $129.99 for the 500GB ST95005620AS model it offers a strong balance of performance and affordability (for the money you’d get a mere 64GB of true SSD storage), and more impressive is the noticeable difference it makes to a regular system. At a time when boosting RAM or even CPU can lead to merely incremental differences in system responsiveness, the Momentus XT is that rare and surprising product that actually does what’s promised on the box.

Alternatively there’s a USB 2.0 port which can be used to add external drives, or to share a USB printer across the home network.  Digital media files can be streamed around the network – there’s an ethernet port built in, but you’ll need to hook up a wireless router if you want WiFi support – and the GoFlex Home is compatible with both PC and Mac for backup purposes.

As for remote access, like we’ve seen on the Pogoplug you can share photo albums, videos and documents with friends and family via an invite-only webpage; Seagate also offer an optional premium version of the service, Seagate Share Pro, which allows for remote cellphone access, Facebook and Flickr integration, and RSS updates to new content.  The Seagate GoFlex Home is available today, priced at $159.99 for the 1TB model and $229.99 for the 2TB model.

Press Release:

SEAGATE DEBUTS GOFLEX HOME: EASY-TO-USE CENTRALIZED STORAGE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Wireless Backup, Sharing and Streaming of Music, Photos, Movies and More
from Multiple Computers in the Home

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – July 19, 2010 – Seagate today unveiled the newest
addition to its

GoFlexT family of hard drives-the GoFlex
T Home network storage system. When this easy-to-use device is
connected to a wireless router, an entire household can centrally store,
easily access and continuously back up files wirelessly from both WindowsR
and Mac OSR X operating systems on the home[1] network. The new centralized
storage system simplifies the backup process by being compatible with AppleR
Time MachineR, as well as including a version of the backup application for
both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. With the GoFlex
Home storage system, families can also wirelessly stream photos,
movies and music to most network connected DLNA devices, such as game
consoles or a
GoFlexT TV HD media player, from any room in the house. With just two
cable connections and a simple, illustrated, step-by-step installation tool
that gets the device up and running in minutes, the GoFlex
Home system solves the household storage puzzle in a snap.

Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, the GoFlex
Home storage system provides plenty of room to help safeguard precious
digital memories for the whole family and is ideal for use with home
laptops, netbooks, or other devices
with limited storage. Unlike other single-drive network solutions, its
modular design also enables the included drive to be upgraded when needed by
simply removing the drive from the base (no tools required) and replacing it
with a higher capacity GoFlex
T Desk hard drive. Families can also add more storage to
the GoFlex
Home system by simply connecting additional drives to the USB port.
Additionally, this same USB port can be used to wirelessly share a USB
printer with every computer on the network.

“With broadband and home networks reaching higher levels of penetration and
operating at higher speeds, consumers are increasingly downloading and
streaming content into their home and wanting to access that content from
anywhere,” said Darcy Clarkson, Seagate vice president of Retail Sales and
Marketing. “The GoFlex
T Home system makes it easy for families wanting to quickly and
effortlessly backup, enjoy, and share their favorite home movies music or
photos from any room in the house. We spent a lot of time focusing on
simplicity with this product and believe people will find it very intuitive
to set-up and get started. With the GoFlex
T Home system, now home networking is within reach for today’s digital
households.”

A recent report by In-Stat predicts the consumer network storage market will
continue to grow between 25 and 50 percent over the next five years. In
addition, the number of devices connected to the home network, and the
number of devices that are mobile or portable, are creating desire for
consumers to move in and out of their home networking environment2 with
their content. Using the included remote access and file sharing service on
GoFlex
Home system called Seagate ShareT service, families can easily access
movies, music or photo files stored on their GoFlex
Home system from any internet connected computer in the world. The
Seagate Share service also allows families to share photo albums, home
movies and documents with friends by simply selecting the files or folders
they want to share and typing in an email address. Those friends will
receive a notification with a direct link to a customized webpage where they
can view the shared files.

“Consumers are showing increased interest in downloading and streaming
content from the Internet into the home, connecting devices in the home to
social networks, and demanding easy access to content both within the
household and beyond the reach of home networks,” said Norm Bogen, vice
president, Research, Digital Entertainment with In-Stat. “Solutions designed
to help access content from multiple devices in the home, distribute it over
the home network and stream to other devices and products, will be appealing
to active digital media consumers.”

The GoFlex
Home system also offers a premium service option-the Seagate Share Pro
remote access service-that allows families to access content stored on the
drive from mobile devices such as an iPhoneR, iPadT or BlackBerryR,
integrate photos or files with FacebookR and FlickrR, and keep friends and
relatives updated with the latest shared files using Integrated RSS (Really
Simple Syndication) notifications.

In addition to delivering quick and easy wireless, file access, streaming
and multi-computer backup of digital files, the GoFlex
Home network storage system has been designed with the cost and
environmentally conscious households in mind. The GoFlex
Home system also includes a power saving (idle) mode that
automatically runs after 30-minutes of inactivity and a power switch that
allows it to be shut off while families are away for extended periods.

Connectivity includes twin gigabit ethernet and four USB 2.0 ports, which can be used to add extra external storage.  It’s also straightforward to backup external content to the BlackArmor array, or vice-versa, and you can use it to perform Bare Metal Restores across your home or office network.

DLNA, an iTunes server, remote access, various degrees of access control and quota settings, and ten user licenses of Windows-only backup software round out the deal.  The Seagate BlackArmor NAS 400 is available either as a barebones unit for $399.99, or in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB pre-configurations for $899.99, $1,199.99 or $1,499.99 respectively.

Press Release:

Seagate Unveils Customizable Small Business Network Storage Server
New BlackArmor® NAS 400 Server Delivers Protection, Performance and Flexibility

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – July 13, 2010 – Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today introduced the BlackArmor® NAS 400 network storage server, a secure, scalable and reliable 4-bay network storage enclosure designed for the growing storage needs of small businesses and households. This newest addition to the Seagate BlackArmor family of storage solutions allows customers to customize the box to meet their specific requirements and add more storage as needed. Available immediately through Seagate.com and CDW, the BlackArmor NAS 400 server can be purchased for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $399.99.

The BlackArmor NAS 400 server gives customers the option to install the disk drives of their choice, selecting from an variety of Seagate-certified products¹ including Seagate Barracuda® low power drives, Barracuda 3.5-inch 7200 RPM drives or the new Barracuda® XT hybrid drive for maximum performance. A scalable solution, the BlackArmor NAS 400 server allows customers to start by inserting one drive and add up to three more as their business grows.

Similar to Seagate’s other two-and-four bay NAS solutions, the BlackArmor NAS 400 network storage server includes:

Backup and protection tools for up to 50² network-connected PCs with incremental and full-system, automatic backup.
User-configurable RAID 0/1/5/10 & JBOD capabilities, providing a variety of data protection options to help avoid data loss due to hard drive failure.
Hot-swappable drives — no tools required.
Microsoft® Active Directory 2003/2008 support.
Secure remote access with intuitive, web-based management interface, allowing customers to designate user access manually or integrate with Microsoft® Active Directory 2003/2008.
Windows 7 certification.
Ability to centralize, stream and share media files and documents from computers on a network, share them with other DLNA® compliant devices and computers on the network running iTunes® software.
Full system recovery of the operating system, programs and settings, in the event of a system crash or failure with SafetyDrill+™ software.
Event notification to help prevent and manage drive errors or disruption.
Four additional USB ports to connect extra USB storage, share a USB printer or connect an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to safeguard from power failure.
A 3-year limited warranty.
The BlackArmor NAS 400 server completes Seagate’s full-line of small and home office business solutions, providing customers with an variety of either plug-and-play or customizable four-bay NAS products from which to choose. With products ranging from 1TB to 8TB, businesses and advanced consumers can buy what they need now and have the confidence that their storage capacity can scale as their business or storage needs grow.

As well as the huge amount of storage, Seagate bundle a Memeo-powered backup tool that’s preloaded onto the drive itself.  There’s also 192-bit triple DES encryption support.

The 3TB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk External Drive is available now priced at $249.99; meanwhile 1TB and 2TB versions are priced at $129.99 and $189.99 respectively.  The FireWire adapter is a $49.99 accessory, while the USB 3.0 adapter is $39.99.

Outwardly it’s not exactly the most eye-catching of devices, a gloss-finish black plastic box roughly the size of a book. Up front is a hinged door hiding the GoFlex drive bay, on the side a single USB 2.0 port, and along the back are power, component and composite outputs (both requiring the included adapter cables), digital S/PDIF, an HDMI 1.3 port, a 10/100 ethernet port and another USB 2.0 port. Seagate also bundle an infrared remote control and an ethernet cable, though there’s no integrated storage.

That’s because the GoFlex TV HD is intended to be used with your existing GoFlex HDDs, or at least that’s what Seagate are hoping. It’s certainly the slickest solution: open the bay, push in the HDD and the SATA connector hooks up and leaves you navigating the drive’s content via the on-screen UI and the remote. If you haven’t bought into Seagate’s interchangeable-connector platform, or you want to augment it with other drives, thumb-drives or even plug in your digital camera, you can use either of the USB 2.0 ports.

If you’ve plugged in a DVD player or cable box you shouldn’t have much trouble with the GoFlex TV HD. Easiest is HDMI – a single cable carrying video and data – but the bundled composite and component adapters are straightforward too. If you’ve a separate A/V receiver then you can hook up the Seagate’s S/PDIF digital audio output; it supports Dolby Digital among other formats. An ethernet connection isn’t necessary, but it does add some useful internet-based functionality – more on which in a moment – and Seagate will also sell you a USB WiFi adapter which takes up one of the ports but does mean you can avoid another trailing cable.

The GoFlex TV HD’s UI is straightforward and not especially glamorous, though it gets the job done. The main menu has options for movies, pictures (up to 20-megapixel shots supported), music, internet and “browse”, the latter of which isn’t a web browser but a more simple file manager view of the drive’s contents. Underneath are shortcuts to internet services, like Flickr, YouTube, Picasa and others, while at the bottom are shortcuts to connected devices like TVs or media streamers hooked up over the network using UPnP. The remote has basic controls – navigation, playback, volume and menu – and feels reasonably responsive, though there’s a little slow-down on drives that are packed full of content.

For basic local media playback it’s a matter of choosing the content type and hitting play – the GoFlex TV HD supports a broad range of video codecs (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (VOB/ISO), MPEG-4 (Xvid), DivX®, DivX HD, Xvid HD, AVI, MOV, MKV, RMVB Real Media, AVC HD, H.264, WMV9, VC-1, M2TS, TS/TP/M2T) at up to 1080p HD resolution, audio codecs (AAC, MP3, Dolby® Digital, DTS, ASF, FLAC, WMA, WMA Pro, LPCM, ADPCM, WAV, OGG) and photo types (JPEG, MJPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF) – and the quality is decent, presuming your original file is up to scratch. Viewing content over the network is a little trickier, predominantly because file size and network capacity enter the equation. With nothing else hooked up we managed to stream a 1080p Full HD video via the Seagate’s 10/100 ethernet port, but as soon as we connected anything else to the network we started seeing dropped frames. Lower-bitrate files were more resilient, though we still wish Seagate had opted for a gigabit ethernet port.

As for internet-based content, its usefulness depends on what online services you use. The GoFlex TV HD supports Netflix, YouTube, Paramount, vTuner, Mediafly, Picasa and Flickr, as well as offering video and text RSS feed support and custom finance and weather widgets. You can’t do anything as complex as add Netflix titles to your Instant View queue, or upload a video to YouTube from a connected camcorder (or, indeed, photos to Flickr from a connected camera) but it’s a simple way of watching video and galleries on your biggest screen.

So, gigabit ethernet aside, where else is there room for improvement? Well, with Seagate’s emphasis on port flexibility in the GoFlex range, we’d have liked to have seen an eSATA and/or a FireWire port on the TV HD, or perhaps even USB 3.0. Of course the company’s own modular drives slot right in, but third-party drives are limited to USB 2.0. A USB Host port would be useful, too, to quickly load content onto a GoFlex HDD without having to eject it, plug in a cable and hook it up to a computer separately.

Still, there’s plenty to like about the Seagate GoFlex TV HD, and while it doesn’t necessarily do anything – barring the internal HDD bay – that we’ve not seen in other media players, as a part of the company’s new ecosystem it’s a consumer-friendly way of viewing digital content on a bigger display. If you’re opting for GoFlex for your external storage then, at $129.99, the GoFlex TV HD seems a reasonable addition. If you’re content with your regular drives then we’d suggest shopping around: there’s no shortage of internet-connected HD media players out there right now, offering more ports than just USB 2.0.

Seagate sent us a basic FreeAgent mobile drive – which comes as standard with a USB 2.0 connector – together with an optional GoFlex eSATA adapter. Both mobile and desktop drives are available (up to 1TB in the former, 2TB in the latter), while GoFlex Upgrade Cables for USB 2.0 ($19.99), USB 3.0 ($29.99), FireWire 800 ($39.99) and eSATA ($19.99) are offered. Unfortunately the Seagate docks – which include various desktop models together with media-centric versions that hook up to HDTVs and, optionally, wireless networks – weren’t available for us to try.

At first glance the FreeAgent looks relatively normal for an external drive. Silver plastic with curved edges, it won’t stand out among HDDs but neither does it offend the eyes. The plug adapter itself slots into an exposed SATA port – with a power connector – on the drive; the standard USB 2.0 adapter is in matching silver and has a removable cable, while the eSATA adapter is black and has a fixed cable. Changing the adapters is a simple case of pulling one out and clicking another into place.

Transfer speeds were as you’d expect from a USB 2.0 or eSATA interface, with no real difference between the FreeAgent GoFlex and a regular external drive. Seagate boast PC and Mac compatibility for their NTFS formatted drives, thanks to a preloaded OS X patch you need to install on first connection.

Of course, the real dilemma when you’re dealing with a non-standard cable solution is how consumers might get locked into a system that’s later discarded by the company responsible for it. The reason USB, eSATA and other connectivity standards are popular is that they’re cross-platform compatible: we can plug a USB drive into our computer today, and know there’s a 99.9-percent chance we won’t have problems also plugging it into whatever computer we’re using tomorrow.

Now, we’re sure Seagate would insist that they’re suitable committed to GoFlex, and indeed if they can encourage enough users to jump onboard then it’s a neat lock-in; the HDD equivalent of printer ink cartridges, perhaps. Should it prove less successful, however, how long are Seagate continue to produce GoFlex-compatible devices and accessories? It’s a problem you don’t generally face with a standard USB or eSATA drive.

Since Seagate will sell you the basic drive section without a bundled GoFlex adapter, it’s possible you could save a little money if you need multiple drives and don’t mind switching a single Upgrade Cable between them. You’ll save $10 on each that way. Nonetheless, on a dollar per GB basis, it’s still cheaper to buy a basic, USB 2.0 drive, and in fact with a little online searching you can find combo USB/eSATA drives for less than the price of the FreeAgent and both GoFlex adapters.

If you’re willing to buy into Seagate’s vision of a GoFlex enabled home media system then perhaps the new FreeAgent line-up makes more sense. We can certainly see the appeal of a simple snap-in HDD setup that takes plug-and-play drives from PC to HD media player and back again. Problem is, thanks to numerous HD-capable set top boxes with USB or eSATA ports you can just as easily do that with a regular drive, albeit losing some of the slick tidiness of Seagate’s setup along the way.

In the end, while the Seagate system works we’re not 100-percent sure it’s necessary. When the day comes that you’re desperate for USB 3.0 connectivity, is your original 1TB HDD really going to be sufficient, or will multi-terabyte drives be the status quo? Backward compatibility in USB 3.0 for 2.0 and earlier means that the new interface is probably as flexible as most consumers will ever demand, while market competition will likely keep prices lower than Seagate’s multi-component drives. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex drive makes sense, it even works well; it just feels like a solution in search of a problem.

Update: Seagate have clarified that the port used to connect the drive to the Upgrade Cables is, indeed, SATA.  Their hope is that one day various third-party accessories and devices will have a GoFlex-compliant SATA port so that it’s not just their own range of docks and media players will be compatible.  While that removes some of our concerns regarding future compliance, we’re still uncertain that consumers require flexibility beyond what USB, eSATA and other more common external drive connectivity brings.

Adaptive Memory basically monitors which files are opened frequently and which data is regularly accessed, and intelligently shifts those into the faster, solid-state memory.  The first time you open a file, Seagate say, the Momentus XT is on a par with a regular 7,200rpm HDD; the second time, it’s more like an SSD.  Over time, the hybrid drive creates a custom partition in the SSD memory suited to how the individual uses their machine.

Since it – and all of the other hybrid functionality – is handled by the Momentus XT itself, it’s completely software independent.  That means you can drop the hybrid drive into any 9.5mm bay and be up and running just as though you’d used a regular HDD.  Seagate say users will see around 100-percent faster system start-up speeds, too.

Best of all, though, is the price.  The 250GB Seagate Momentus XT is priced at $113, the 320GB Momentus XT is $122 and the 500GB Momentus XT is $156, all considerably cheaper than you’d pay for a comparably sized true SSD.  ASUS have already announced they’ll be offering the Momentus XT as an option in their Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook.

Press Release:

SEAGATE DELIVERS WORLD’S FASTEST HARD DRIVE FOR LAPTOP COMPUTERS; MOMENTUS® XT SOLID STATE HYBRID DRIVE OFFERS SOLID STATE PERFORMANCE WITH THE CAPACITY AND VALUE OF HARD DISK DRIVES

New ASUS Gaming Laptop to Deliver Unprecedented Speeds Powered by Momentus XT Drive

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — May 24, 2010 — Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) today announced channel and OEM shipments of the Momentus® XT drive, the world’s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive, combining SSD-like performance with the massive capacity and much lower cost of HDDs. The Momentus XT drive also features Adaptive Memory™ – a groundbreaking new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive’s performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs, and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems.

Today’s high-performance SSDs for mobile computing cost as much as 10 times more than hard disk drives of the same capacity, with the price of a 250GB SSD outstripping even the cost of many laptop PCs. As a result, most consumers and system builders are unwilling or unable to pay the high price for the greater speed and quiet operations of SSDs. Additionally, SSDs offer fewer capacity options than hard disk drives.

The Momentus XT drive is a best-of-both-worlds solution that combines a 7200RPM spin speed, 4GB of solid state memory and Seagate’s Adaptive Memory technology to deliver unprecedented hard drive performance. The unique Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying patterns in how often certain digital data is used, and then moving the most frequently used information to the embedded solid state memory for faster access – effectively tailoring hard drive performance to each user and their applications.

“For notebook PC users looking forward to faster PC performance without sacrificing storage capacity or affordability, now there’s an option,” according to John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives. “Seagate’s new Momentus® XT drive is the first storage device for notebook PCs that raises the bar for affordable capacity and performance.”

“We see the Momentus® XT drive as a game changer, a product heralding a new generation of hard drives that combine SSD and HDD capabilities so that laptop users don’t have to make trade-offs on speed, cost or capacity,” said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management. “The feedback we’ve received from customers, industry experts and early reviews has been overwhelmingly positive, and Seagate will continue to drive innovation that provides more value and a better computing experience to consumers.”

Momentus® XT Drive Brings Unprecedented Speed to New ASUS Gaming Laptop PC

ASUS has also announced that it will offer the Momentus XT drive as an upgrade option for its new Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook. The system is powered by an Intel i7 720Qm quad-core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and DX11 capable ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870.

“With the Momentus® XT drive, ASUS gives gaming customers who prefer the ASUS ROG G73 the capacity they need and the performance they crave,” said PC Wang, vice president of the ASUS Systems Business Group. “Seagate’s innovative solid state hybrid drive hands down delivers the best value, capacity and SSD-like performance to a wide audience.”

The Momentus XT drive installs as easily as a traditional 9.5mm-high notebook drive for new systems or laptop upgrades and, unlike early hybrid drives, operates independently of the operating system and the motherboard chipset.

ASUS and Seagate Unveil the Momentus® XT Drive and the ROG G73JH with a Live Webcast

On Wednesday, May 26, Seagate and OEM customer ASUS will co-sponsor a live webcast unveiling not only the new Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive, but also featuring the new ASUS ROG G73JH system with two Momentus XT drives. Three lucky attendees of this webcast will win a new G73 system just for attending*. Special guest speakers will provide an in-depth look at how this drive will transform high-performance computing.

After a couple of weeks of rumors, Seagate apparently wanted to clear the air. And so, Seagate’s Senior Product Manager Barbara Craig has finally confirmed that Seagate is, indeed, working on releasing a 3TB hard drive later this year. But, it’s not all going as smoothly as Seagate planned, as they’ve run into a few obstacles. And, sadly, if you’re running Windows XP still, you can’t even get the 3TB goodness, because the drive will require a 64-bit Operating System.

One of the main problems that Seagate ran into is the Logical Block Addressing (LBA) standard, which is something that fell into place in the 1980′s. Apparently, this standard can only support up to 2.1TB of storage capacity. Craig said that the only way to access the 3TB hard drive and everything it can offer, is to be running 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Vista. She did, however, note that it could be used on some modified version of Linux.

It sounds like Seagate had a lot of issues when shoving all that storage into a limited amount of space, but the company is determined to make an official announcement later this year. What that should tell you, is that you need to start getting every piece of data, music, and movies together, because if you go 3TB, you’ll probably need all of that and more to start making a dent.

[via Thinq]

The new 3TB drive is going to be part of that same Constellation ES family and will have a 6Gbit/s SAS interface and replace the Barracuda ES. The 3TB drive will be for the enterprise class and presumably spin at 7200 rpm.

I would expect that we would see a consumer version of the drive pushing 3TB as well. Yet another Seagate rumor has the firm readying a new 2.5-inch Savvio drive with as much as 750GB of 10000rpm goodness.

Base drives range from 320GB to 2TB, and can be bought either as a starter pack complete with a USB 2.0 GoFlex adapter (from $99.99 for 320GB to $199.99 for 1TB), as the drive alone (from $89.99 for 320GB to $189.99 for 1TB) or as a Pro version offering a faster, 7,200rpm HDD and onboard encrypted backup functionality ($139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB).  Meanwhile there’s a GoFlex Desk model ($129.99 for 1TB with USB 2.0; $199.99 for 2TB with USB 2.0; save $10 on each if bought adapter-free).  All the drives are Windows and OS X compatible out of the box.

As for the more advanced adapters, there’s USB 2.0 ($19.99), USB 3.0 ($29.99, or $79.99 with a bundled ExpressCard adapter for notebooks), FireWire 800 ($39.99), eSATA ($19.99) or auto-backup ($29.99).  There are two basic desktop docks, one with USB 3.0 ($39 or $79 with a bundled PCI Express USB 3.0 adapter) and one with FireWire 800/USB 2.0 ($49.99), and a GoFlex Intelligent Dock ($29.99) which has an easily visible “capacity gauge”.

Finally, there’s the GoFlex TV HD Media Player, for $129.99, which has a dock, two USB 2.0 ports, ethernet, an optional WiFi dongle and 1080p HDTV support, and can stream content from Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly and Picasa, the $99.99 GoFlex Net Media Sharing Device, which has a dock, a USB port and ethernet for streaming content locally and remotely (including to an iPhone, iPad or Android device) using the Pogoplug service.

Press Release:

SEAGATE INTRODUCES NEW ERA OF EXTERNAL STORAGE: A FLEXIBLE HARD DRIVE SOLUTION WITH MULTIPLE INTERFACE AND CONTENT SHARING OPTIONS

Protect. Store. Do More.…With the Seagate® GoFlex™ Storage System

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — May 4, 2010 — Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the worldwide leader in hard drives and storage solutions, today introduced the next evolution of the company’s award-winning FreeAgent® external hard drives—its new GoFlex™ storage solutions. This new family of external drives and accessories introduces a new level of flexibility to traditional USB 2.0 storage that will change the way people store, access, enjoy and share their digital content. The FreeAgent® GoFlex™ storage family includes easy, plug-and-play portable and desktop drives, with an array of cables and desktop adapters that allow each drive to adapt to the interface or device being used. The GoFlex family of hard disk drives is also specially designed to provide interoperability between operating systems in order to work with both Microsoft® Windows® and Mac® OS X computers.

“GoFlex™ interface cables are about providing the speed, performance and connectivity people need to support their interaction with their digital content. The explosive growth of video capture options and multimedia collecting is expanding personal digital libraries to terabytes worth of content within the home,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “These trends are driving demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage. The GoFlex™ family of storage products meets this need by delivering simple, USB 2.0 storage and backup devices, with the flexibility to adapt as interface technology advances by using the various GoFlex™ cables and accessories to access content stored on the same drive.”

Protect, store and access files through the interface of your choice
Recent survey results by the Yankee Group indicate that more than half of people planning to purchase a new hard drive consider the interface connection an important factor in their selection. GoFlex drives address this concern by providing a flexible, plug-and-play way to adapt to the most popular available interfaces or devices. The seamless GoFlex™ cable system enables the GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Pro ultra-portable USB 2.0 drives to be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching out the cable adapter. Additionally, specially-designed GoFlex upgrade cables provide even more applications of how each drive can be used. For example, the GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – Auto Backup transforms the drive into a continuous full-system backup, giving consumers the peace of mind that their files and system settings are backed up, while leaving the remaining capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer

“As consumer’s lives become increasingly connected, people will demand capabilities beyond the traditional hard drive,” said Carl Howe, director, Anywhere Consumer Research, Yankee Group. “Consumers are looking not only for storage, but for new ways to use their digital content. Connecting, sharing, and repurposing content is part of the purchasing decision process for today’s ‘Anywhere Consumer’®.”

Do More with the GoFlex Storage System
Within the GoFlex family, Seagate has created a special ecosystem wherein people experience easy backup and enhanced protection of all their data—the same way they would expect a traditional hard drive to perform—only now their interaction with that content is not wholly dependent on the drive. In addition to several cable options, people can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex™ TV HD media player or the GoFlex™ Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive’s content.

Using the GoFlex™ TV HD media player consumers can easily enjoy their personal digital media library on their television screen by inserting a GoFlex ultra-portable drive or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive directly into the media dock, or connecting a another storage device, digital or Flip camera to the two additional USB ports on the back of the device. Using the intuitive remote, owners of GoFlex TV HD media players can view movies, photos, and music from the comfort of their couch in 1080p high-definition and surround sound. Connect your GoFlex TV HD media player to the internet using the Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi adapter and stream digital content from a home network or popular online service providers such as Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, Picasa and more

The GoFlex™ Net media sharing device transforms a GoFlex ultra-portable drive, GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive, or any USB mass storage, into a media sharing device, allowing consumers to enjoy their digital content outside their home using a PC, iPad, iPod Touch, Android or phone or any other internet-connected computer. The GoFlex Net media sharing device also integrates with social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and publishes RSS feeds allowing people to keep friends and family updatedGoFlex media sharing device owners can also stream content to other devices on a home network, including the GoFlex TV HD media player, to enjoy movies, photos and music on their TV.

Bridging the Gap between PC and Mac
For the first time, Seagate will include an NTFS driver for Mac® OS X on all GoFlex portable and desktop offerings, enabling storage and access of files from both Windows® and Mac computers. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on your Mac computer, and allows access and storage of files on a Windows formatted[1] drive.

With capacities ranging from 320GB to 2TB, FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable and desktop drives group high-capacity, adaptability and ease-of-use with all the backup and protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Available immediately through Seagate.com and select online retailers, the GoFlex storage family includes:

GoFlex Drives:
o GoFlexTM ultra portable drive—The core of the GoFlexTM Storage System. Available in 14.5mm and 22mm versions and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $99.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $129.99 for 500GB (silver, black, red, blue); $169.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $199.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
o GoFlexTM ultra portable drive, drive-only version. MSRP $89.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $119.99 for 500GB [silver, black, red, blue]; $159.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $189.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
o GoFlexTM Pro ultra portable drive kit—A 7200RPM, 2.5” drive that delivers premium backup with encryption and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB [black].
o GoFlexTM Pro ultra portable drive, drive-only version—MSRP $129.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB [black].
o GoFlexTM Desk external drive kit—Delivers high-capacity storage and automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all your files and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $129.99 for 1TB [black]; $199.99 for 2TB [black].
o GoFlexTM Desk external drive, drive-only version—MSRP $119.99 for 1TB [black]; $189.99 for 2TB [black].
GoFlex Cables and Adapters:
o GoFlexTM Cable – USB 2.0—The baseline interface for your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives. MSRP $19.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – USB 3.0—Equips your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files vs USB 2.0, while being backwards compatible. MSRP $29.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable kit – USB 3.0—Includes ExpressCard adapter to update a laptop and GoFlexTM ultra-portable drives from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 and deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files than USB 2.0, MSRP $79.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – FireWire® 800—Upgrades your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver 2x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0. MSRP $39.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable kit – eSATA—Empowers your GoFlexTM and GoFlexTM Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 6x faster performance over USB 2.0. MSRP $19.99.
o GoFlexTM Upgrade cable – Auto Backup—Delivers continuous backup and protection of data giving consumers the peace of mind that their data is backed up, while leaving capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer. MSRP $29.99.

o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter—USB 3.0—Allows the GoFlexTM Desk to deliver up to 10x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $39.00.
o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter kit—USB 3.0—Includes PCI Express adapter to upgrade a desktop PC and GoFlexTM Desk external drive for USB 3.0 performance, MSRP $79.00.
o GoFlexTM Desk Desktop adapter—FireWire® 800/USB 2.0—Upgrades your GoFlex™ Desk external drive to deliver 2x faster performance over USB 2.0 with FireWire® 800/USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $49.99.

GoFlex Storage System Devices:
o GoFlexTM TV HD media player—Allows for enjoyment of digital content on a TV. MSRP $129.99 for media player only.
o GoFlexTM Net media sharing device—Enables instant, easy access and sharing of content over a network. MSRP $99.99.
o GoFlexTM Intelligent dock—Transforms the GoFlex ultra portable drive into the perfect desktop solution that delivers convenient file access and backup with an easy-to-view capacity gauge. MSRP $29.99.

The Theater+ can already be used with the new FreeAgent Go, with docking the HDD into the media player allowing you to watch the preloaded movies on your big-screen TV.  Timescales for the release of the firmware are unclear, but it will be preloaded on new Theater+ units.  The media player itself is priced at $129.99.

[via Venturebeat]

To get you in the mood, a copy of the latest Star Trek movie is included in the sticker price of the drive, and the media files themselves are licensed for playback on multiple platforms.  They’re not DRM-free, however, and Seagate will be pushing out a firmware update for their FreeAgent Theater+ media player later in April so that you can watch the movies on your HDTV simply by docking in the hard-drive.

The full list of pre-loaded titles is in the press release below, but it includes a range of classics like The Hunt for Red October up to newer releases.  You can also delete them if you’d rather have the backup space, of course.  The Seagate FreeAgent Go 500GB HDD is available now.

Press Release:

AN INDUSTRY FIRST: SEAGATE OFFERS FREEAGENT GO™ HARD DRIVES PRE-LOADED WITH PARAMOUNT PICTURES’ FEATURE FILMS

Ultra Portable Drive Comes Pre-loaded with One Movie for Activation and Twenty Other Films for Purchase to Help Jump Start Consumers’ Digital Movie Collections

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — April 12, 2010 — Today, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the worldwide leader in hard drives, and Paramount Digital Entertainment, a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, announced their agreement to pre-load a selection of 500GB FreeAgent Go™ ultra-portable hard drives with Paramount movies. Beginning immediately, United States’ customers who purchase specially marked packages of the award-winning FreeAgent Go ultra-portable hard drive will be able to activate Paramount Pictures’ popular film, Star Trek (2009), for no additional fee. This collaboration between two industry leaders underscores a new era in digital movie collecting by enabling people to build, store and enjoy their personal libraries of favorite films in their preferred medium—whether on the computer or the TV—at home and on the go.

In addition to Star Trek (2009), those who have purchased the specially marked hard drives also receive an assortment of 20 Paramount Pictures movies pre-loaded on the FreeAgent Go 500GB ultra-portable drives that can be easily and securely unlocked through the online purchase of a license key. The films will be licensed for multiple devices to allow for portability and enjoyment of them on a desktop computer, laptop computer, or widescreen television, using the FreeAgent Theater+™ HD media player[1].

“Seagate and Paramount Pictures are delivering major motion pictures to consumers in a unique and innovative solution. For years Seagate hard drives have been powering the devices that allow consumers to enjoy their digital libraries. Today, we are simplifying content delivery by giving consumers the ultimate flexibility in how they enjoy their movies all in a convenient package,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management, Seagate.

To take advantage of this special offer, simply purchase a specially marked 500GB FreeAgent Go ultra-portable drive from Seagate.com, or wherever Seagate FreeAgent Go portable hard drives are sold. After online registration of the drive, a promotional code will be provided for redemption at http://seagate.paramountshop.com. Redeeming the offer code provides the license key to unlock Star Trek (2009) and the option to purchase additional keys to unlock the remaining film titles that are pre-loaded on the drive.

A choice of up to 20 popular Paramount titles can be unlocked for a fee[2] including:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
GI Joe
Shooter
The Hunt for Red October
The Italian Job (2003)
Ghost
Patriot Games
Beowulf
Enemy at the Gates
The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Love Guru
Coach Carter
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Nacho Libre
Jackass 2.5
A Plumm Summer
Carriers
Dance Flick
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
“Collaborating with Seagate on this massive movie pre-load reinforces our commitment to embrace technologies that give consumers choice and flexibility in how they access and purchase their digital entertainment. Paramount Digital Entertainment has created a powerful solution that allows companies like Seagate to offer a seamless experience for consumers to access and securely activate pre-loaded movies, ensuring that exciting films are available everywhere they wish to enjoy them,” said Malik Ducard, senior vice president, Digital Distribution, The Americas, Paramount Digital Entertainment.
“And with over 38 hours of movie viewing enjoyment pre-loaded onto the portable device, we are offering consumers a great opportunity to jump start their digital libraries.”

About Paramount Digital Entertainment
Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) is a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. PDE develops and distributes filmed entertainment across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices, videogames, and emerging technologies.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company’s labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

The new 3.5-inch constellation ES HDD has 2TB of storage and uses the 6Gb/s SAS interface and spins at 7200 rpm. The addition of the 2TB drive slots into the line with the other offerings in the Constellation ES family including 500GB and 1TB solutions.

The new 2TB density allows a data center to support 76TB of storage per square foot of space. Seagate is mum on pricing and availability for the new drives. The new HDD uses Seagate’s PowerChoice system to optimize power and cooling and encryption is optional on the new drive.

The new drive is a 2.5-inch form factor HDD that is aimed at use in external storage arrays and enterprise servers that have space constraints. The drive has Protection Information features to protect data-in-flight and can be had with optional self-encrypting drive tech.

The new drive is available in up to 600GB capacity and reduces power and space constraints compared to 3.5-inch HDDs with similar capacity. Seagate also rates the drive for 2 million hours mean time between failure making it very reliable.

That’s three times the speed of a regular USB 2.0 drive, making the BlackArmor PS110 ideal for high-definition video transfers, hefty backups and more.  Since USB 3.0 is backward compatible with the older connector, you won’t be left high and dry if you need to hook the drive up to a non-3.0 computer; you may die of boredom, however.

Seagate are also bundling the Acronis business-grade backup suite, automated full-system backup and SafetyDrill+ “bare metal recovery” software with the 12.5mm thick PS110 drive.  The Seagate BlackArmor PS110 kit is available now, priced at $179.99.

Press Release:

SEAGATE SUPER SPEEDS TRANSFER RATES WITH USB 3.0 EXTERNAL PORTABLE HARD DRIVE

Portable 7200RPM, 2.5-inch Hard Drive Delivers Transfer Speeds Up to
Three Times Faster than USB 2.0

LAS VEGAS, NV – January 5, 2010 – Today at the Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the
worldwide leader in hard drives and storage solutions, unveiled the
BlackArmor(r) PS110 USB 3.0 portable external hard drive performance kit
for notebook computers. Demonstrating its industry
leadership in delivering advanced and easy-to-use storage solutions,
this all-in-one USB 3.0 toolkit packages a 500GB 7200RPM 2.5-inch
portable hard drive, power cable and PC express card, to deliver speeds
up to three times faster than its USB 2.0 predecessor, making it one of
the fastest portable hard drives
available.

“As people continue to amass vast libraries of high-definition photos,
movies, and music, the storage needs of US households are forecast to
grow more than ten times between 2009 and 2013, and the average digital
media storage requirements will exceed a terabyte by 2013[1]“, said Kurt
Schreff, vice president and principle analyst of Parks Associates.

To address these growing storage needs, the BlackArmor PS110 USB 3.0
toolkit
makes it easier and less time-consuming to store and
share large amounts of rich digital content. This new super speed USB
3.0 interface allows easy transfer of large files to and from the
external drive at sustained transfer rates of 100MB/s, which is three
times faster than current USB 2.0 devices. The familiar scenario of
waiting for large files to transfer will now be a thing of the past.

With the BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 drive, a 25GB HD movie
can be transferred in just four minutes versus the 14
minutes it would take using a traditional USB 2.0 drive[2]. Simply plug
the PC Adapter card into a notebook, connect one end of the included
adapter cord to the PC card, the other end to the BlackArmor PS110
drive, and it is set.

“The growing presence of large multimedia files in the home means that
connectivity and speed is a top concern for a satisfactory experience,”
said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and
Product Line Management. “The delivery of USB 3.0 further underscores
our commitment to giving people an efficient way to store, access and
share their digital creations.”

Coupling Performance with Protection

Considering the precious, personal content and portability of today’s
external hard drives, it is important for people to give thought to
protecting the data on the drive. Seagate’s USB 3.0 portable hard drive
performance kit couples all the safety and security of the existing
BlackArmor PS 110 portable hard drive
with the increased performance of USB 3.0 in an
exceptionally slim, 12.5mm form factor. Each drive ships with the
Acronis business-grade backup suite, automated full-system backup and
SafetyDrill+(tm) software, a bare metal recovery feature, is Windows XP,
Windows Vista and Windows 7 compatible and covered by the an
industry-leading, 5 year limited warranty.

“To date, the USB interface is the most prevalent interface and will
continue to dominate as the interface of choice through 2011,” said Liz
Conner, lead research analyst of IDC’s Personal Storage Research. “This
will be re-enforced with the introduction of USB 3.0, which provides
significantly increased bandwidth to better handle the growing number of
large multimedia files being stored to external hard drives.”

The BlackArmor PS110 USB 3.0 performance kit
contains everything you need to upgrade your laptop to
take advantage of USB 3.0 speeds. The new BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0
Performance kit
is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and can be
purchased immediately from Seagate.com
for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $179.99.

The benefit of the 5,400rpm drive, Seagate claim, is that it offers a lower cost per gigabyte than a comparable 1.8-inch HDD.  That means low-cost computers can be made thinner – 90-percent of netbooks use 9.5mm 2.5-inch HDDs, the company claims – without inflating their price-tags.

As for what the price tag is, exactly, Seagate are keeping such details secret until the drive is released.  OEMs will have access to the Momentus Thin from January 2010.

Press Release:

SEAGATE UNVEILS WORLD’S THINNEST 2.5-INCH HARD DRIVE FOR SLIM LAPTOP COMPUTERS

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — December 14, 2009 — Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the Momentus® Thin drive, the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height – 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives – the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.

Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the lowest-cost storage for netbooks and thin laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market.

“The Momentus® Thin drive promises to help computer makers differentiate on mobile-computing form factor and better compete in the fast-growing markets for thin laptop PCs and netbooks,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “Seagate is committed to helping its OEM and system integrator partners meet market demand for thinner laptop PCs and plans to expand storage capabilities for thin laptops as demand for these slimmer models continues to grow.”

The Momentus Thin drive rivals traditional 2.5-inch laptop drives in performance and power-efficiency, enabling thin-chassis designs in all segments of notebook computing and allowing OEMs both to design in greater value on high-end netbooks for easier upselling and to create a wider value differentiation between consumer and commercial laptop PCs. The Momentus Thin drive features two capacity points – 250GB and 160GB – an 8MB cache, a Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and a 5400RPM spin speed. The drive is scheduled to ship to Seagate’s OEM and integrator partners in January 2010.

The Seagate® Momentus® family now helps laptop makers give home and business users a sweeping upgrade path – from netbooks, often purchased as introductory, low-cost laptop PCs strictly for emailing and Internet surfing, to notebooks offering mainstream business and consumer applications, to feature-rich, high-performance laptops, all in standard-size and the increasingly popular thin models. Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives in the traditional 9.5mm height combine the industry’s broadest feature set – including self-encryption, FIPS 140-2 certification and free-fall sensors – with up to 640GB of capacity, fast 3Gb/second Serial ATA interface speeds, cache sizes as large as 16MB, and among the highest hard drive shock-tolerance, acoustics and reliability specifications for entry-level, mainstream and high-performance laptops.

The Pulsar has a SATA interface and Seagate have squeezed in some power loss protection so that, even if your system loses power, you’ll hopefully not lose everything you were working on.  They’re also quoting a 0.44 percent AFR (average failure rate).

Seagate have been quietly sampling the Pulsar to OEMs since October 2009, but there’s no word on when you’ll actually be able to buy machines with the drive installed (nor separately as standalone storage).  Also unannounced is pricing.

Press Release:

SEAGATE INTRODUCES ITS FIRST SOLID STATE DRIVE: PULSAR

First true enterprise-class SSD from the world’s #1 enterprise storage supplier

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — December 8, 2009 — Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today introduced the Seagate® Pulsar™ drive, the first product in its new enterprise solid state drive (SSD) family. Designed for enterprise blade and general server applications, the Pulsar drive uses single-level cell (SLC) technology, delivers up to 200GB capacity, and is built in a 2.5-inch small form factor with a SATA interface. The Pulsar drive leverages Seagate’s 30 years of leadership in meeting large enterprise customer needs in product development, qualification, and support.

“Seagate is optimistic about the enterprise SSD opportunity and views the product category as enabling expansion of the overall storage market for both SSDs and HDDs,” said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president, Sales, Marketing, and Product Line Management. “Our strategy is to provide our customers with the exact storage device they need for any application, regardless of the component technology used. We are delivering on that strategy with the Pulsar™ drive, and you can expect additional products in the future from Seagate using a variety of solid state and rotating media components.”

The Pulsar SSD delivers the necessary performance, reliability, and endurance to match the application environments of enterprise blade and general servers. It achieves a peak performance of up to 30,000 read IOPS and 25,000 write IOPS, 240MB/s sequential read and 200 MB/s sequential write. Its SLC-based design optimizes reliability and endurance and helps provide a .44% AFR rating with a 5-year limited warranty. As an additional safeguard, the Pulsar drive leverages Seagate’s enterprise storage expertise to protect against data loss in the event of power failure.

Seagate began shipping Pulsar units to select OEMs for revenue in September 2009. With Seagate’s enterprise knowledge and expertise, OEMs have peace of mind knowing that Seagate has the global enterprise systems, people and processes in place to support their largest requirements.

“To deliver and serve the enterprise SSD marketplace effectively, it is critical for suppliers to understand the needs of their storage system customers with respect to design, manufacturing, supply chain delivery, and support,” said Dave Reinsel, IDC group vice president. “With its well-established OEM and eco-system relationships and a long history of serving global storage OEMs, Seagate is in a unique position to fortify its leading enterprise storage position with its entry into the enterprise solid state storage market.”

As the worldwide market leader in enterprise storage and the first enterprise HDD vendor to deliver an enterprise-class SSD solution, Seagate brings credibility, experience and leadership to this new market segment.

“The enterprise SSD market is now primed and well-positioned for growth from both a revenue and unit perspective, with Gartner estimating unit growth to double and sales to reach $1 billion for calendar year 2010,” said Joseph Unsworth, research director at Gartner. “Superior enterprise SSDs provide transformational capabilities when optimized in storage and server environments.”

The Seagate Pulsar SSD is available to OEM customers for qualification. More information can be found at http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/servers/pulsar/pulsar/

To take part, we’re looking for your earliest computer and tech memories. Seagate’s very first product was a 5.25-inch hard drive in 1980, and with 5MB capacity after formatting you could keep a single MP3 on there (or at least you would’ve been able to if MP3s had been around in 1980). In contrast, the Seagate 640GB FreeAgent Go can hold thousands of MP3s and still have room to spare.

Head over to this SlashGear forum thread to tell us about your computer and tech memories, and we’ll pick one at random to take away the FreeAgent Go HDD. Ten runners up will get Seagate t-shirts. Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on Thursday December 10th – good luck!

Rules

Competition is open to residents of the US over the age of 18. Family members of Seagate and SlashGear are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear forum thread; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized. Entries should be submitted before midnight eastern time on December 11th 2009; one entry per person (and yes, we check).

The winners will be announced on SlashGear and contacted via email (make sure to use a real email address!); they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, SlashGear.

Prize consists of one Seagate 640GB FreeAgent Go USB hard-drive, and ten runners-up prizes of Seagate t-shirts. There is no cash alternative. Should this prize become unavailable, SlashGear and Seagate reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

What dissuades most users from setting up remote access is the hassle of network settings. Home broadband connections often charge extra for static IP addresses, meaning the string of digits you have to remember in order to access your home network can change without you necessarily realising it. That, together with NAT firewall confusion and concern over just who has access to your shared files, is often enough to scupper any half-hearted intention to open up a NAS.

Seagate get round this by using Pogoplug‘s technology, or more accurately by squeezing a Pogoplug adapter into the dock itself. Pogoplug, first announced back at CES in January, is a combination hardware/software system that makes sharing USB drives over the internet straightforward through an online interface. The basic Pogoplug adapter looks like an overgrown wall-wart, with a single USB port (for the hard-drive) and an ethernet port. Register the adapter at their site and, by tapping in your account details from any internet-connected computer, you can access the files on the drive and even stream audio/video content.

To that basic system Seagate add a far more streamlined dock design, which takes a standard Seagate FreeAgent Go drive slotted in almost perpendicularly, together with an extra three USB 2.0 ports (two on the rear, by the ethernet port, and a third on the side) to add extra external storage. Setup is incredibly simple – at least for the basic functionality – requiring only that power and ethernet connections be made, a FreeAgent Go drive docked, and then stopping by the online registration site to create a user account. A single green LED lights up to show that the dock is online.

From that point on, when you remember you want a copy of the presentation you were working on at home, would like to show your parents a slideshow of holiday snaps, or fancy listening to the new album you’ve downloaded, it’s a simple case of visiting the site and logging in to remotely access your content. You can share directories, too, either by automatically emailing out links – with read or read/write permissions – or via an RSS feed. There’s also an iPhone application, and various levels of integration with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The $99.99 sticker price of the DockStar includes a year’s worth of Pogoplug service (though no FreeAgent Go drive, which start at $89.99 for 250GB); after that period you’re looking at a further yearly subscription of $29.99, and that’s where we can’t quite follow Seagate’s thinking. A basic Pogoplug adapter is also $99 and demands no subscription fee; the DockStar throws extra USB connections into the mixture, but that’s nothing you couldn’t add to the Pogoplug by virtue of a USB hub. The user experience for both is the same.

Our second headache came with trying to access the FreeAgent across the home network, rather than through the Pogoplug interface. While you can certainly log into the drive via Pogoplug from one of your home computers, gaining file access that way, it would make far more sense to connect directly via the dock. Unfortunately Seagate’s documentation is less than comprehensive in explaining how this is set up (though the outer packaging does refer to it); in short, Samba SMB shares are established and managed via the DockStar account page online, rather than via a local interface. After you’ve done that, machines on the same local network will be able to access the DockStar-docked drives as if they were a traditional NAS; moreover, you’ll be able to do that without an active subscription.

It’s arguably something that home users – at whom the DockStar is so obviously targeted – wouldn’t especially want to do, but it’s a hiccup in what was otherwise a relatively streamlined setup process. When you’re selling your product on the virtue of simplicity (and if you’re demanding a service fee then we reckon that’s exactly what you should be delivering) then every aspect of it should be so obvious. You could give your tech-naive parents the DockStar to set up and they’d probably have only minor difficulties getting the Pogoplug service activated, but local network sharing would likely be beyond them. A default active Samba share for the whole volume, shared with the same password as used for the remote access, would be one obvious way around the situation.

In the end, though, it’s the subscription charge that sticks in our craw, not least because it’s so obviously been added by Seagate rather than demanded by Pogoplug. Given Seagate’s visibility in retail stores most buyers of the DockStar are unlikely to ever discover that they could have had pretty much the same user experience without tying themselves into a yearly fee, and that feels unfair. If you’re desperate to avoid the wiring required by plugging a USB hub into a Pogoplug then the Seagate is the neater solution, but we reckon most people – like us – would decide that $30 saved each year was enough to forgive it that.

That’s useful, as right now there’s limited choice for motherboards with 6.0Gbps SATA interfaces.  Currently you’re looking at a clutch of models from ASUS and Gigabyte, whom Seagate are seemingly promoting alongside the Barracuda XT.  After all, what good is all that performance if you’re not going to take advantage of it.

The drive also has 64MB of cache, and uses four platters in order to squeeze all those bytes inside.  Official pricing is expected to come in somewhere around $299.

Press Release:

Seagate Ships World’s Fastest Desktop Hard Drive; First Drive to Feature Serial ATA 6Gbit/Second Technology

Seagate Teams With Technology Leaders to Bring SATA 6Gbit/s Complete Solutions to Market

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – September 21, 2009 -

Seagate Barracuda XT, the world’s fastest desktop hard drive featuring the blazing fast Serial ATA 6Gb/s interface. Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today began global shipments of the world’s fastest, largest-capacity mainstream desktop hard drive – Barracuda® XT, a 7200RPM product featuring 2TB of storage capacity and a blazing fast Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/second interface. The 3.5-inch desktop drive, the industry’s first to feature a SATA 6Gb/s interface, meets the capacity demands of gaming, digital video-environments and other storage-hungry desktop computing applications while delivering the highest performance in its class.
The introduction of the Barracuda XT drive marks the shift to the next generation of desktop computing speed as Seagate doubles the storage bandwidth of current computers.

“Capacity and performance remain the defining attributes of hard drives for PC gamers, digital multimedia content developers and many other customers requiring high-end systems at home and in the office,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing at Seagate. “Seagate is meeting these requirements with the first 7200RPM desktop hard drive to combine 2TB of storage capacity with the fastest Serial ATA interface to date.”

The Barracuda XT product, a four-platter drive featuring an areal density of 368 Gigabits per square inch, delivers the highest performance – burst speeds of up to 6 Gigabits per second – for all PC applications, maintains backward compatibility with the SATA 3Gb/second and SATA 1.5Gb/second interfaces, and uses the same cables and connectors as previous SATA generations to ease integration. The hard drive’s SATA 6Gb/s interface enables system builders using SATA 6Gb/s drive controllers to build high-performance desktop PCs, full-tilt gaming rigs, and home and small business servers, and its 64MB cache optimizes burst performance and data transfer speeds.

“Marvell is pleased to be announcing the industry’s first commercially available SATA 6Gb/s solution and working with Seagate to introduce this technology,” said Dr. Alan J. Armstrong, vice president of Marketing, Business Storage Group at Marvell. “Marvell has been working with a broad group of partners and customers to bring this solution to market. As early adopters of Marvell’s SATA 6Gb/s technology, both ASUS and GIGABYTE offer motherboards to complement SATA 6Gb/s hard drives.”

The Serial ATA 6Gb/s Solution: Barracuda XT Drives and Motherboards from ASUS and GIGABYTE

With Barracuda XT drives and SATA 6Gb/s motherboards from ASUS and Gigabyte, computer makers can build the highest-performance PCs, workstations and entry-level servers. ASUS was first to market with a SATA 6Gb/s motherboard; the company’s P7P55D Premium began shipping in August. The new GIGABYTE P55 series GA-P55-Extreme motherboards are also now shipping .

“At ASUS, we are once again at the forefront of innovation by being the first to launch a native SATA 6Gb/s interface on a motherboard,” said Joe Hsieh, corporate vice president & general manager, Motherboard Business Unit & Desktop Business Unit, ASUS. “An expansion bridge integrated into the P7P55D Premium helps achieve real SATA 6Gb/s throughput to support bandwidth-hungry applications. The ASUS solution eliminates transmission bottlenecks in current technology and ensures users truly enjoy faster data speeds and double the storage bandwidth. For other P7P55D Series models, ASUS also provides an expansion card to achieve the same results.”

“GIGABYTE has worked closely with our partners Seagate and Marvell in making the highly anticipated SATA 6Gb/s technology a reality,” said Tony Liao, associate vice president of Marketing at GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. “As the leader in motherboard innovation, GIGABYTE is always excited to bring the very latest technologies to market, and with the release of the world’s first SATA 6Gb/s hard drive from Seagate, our customers’ expectations will be blown away with double-the-bandwidth performance for lightning-fast data transfer and storage.”