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Posts with tag HardDrive

Sonnet's Fusion F2 portable RAID solution hits 1TB

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 1:56AM


For budding audio / video editors that can't stand to leave home without a RAID setup in tow, you should probably give Sonnet's incredibly mobile Fusion F2 a look. This portable SATA RAID solution now tops out at 1TB (a 640GB model is also available) and features an eSATA connector, fanless design and compatibility with Sonnet's Tempo SATA ExpressCard/34 card. Within the 1.22-pound, 5.9- x 6.2- x 0.72-inch enclosure, you'll find a pair of 2.5-inch 7,200RPM HDDs that are able to deliver 134MB/sec read and write rates. Word on the street places a $995 price tag on the 1TB edition, which is all set to ship "early this month."

[Via Macworld]

Unitek's SATA HDD Dock throws in multicard reader, one-touch backup

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 26th 2008 at 5:46PM


If you've managed to blink over the past few weeks, you may have missed it. Missed what, you ask? The war between no name HDD racks, that's what. After numerous evolutions of the HDD Stage Rack managed to capture the hearts of at least a few storage junkies out there, we've seen a barrage of competitors surface over at Brando. The latest is Unitek's SATA HDD Multi-Function Dock with One Touch Backup, which -- to be totally frank -- does a phenomenal job of explaining itself. For those a touch slow on the uptake, this unit enables any internal 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA drive to be accessed externally, and furthermore, it packs a couple of USB 2.0 ports and supports a whole slew of memory cards. You could grab this one now for $53, but then again, you never know what will leapfrog it next week.

[Via The Red Ferret Journal]

Samsung trumpets mass production of Spinpoint MP2 / M6 / F1 HDDs

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 18th 2008 at 6:39PM


Thanks to an overzealous e-tailer, we already knew that Sammy's Spinpoint M6 was ready to be ordered en masse, but Samsung has finally put out some official verbiage to substantiate the obvious. The outfit's 500GB Spinpoint M6 ($299) and 250GB Spinpoint MP2 ($199) are both shipping as we speak, and that curious sound you hear over there is your current laptop begging for a storage upgrade. On a slightly related note, the company is also announcing that its 7200RPM Spinpoint F1 RAID-class (F1R; pictured) 3.5-inch SATA drive has hit mass production, meaning that you can bulk up your enterprise storage solution 1TB at a time for $299 each.

Read - Spinpoint MP2 / M6 hit mass production
Read - Spinpoint F1R hits mass production

WD's My Book Mirror Edition simplifies redundant storage

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 18th 2008 at 10:40AM


That sound you hear is Western Digital grabbing hold of an udder and not letting go as it continues to milk the My Book brand for every penny it's worth. Today, the outfit is introducing a new line of dual-drive units that come ready to mirror whatever information you shove on 'em. The RAID-based Mirror Edition drives tout USB 2.0 connectivity, RAID 1/0 support, a fanless design, user serviceable enclosure, a capacity gauge and intelligent drive management features including automatic power-up and Safe Shutdown. The external HDDs arrive in RAID 1 (mirrored) mode -- which creates automatic duplicates of your files in case one drive fails -- but RAID 0 (striped) can be configured during setup. Stack your My Book collection even higher right now for $289.99 (1TB) / $549.99 (2TB).

LaCie brings Little Big Disk Quadra to 1TB

by Nilay Patel, posted Jun 16th 2008 at 9:58PM

LaCie introduced the Little Big Disk Quadra back in January, but the diminutive four-interface dual-drive enclosure is getting a new 1TB sibling today. Nothing new here apart from the capacity bump, but if you're into the aluminum RAID 0 scene, $700 is all you need to ride.

Ask Engadget: What's the best rugged portable hard drive?

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 12th 2008 at 11:56PM Featured Story

Yeah, we've let you folks toss out suggestions for a similar question back when a 1TB internal HDD was nothing more than a pipe dream, but it's about time we gave this one an update, don't you agree? Hear Ian out:

"I was wondering which portable hard drive was good enough to stand up to the life of a student. Something that can take a few bumps and not be harmed. It doesn't have to be huge in capacity, but I need one larger than 80GB. I'd obviously like FireWire and USB 2.0 if possible, but I'm not trying to spend a fortune here either."

Had any particularly good / bad experiences with battle-tested portable HDDs? We want to hear 'em all, so don't be shy, alright? To get your question up in the lights, send us a note at ask at engadget dawt com -- just don't forget to include the secret password.

Western Digital intros 1TB 7200RPM Caviar Black HDD

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 10th 2008 at 5:18PM


Watch out, archive junkies. The 1TB internal HDD game just got one more player. Hailed by Western Digital as the "fastest 3.5-inch 7200RPM drive on the market," the Caviar Black SATA drive is available in both 750GB and 1TB flavors, with the latter obviously being the most appealing. On these beasts you'll find "twice" the processing power, 32MB of cache, StableTrac / NoTouch technologies and a respectable five-year warranty. Both units will be ready to grab next week, with the smaller of the two going for $199 and the kingpin $249.

ioSafe 3.5: industry's first internal HDD with disaster protection

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 9th 2008 at 5:44PM

For small and medium sized businesses, data redundancy is more than a novel concept, it's unquestionably critical. Unfortunately, tight budgets don't always allow for pricey off-site storage or fire / waterproof server rooms, which is where ioSafe comes in. Said outfit has just announced the ioSafe 3.5 series, which is hailed as the "industry's first internal hard drive with disaster protection." Put simply, the company has stuffed a 2.5-inch HDD into a 3.5-inch chassis, and it used the extra room to insert matter that protects platters from fire (up to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit) and flood (full immersion in fresh or salt water). The family will include the Pilot line ($329 to $449) -- which arrives in 80/160/250/320GB sizes with an 8MB buffer, SATA I interface and 5400RPM rotational speed -- and the Squadron line ($359 to $459), which includes 7200RPM 80/160/200GB versions with a SATA II interface. Both lots have already started to ship.

[Via TGDaily]

HDD Stage Rack evolves again: now holds twice the hard drives

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 6th 2008 at 11:10AM


Oh, brother -- here we go again. For the third time this year, the iconic HDD Stage Rack has evolved into something bigger, badder and more useful than the last edition. The latest version is dubbed the Double HDD Rack eSATA and USB, which predictably includes twice the slots for storing hard drives. You can shove a 2.5- and 3.5-inch SATA drive in just before enjoying the twin eSATA ports and single USB 2.0 jack, but unfortunately, you'll have to hand over a whopping $107.56 in order to do so.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

HDD enclosure wedded with multi-function dock -- has to be Brando

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 5th 2008 at 7:01AM


We're still torn on whether we'd have this or one of those always-evolving HDD Stage Racks at our desk, but really, you can't go wrong either way. Brando's 2.5-inch SATA HDD Enclosure with Multi-Function Dock pretty much explains itself, but if you struggle with piecing things together, we're here to help. The unit holds any 2.5-inch SATA drive you care to insert, and the base doubles as a 2-port USB hub and multicard reader. The whole thing is just $25 -- the tough part is choosing between red or black. Hmm.

Western Digital launches 7200RPM Scorpio Black laptop HDD

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 2nd 2008 at 3:17PM


WD has been shipping a 320GB laptop hard drive for months now, but its latest line of alternatives features a few niceties reserved for the Scorpio Black label. Available in 80/120/160/250/320GB sizes, the 2.5-inch drive boasts a 7200RPM spin speed, SATA interface and 16MB of cache. The units are destined for use in OEM systems as well as by end-users looking to upgrade their current rig, and beyond the specs listed above, you'll also find IntelliSeek, SecurePark, ShockGuard and WhisperDrive technologies alongside a built-in free-fall sensor. The whole lot is available now, with the 320GB edition topping out at $249.

[Via I4U News]

Seagate to jump into the SSD game, 2TB spinners planned for next year

by Nilay Patel, posted May 30th 2008 at 7:37AM

SSDs are the new heat, and while all sorts of upstarts have been cranking them out old-school drive manufacturer Seagate has mostly sat it out and made a lot of noise about patent lawsuits. The lawsuits aren't going away (obviously), but CEO Bill Watkins told PC World yesterday that the company is finally getting ready to release its first SSD sometime next year, as well as launch a line of 2TB traditional hard drives. Watkins said that SSDs weren't yet price-competitive for consumers (uh, yeah), and that Seagate won't focus on consumer SSDs until the price falls to the 10-cents-per-GB level. Until then, the target market is data centers looking to process data quickly or save on energy consumption costs -- the rest of us will just have to save our pennies, apparently.

Iomega introduces 1TB Super eGo external hard drive

by Darren Murph, posted May 29th 2008 at 11:50AM


Iomega's getting quite fed up with listing those GBs, and thus, it's exceptionally thrilled to be offering up a brand new 1TB model for your consideration. Fittingly christened the Super eGo, the external hard drive you see above packs a single one-terabyte HDD, USB 2.0 port and a one-year warranty. Folks who don't care to wait for a 2TB edition can grab one now in ruby red, midnight blue or jet black for $269.95.

Fujitsu's latest MHZ2 HDDs can't stop, won't stop under continuous operations

by Darren Murph, posted May 20th 2008 at 8:48AM


Fujitsu has a MHZ2 for nearly any application: hardcore security, tight spaces and now continuous operations. The 2.5-inch MHZ2-BK (7,200 RPM) and MHZ2-BS (5,400 RPM) SATA drives are being offered up in sizes as large as 250GB, and as you could likely guess, they'll keep right on keepin' on even under heavy nonstop loads. Designed specifically for use in "business critical and industrial applications that require higher storage capacity," these HDDs are meant to survive the most grueling of tasks, though we're not specifically told what all they actually can live through. Nevertheless, trusting souls can snap up a couple of the MHZ2-BS units right now (pricing not disclosed), while the quicker MHZ2-BK series won't be available until July.

[Via Physorg]

Sarotech's Wizplatz W-31 looks like a book, isn't

by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 13th 2008 at 2:04PM


If you felt like your Western Digital My Book hard drive went too far -- or didn't go too far enough -- in looking like an actual tome, Sarotech is here to turn it up a notch. When you absolutely, positively must have a drive that looks like a fake book, you can do no better than the Wizplat W-31 (yes, really). The SATA-drive-sporting, USB 2.0 device features an internal power supply, ample vents for keeping your drive cool, and a slick, sexy exterior that says, "Hey, I'm a book." All this luxury can be yours for the low, price of ₩121,000 (about $120) for a 320GB version, up to ₩315,000 ($312) for the 1TB model. Too bad this only appears to be available in Korea right now.

[Via Everything USB]
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