OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro 500GB 7,200rpm External HDD

In the rush to grab "world's best" titles, companies will do just about anything.  If you're OWC, you'll grab a Seagate 500GB 7,200rpm hard-drive, slap it into a cheap looking acrylic caddy and brand it "the largest capacity, fastest bus powered portable storage solution on the market."  Heady words indeed, but once you're past the hyperbole you'll probably be more interested in the fact that the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro offers a choice of USB 2.0, FireWire 400 or FireWire 800 interfaces.

Fanless, the external drive measures 3.5 x 5.5 x 1.0 inches and weighs 2.5lbs.  OWC bundle a backup and drive-cloning utility CD, but they also suggest that mobile users might find making the On-The-Go Pro their boot drive shortens start-up times.

The cheapest On-The-Go Pro drive makes do with USB 2.0 connectivity and costs $189.99; if you want to add FireWire 400, that climbs to $219.99.  The top-spec version, with both FireWire interfaces and USB 2.0, is $239.99.  All three are supplied with the relevant cables and a carry case.

Press Release:

OWC ANNOUNCES MERCURY ON-THE-GO PRO LARGEST CAPACITY/FASTEST BUS POWERED PORTABLE STORAGE SOLUTION ON MARKET

Bring 500GB of Data on the Road

Bus Powered – No AC Adapter Needed

Holds 250 DVD Movies, 500,000 Photos, or 175,000 MP3 Songs

Lightweight & Fast 7200RPM Drive with FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0 Interfaces

May 27, 2009, Woodstock, IL — Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading PC and Mac technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro™, the largest capacity, fastest bus powered portable storage solution on the market. The Mercury On-The-Go Pro is a high-performance, 500GB 7200RPM pocket-sized portable storage solution for Mac or PC users featuring FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and/or USB 2.0 interfaces for data transfer speeds up to 100MB/s. With its 500GB of storage capacity, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro can hold up to 500,000 JPEG photos, 250 DVD movies, 38 hours of digital video, or 175,000 MP3 songs.

The Mercury On-The-Go Pro 500GB 7200RPM line features three models, including a "Triple Interface" model for FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0; a "Combo Interface" model for FireWire 400 and USB 2.0; and a USB 2.0 model priced starting at $189.99.

Pocket-Sized & Bus Powered – Ideal For The Mobile Office

Designed for the active "On-The-Go" computer user that needs the largest and fastest portable storage solution available on the market, the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro is compact at 3.5"x 5.5"x 1" in size — small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, yet big enough to offer 500GB of capacity. Stylishly engineered in a sleek, acrylic enclosure, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro is bus-powered, so it doesn't require an AC adapter, which makes it ideal for presentations, multimedia, law enforcement, surveyors, and other "mobile office" uses. Additionally, notebook users with internal 5400RPM drives will find that using the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro as a start-up disk offers faster system boot-up and overall system performance.

Works With Macs, PCs, and Digital Devices

Featuring a variety of FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces, the Plug-and-Play ready Mercury On-The-Go Pro can be used with Macs and PCs for additional storage capacity, transporting large files between multiple computers and real-time A/V editing. The drive can also be used with storage capable digital cameras and camcorders with FireWire and/or USB data ports for quick, convenient backups of images and video while on the road.

"Since we launched the first Mercury On-The-Go Pro in 2001, this pocket-sized powerhouse has established numerous industry innovations in portable storage," said Larry O'Connor, CEO, Other World Computing. "As the first 500GB 7200RPM portable drive on the market, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro continues to deliver best in class portable performance and convenience."

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro 500GB 7200RPM Pricing:

• OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro "Triple Interface" FireWire 800/400 + USB 2.0: $239.99

Features Oxford 934 chipset, two FireWire 800 ports, USB 2.0 Mini-B port, FireWire 800/FireWire 800 to 400 and USB 2.0 connecting cables, carrying case, $200 retail value disk utility bundle, and a three year warranty.

• OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro "Combo Interface" FireWire 400 + USB 2.0: $219.99

Features Oxford 934 chipset, FireWire 400 port, USB 2.0 Mini-B port, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connecting cables, carrying case, $200 retail value disk utility bundle, and a three year warranty.

• OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro USB 2.0: $189.99

Features JMicron 20339 chipset, USB 2.0 Mini-B port, USB 2.0 Mini-B connecting cable, carrying case, $200 retail value disk utility bundle, and a three year warranty.

The three new OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro 500GB 7200RPM models are available immediately from Other World Computing at www.macsales.com. They are compatible with Apple OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, OS X 10.0.x, and 10.2.8 or later; and Windows 98SE or later operating systems and come ready for Plug and Play ease of use with all supported interface connecting cables, carrying case, $200 retail value disk utility software bundle, and an industry leading three year complete solution warranty.

In addition to the new 500GB 7200RPM Mercury On-The-Go Pro drives, OWC also offers a full line of 5400RPM Mercury On-The-Go Pro models with FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and/or USB 2.0 interfaces in capacities of 80GB-500GB, priced starting at $72.99; and 7200RPM models in capacities of 250GB and 320GB priced starting at $89.99.

For more information on the Mercury On-The-Go Pro, visit:

Mercury On-The-Go Pro Specs:

• Fully suitable for Audio/Video applications.

• Oxford or JMicron bridge chipset.

• 2.5" Serial ATA (SATA) 500GB 7200RPM hard drive.

• 16MB hard drive data cache.

• Data transfer speeds up to 100MB/s.

• Cool blue activity LED.

• Super quiet fanless operation.

• Compact size: 3.5"(W) x 5.5"(D) x 1"(H).

• Lightweight: 11 ounces empty case, 2.5 lbs with drive.

• Clear, shock resistant polycarbonate acrylic case.

• Industry leading warranty: Three years complete solution.

• Carrying case.

• All interface connection cables.

• Mac and PC compatible.

• Includes $200 retail value disk utility software bundle: Carbon Copy Cloner, ProSoft Engineering® Data Backup 3, NovaStor NovaBACKUP®, and Intech® SpeedTools Utilities™.