Hard Drives are a dime, if not a nickel a dozen.  However, if aesthetically appeal – we’re talking to you Apple owners – is a biggie on your list, then you’ll probably spend sometime looking for the right drive to match the lines, curves and sheen of say, oh, a new iMac.  Well my techie friends, search no further.  For Iomega believes they’ve got the solution.

The Mac Companion Hard Drives are designed to fit at the base of your iMac or Apple monitor.  But that’s not the only party that makes them Apple friendly.  Included, in addition to two USB ports for adding a printer or other peripherals, is a third high powered USB port, ripe for charging your iPad or any other power demanding portable device.  But don’t get us wrong, the Mac Companion Hard Drives aren’t a one trick pony.  Under the hood is a 7200rpm spindle, with your choices of 2TB or 3TB of storage.  There is also two Firewire 800 ports, a conversion kit for 400 drivess and a four LED lights on its face to indicate its remaining capacity (4 LEDs lit white: less than 20% capacity in use3 LEDs white: 20-40% capacity in use2 LEDs white: 40-60% capacity in use1 LED white: 60-80% capacity in use1 LED red: more than 80% capacity in use).

The Mac Companion Hard Drives are exclusively available at Apple stores and their website.  They’ll arrive at other retailers later this month.  The 2TB costs $195, while the 3TB is $295.

Iomega Introduces New Mac Companion Hard Drive With First of its Kind High Powered Charging Port for your iPad and Other Apple Devices

omega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the new Iomega® Mac Companion Hard Drive, a speedy, large capacity desktop hard drive styled to match the latest Mac computers with a first-of-its-kind convenient high-powered port to charge your iPad, iPhone and iPod, as well as selection of computer interfaces for connecting peripherals like a printer or other external storage device.

“With the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive, Mac users now have a convenient and stylish way to quickly charge their iPads with the bonus of plenty of new storage capacity for their Mac computer,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega Corporation. “With more than nine million iPads sold in the last quarter alone, the new Mac Companion Hard Drive is the perfect complement for all those iPad owners. This futuristic drive blends effortlessly with the latest Mac computers and the Apple ecosystem of mobile devices. Together, form and function rarely looks as good or works as well as the new Iomega Mac Companion Drive.”

Who wouldn’t want the ultimate desktop hard drive for Mac computers?

Available in 2TB* and 3TB capacities, the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive utilizes a fast 7200 RPM 3.5-inch hard drive formatted HFS+ for compatibility with Mac computers right out of the box. Rather than sitting off to the side and being in the way, the space-saving design of the Mac Companion Hard Drive allows it to fit perfectly on the base of your Apple iMac or your Apple monitor.

Of the many features included with the Mac Companion Hard Drive, Mac users may most appreciate the first-of-its-kind high powered USB charging port for their iPad, iPhone or iPod. (Apple portable products sold separately.) The charging port is a high-powered 2.1 Amp hookup that makes it easy and convenient to charge your iPad and other portable Apple devices so they’re ready to go when you are. **

Adding peripheral devices to your Apple iMac computer is no problem with the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive. The stylish drive includes two FireWire 800 ports, one USB 2.0 port and a two port integrated USB 2.0 hub that lets you connect multiple devices such as a printer or other external storage device. The Mac Companion Hard Drive doesn’t require the user to buy extra cables – the drive comes complete with one FireWire 800, one conversion FireWire 400-800, and one USB 2.0 cable.

The new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive is the only major branded external HFS+ Mac desktop hard drive on the market today that incorporates a high powered Apple device charging port and a two-port USB 2.0 hub.

How much storage space is available on my desktop hard drive?

Users of the Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive never have to ask that question because a handy capacity indicator gauge*** lets them know approximately how much space is available to store their data. Four LEDs on the front of the Mac Companion Hard Drive tell you the total capacity of the data volume that is being used to store files:

4 LEDs lit white: less than 20% capacity in use
3 LEDs white: 20-40% capacity in use
2 LEDs white: 40-60% capacity in use
1 LED white: 60-80% capacity in use
1 LED red: more than 80% capacity in use

Iomega Protection Suite, Mac Edition, included

Owners of the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive also receive a powerful suite of software solutions bundled with their drive:

Iomega® QuikProtect for simple scheduled file-level backup
MozyHome® Online Backup for convenient online backup of up to 2GB free
A free 12-month subscription of Trend Smart Surfing for Mac allows users to shop, bank and surf online while staying safe from attacks to your identity and confidential information

Availability and Warranty

The new Iomega® Mac Companion Hard Drive is available worldwide in two capacities: the 2TB model is $195.00, and the 3TB model is $295.00. (Pricing is U.S. suggested retail.) The Mac Companion Hard Drive will initially be available exclusively at Apple retail stores and the Apple online store. Later this month, the product will be available from additional retailers, etailers and at www.iomega.com.

Both models of the Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive include a three-year warranty with registration.

For more information about Iomega storage products, please go to www.iomega.com.

“Cloud” is quickly shaping up to be one of the hottest tech words of 2011.  Apple is set to roll out their Cloud sync service later this year, Google has launched their own Cloud music service as has Amazon.  Now, Lacie is jumping on the band wagon, albeit in the hardware space.

The LaCie Cloubox is effectively a hard drive.  It stores up to 100GB of data and connects to your computer by Ethernet only; no wireless connectivity.  What makes it unique is that it automatically syncs the stored data to a remote server, otherwise known as the cloud.  Any data passed through the Internet is 128-bit AES data encrypted and up to 10 versions of your files can be stored.  

The data can be accessed by any computer with an Internet connection and the correct login credentials.  The included software allows you to choose which files you’d like to back up to the cloud, meaning that only the most important documents, movies and so forth should probably be chosen for the sake of upload bandwidth and processing.  However, what makes the LaCie Cloudbox useful is that you don’t have to leave your computer on and running to back up your data to the online service.  Convenient?  Yes.  But the price, $200, is steep and only includes 1 year of service.  After that you’ll need to spend $100 a year, which mind you includes 100GB of storage, but nonetheless is a fair bit of cash and considering the LaCie Cloudbox is devoid of wireless connectivity, we’d rather opt for Apple’s wireless backup solution.

The LaCie Cloudbox should be available soon.

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Call us suckers, but we love just about anything finished in an all aluminum body.  And hence why we’re currently getting down on one knee and bowimg to Lacie‘s Porsche designed P’9220 hard drive.  The enclosure is built from solid aluminum, it stores up to 500GB of data and includes a USB 2.0 and 3.0 interface.  If you must know, it measures 2.8 x 0.7 x 5.1 in., weighs 9.5oz and has a single LED light to indicate when the drive is active.

The Porsche P’9220 from Lacie should be available very soon for $104.99.

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By now you’ve probably amassed a fair number of obsolete microSD cards.  We’re talking about the ones that are included with gadgets and can hold up to 1GB of data.  They’re virtually useless, unless of course someone actually produce this concept, the Collector.

It takes on the form factor of a USB storage flash drive, but instead of shipping with it’s own built-in memory, you insert your left over microSD cards.  In theory the device combines all the cards into giant block of memory, though we’re not sure what the technical hurdles to achieve this feat are.

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If the Hyperdrive iPad Hard Drive was a bit too rich for your blood, then you’ll be pleased as punch to hear that there is now a frugal shopper version.

The new economical model goes for as little as $99.99.  But what you save in duckets you lose in features.  This new version is bare bones and lacks the fancy screen and controls that allowed you to navigate the drive’s contents sans iPad.  It also lacks a hard drive, though you can easily add one on your own or opt for a version that includes a storage array…for more money.  However, it can support up to a 1TB of drive with a 2.5-inch form factor.

Keep in mind you’ll need a camera connection kit to access the hard drive’s contents.  Once connected via USB  you can use the iPad’s touchscreen to navigate the Hyperdrive’s stored contents.

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The price is $49.99 – $10 coupon (EMCKJJJ85) + free shipping = $39.99!

Don’t forget the coupon: EMCKJJJ85 (expires: 1/17)

Brand: Western Digital
Model: WD5000AAKS
Storage: 500GB
Cache: 16MB
Type: Hard Drive

Lacie is all about small these days.  Case in point is their latest batch of products, the WriteCard and MosKeyto.  The WriteCard is designed to fit in your wallet (not mine) and includes a water/scratch resistant 4/8/16GB flash drive (you choose one).  There is also a notepad and pen included in the deal.  The MosKeyto is an ultrasmall USB flash drive that will extend just a mere 6mm out of your laptop and can store up to 8GB of data.

The MosKeyto is available in a 4GB and 8GB version for $18 and $28, respectively.  While the WriteCard starts at $23.

Read – MosKeyto
Read – WriteCard

There couldn’t be a more perfect time for Toshiba to announce their Mac friendly Canvio hard drives.  They’re available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB sizes and cost $100, $120 and $140 respectively.  Included is Mac compatible backup software, a USB 2.0 port and a shock sensor just in case you get all drunk while carrying one of these diminutive sized drives around in your pocket.  For the discerning individual you can choose from Radiant Silver or Infinite White, though the latter is not a reflection of any storage capacity.

Toshiba’s All-New Canvio™ for Mac Portable Hard Drives Deliver Quick, Simple, and Secure Digital Backup Solutions for Mac Users

Providing Piece of Mind and Expanded Storage in a Stunning Design, the Canvio™ for Mac is Now Available In 1TB, 750GB, and 500GB Capacities

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With consumers across the country constantly amassing more “digital valuables” – from photos, videos, and favorite music to important personal documents – Toshiba is proud to offer Mac users the compact, easy-to-use Canvio™ for Mac Portable Hard Drive lineup. Continuing Toshiba’s commitment to make backing up and recovering data simple and easy, the new Canvio for Mac line provides Mac owners 500 gigabytes (GB1), 750GB, or one terabyte (TB) of storage space, with pre-loaded Mac-customized backup software.

“Toshiba develops personal storage devices that combine the latest, high quality designs with top-notch performance and an intuitive, easy to use interface”

According to a February 2010 survey conducted by Impulse Research2, 70 percent of Americans have lost some type of data on their computers. Unfortunately, the majority of consumers surveyed (89 percent) are aware of the importance of regularly backing up their computers to avoid losses but less than half (43 percent) regularly do so, leaving many computer users vulnerable to data loss that could include digital photos and movies, important financial records, or professional documents.

Recognizing that many users do not back up their data because they believe it’s a complicated process, the Canvio for Mac line makes data backup simple for everyone, from novice users to the most tech-savvy consumers. The included NTI® Shadow 5 for Mac software allows for fully-customized backup and synchronization, including the backup of specific folders, certain file types, or even a complete system backup and recovery of everything that is saved on the Mac3. Selected folders on the Canvio for Mac and the Mac computer can be merged and synchronized, while the frequency of backups can be adjusted to different periods (from weekly to continuously) for greater convenience. Complete password-protection with up to 256-bit data encryption prevents unauthorized access to data and a special Drive Space Alert monitor sends an onscreen update when storage space is running low.

The Canvio for Mac’s plug-and-play usability and full customization are matched by its small size and elegant, simple styling. Available in either Radiant Silver with silver accents or Infinite White with glossy white-gray accents on the top cover, both feature an anti-slip design and anti-slip side, making the Canvio for Mac an excellent companion to the full line of Mac computers. On the inside, an Internal Shock Sensor and Ramp Loading Technology keep data safe during day-to-day movement from a desk, pocket, bag, or beyond. Despite being smaller than a postcard and boasting a featherweight (six ounce) frame, the Canvio for Mac – in 1TB form – can hold up to 285,000 digital photos, 263,000 digital music files, or 820 digital movies4.

“Toshiba develops personal storage devices that combine the latest, high quality designs with top-notch performance and an intuitive, easy to use interface,” said Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Our Canvio for Mac products give Mac users a safe, convenient, and truly portable solution for backing up their digital entertainment, documents, and other content instantly.”

Continuing its commitment to environmental friendliness, Toshiba developed the product packaging with 100 percent recyclable materials.

The Canvio product line is available now at http://www.toshibadirect.com/canvio_mac or through major retailers and online outlets. For a complete list of retailers offering the Toshiba Canvio, please visit www.wheretobuy.toshibastorage.com.

Suggested retail prices by capacities are:

* $119.99 for the 500GB Canvio for Mac
* $139.99 for the 750GB Canvio for Mac
* $189.99 for the 1TB Canvio for Mac

Father’s Day is just around the corner so there is good reason to splurge on these Flash Drive Cufflinks.  Yes, they cost $195 but each cufflink stores up to 2GB of data and can be engraved to your liking.  I gotta question the added weight to one’s cuffs, but what’s that when you can store up to 4GB of CIA files.

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Seagate’s newest hard drive line up, GoFlex, offers, well, what the name implies, greater flexibility.  So what does that mean to the consumer?  Now instead of your Firewire hard drive becoming obsolete as a result of a new computer purchase, you can simply buy a new interface for the GoFlex hard drive.  Cable options include USB 2.0, eSATA and Firewiree 400/800.  They’re all modular so switching them out is as easy as pie.  And much like Seagate previous offerings there is a wide range of drive sizes and form factors to choose from, such as an ultra portable, NAS and desktop drive.  But, the flexibility doesn’t stop there.  All of Seagate’s GoFlex hard drives work interchangeably between Macs and PCs with no reformatting needed.

Seagate’s GoFlex hard drives are available now and start at $99.

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Newegg sells it for $149 – $10 mail-in-rebate + no ship = $139!

Rebate ends 5/7

This deal ends 5/16

One word comes to mind when I laid eyes on OCZ’s Enyo USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive: drool.  Yeah, that’s not really a word; more a feeling.  Queue the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack.  Moving on shall we.

So what is the Enyo USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive?  Exactly what the name says.  An external solid state hard drive that has all the benefits of flash memory (speed, ruggedness) with a USB 3.0 interface for ultra fast read/write times.  It’s just too bad there’s no one around to buy it, at least not yet.

There’s no word on a price or launch date.

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You can expect it this May for $150.

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It’s $99.99 – $15 mail-in-rebate + $0 shipping = $84.99!

This deal ends 4/30

NOTE: Add this item to your cart to get free shipping

The Drobo, from Data Robotics, is a cool device that’s a great way to store lots of files externally. The small black cube is loaded with up to five HDDs, and they all work in tandem to keep your files safe. Now, with the new DroboFS, Data Robotics wants to make accessing all those files through the Internet  cloud a painless experience. The DroboFS features the same five-drive setup, but the device’s only input is an Ethernet port, like a server — you’re not supposed to be hooking this up to your laptop.

Your files can be viewed from PC, Mac, or Linux machines through remote access. An application called Oxygen Cloud provides easy and secure access and using the DroboFS with other cloud storage companies is also possible. Having all my episodes of The Pacific anywhere I go sounds good to me.

The DroboFS is now available for $700 with no HDDs included, or at varying higher prices with the drives.

Data Robotics Delivers Breakthrough Solution for Easy File Sharing
New Drobo FS Leverages BeyondRAID Technology and Customization via DroboApps to Deliver the Best File Sharing Experience for Small Office and Connected Home Users
SANTA CLARA, CA–(Marketwire – April 6, 2010) – Data Robotics, Inc., the company that delivers the best data storage experience, today introduced Drobo FS, a breakthrough Drobo designed for simple, expandable file sharing. By providing network file sharing capabilities along with automated data protection, the Drobo FS greatly simplifies shared storage for connected home, home office and small office users. Based on the revolutionary BeyondRAID technology and a flexible platform for adding features and capacity as needed, the Drobo FS can quickly and easily be customized and scaled to meet current or future storage requirements.
“Adding to Data Robotics’ offering of self-managing storage solutions, the Drobo FS offers users the ability to share data between computers quickly and easily,” said Liz Conner, research analyst for IDCs storage systems and personal storage practices. “More than ever before, home users and small offices want to access and share a growing amount of data, but they don’t need a large, expensive system that requires specific expertise or extensive management. With DroboApps, users can customize the Drobo FS to serve their unique storage requirements. This is the Drobo for which many users have been waiting.”
Drobo FS extends automated data protection across connected systems using Data Robotics’ award-winning BeyondRAID virtualized storage technology. Drobo FS features a one-click toggle between single- and dual-drive redundancy and provides protection against up to two simultaneous drive failures. In addition, the Drobo FS enables users to add storage on-the-fly without ever losing access to data.
“We have been using Drobo solutions to store our data for almost three years and continue to be happy with their performance and simplicity. With four computers on our network, we also needed a solution that would allow us to share data between users. Typical shared storage devices were complicated or too expensive, so we’re thrilled that Data Robotics has created the Drobo FS,” said Seth Resnick, Co-Founder at D65. “Drobo FS comes with just the functionality we need, so it is easy to use while still providing the automated data protection that comes with BeyondRAID. The additional DroboApps allow us to add new features as we need them, which is really unique.”
Drobo FS Features and Benefits
Plug In and Share – The Drobo FS connects directly to any Gigabit Ethernet network for a true plug in and share set-up experience. Supports standard data transfer protocols including Apple File Protocol (AFP) and Microsoft Common Internet File System (CIFS).
5-Drive Capacity and Instant Expansion to 10TB and Beyond – Customers with growing storage requirements can easily add data capacity by simply inserting a new hard drive or replacing the smallest drive with a larger one, even when all five drive bays are full. With Drobo FS, expansion is automatic, instantaneous, and access to data is always maintained.
Single- and Dual-Drive Redundancy – The Drobo FS dual drive redundancy option protects against the simultaneous failure of up to two hard drives. Customers can engage this option with a single click without ever losing access to their data.
Self-Healing Technology – With BeyondRAID, the Drobo FS continually examines data blocks and sectors on each drive to flag potential issues. The preemptive “scrubbing” helps ensure data is being written only to healthy drive areas and automatically keeps data in the safest state possible — even when a drive fails.
Customizable Storage – Utilizing the growing library of DroboApps, including media and web applications, users can customize the Drobo FS to further enhance their sharing experience.
“This is the decade of being connected, no matter where you are or what kind of data you are storing. The Drobo FS was designed to best serve the needs of our customers with file sharing needs — from small offices and home offices to connected homes. By reducing the complexity of data sharing and providing a truly flexible platform for adding capacity and features, the Drobo FS is ideal for users that have the need to share ever increasing amounts of data,” said Tom Buiocchi, CEO of Data Robotics.
Pricing and Availability Drobo FS is currently available at a starting price of $699 MSRP, with multiple configurations to $1,449 for a 10TB (5x 2TB drives) bundle. Drobo FS is available now from authorized partners worldwide and on www.drobostore.com. To learn more about Drobo FS, please visit www.drobo.com/drobo-fs.
About Data Robotics
Data Robotics, Inc., the company that delivers the best storage experience ever, develops automated storage products designed to ensure data is always protected, accessible, and simple to manage. The award-winning Drobo storage arrays are the first to provide the protection of traditional RAID without the complexity. The revolutionary BeyondRAID technology frees users from making the difficult and confining choice of “Which RAID level to deploy?” by providing an unprecedented combination of advanced features and automation, including single- and dual-drive redundancy, instant expansion, self-monitoring, data awareness, self-healing, and an easy-to-understand visual status and alert panel. For more information, visit Data Robotics at www.datarobotics.com.
Data Robotics, Drobo, and BeyondRAID are trademarks of Data Robotics, Inc., that may be registered in some jurisdictions. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners.

The day has come upon us that the Xbox 360 will access USB mass storage…up to 16GB. Just fire up your Xbox and you should be prompted to download an update.  After a few minutes you’ll be back online and able to format any USB drive to be used with the gaming console to save games, profiles and even full games. Remember, it’s recommended that you use a flash drive since many hard drives will prove to slow for full game copying.

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Don’t forget the coupons: 25off and saver

So while the majority of us don’t have the hardware to support a USB 3.0 device, companies are still making these future forward gadgets.  PQI has a new line of USB 3.0 Hard Drives for your time capsule under the model name of H566.

Boasting 10x the transfer speeds of USB 2.0, the drives are available in 320GB, 500GB and 640GB of storage capacities and comes with the security software called Ur Fortress.  The PQI H566 is of course USB 2.0 backward compatible and measures in at 2.5 inches in length.  No word yet on pricing or availability.  Anybody care?

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