Storage specialist Seagate announced the shipment of its 4 terabyte
GoFlex Desk external hard drive, claiming the highest capacity hard
drive in the industry. This latest addition to the GoFlex Family of
external hard drives showcases Seagate’s new desktop design, with a
streamlined industrial design for a smaller footprint.
The new
4TB GoFlex Desk drive is now available via the company’s Web site and
will be available from select online retailers within the month for a
suggested price of $249.99. The entire line of GoFlex Desk products
will also adopt Seagate’s new industrial design in the coming weeks,
the company noted. The GoFlex Desk for Mac external drive featuring
both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 will be available in Apple stores by the
end of the month.
Liz Conner, a senior research analyst of storage systems for IDC,
said the research company foresees there being an increase in global
demand for personal storage capacity driven by the growing creation and
acquisition of digitized videos, photos and music—the GoFlex Desk 4TB
drive has the space to contain more than 2,000 HD movies.
With
the pre-loaded back-up software, the GoFlex Desk external drive
provides automatic, continuous back-up with encryption for all files.
The included USB 3.0 adapter also works with USB 2.0 ports, making it
possible to connect to your Windows or Mac computer. The adapter also
features an illuminated gauge to display available space on the drive.
Debuted in May of 2010, the GoFlex family of hard drives is designed
to provide an alternative approach to external storage solutions by
allowing users to change interface adapters to stay current with the
latest in interface technology. With USB 3.0 still undergoing adoption
and the emergence of Thunderbolt technology in the coming months,
Seagate said it plans to contiune with the interface adapter design for
future iterations of the company’s external hard drives.
The GoFlex drives are also Windows and Mac OSX compatible and have
the ability to go between both operating systems. In addition to
cross-platform compatibility, the GoFlex Desk drive can also be
utilized with the GoFlex Home adapter if one chooses to use it as a
network drive.
“Yet another industry first for Seagate, we have reached a new
high-capacity in the 3.5-inch hard drive form factor. At Seagate, we
are committed to pushing the limits for our customers and will continue
to adapt and innovate our products based on customer needs,” said
Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of retail products
for Seagate. “This latest GoFlex Desk drive offering, with its new
industry-leading capacity point, is a statement of our continued
commitment to meet consumer needs.”
