G-Technology kicks out USB 3.0 G-Drives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro well-fed

GTechnology kicks out USB 30 GDrives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro wellfed

If you've just picked up a MacBook Pro with Retina display or a 2012-era MacBook Air, you may be jonesing for a matching external hard drive to take advantage of that much-awaited USB 3.0 support. G-Technology has you covered -- and how. Updated versions of the laptop-oriented G-Drive Mini, Mobile and Slim (you're looking at the Mobile up top) all roll in the higher peak speeds and progressively trade raw speed as well as 1TB capacities for sleekness, while the twin-drive, 1.5TB G-RAID Mini will tax that 5Gbps bandwidth without becoming too ungainly. Not taking your external storage on the road? The single-disk G-Drive now climbs to 4TB in addition to jumping on the USB 3.0 bandwagon, and the dual-drive G-RAID will serve up as much as 8TB at the newly brisk speeds. All but the G-Drive Slim support FireWire to ease those jitters over transitioning from old to new, although they won't all arrive at the same time. Most of the G-Drive and G-RAID gear will be showing up in August at prices between $110 and $810, but the two Mini-labelled drives could be a bit late to the party with a less defined summer target. You can get the full scoop after the break.

Continue reading G-Technology kicks out USB 3.0 G-Drives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro well-fed

G-Technology kicks out USB 3.0 G-Drives for Macs, keeps your Retina MacBook Pro well-fed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Drobo debuts a duo of Thunderbolt drives: the 5D for desktops and the Mini for road warriors

Drobo debuts a duo of Thunderbolt drives the 5D for desktops and the Mini for road warriors

Drobo's been delivering quality desktop storage for businesses and prosumers for awhile now, but previously, the company hadn't dipped its toe into Thunderbolt waters. But that's about to change with its two new units. The 5D is a BYOD desktop offering with two Thunderbolt ports and one USB 3.0 socket for connecting up to five hot-swappable, 3.5-inch drives to your Mac or PC. It also has an mSATA SSD for data-caching quickness and a variable-speed fan to keep things cool and quiet. We don't know exactly when the 5D will go on sale -- Drobo's not telling until July -- but it'll cost under $850 when it does, and that price includes a Thunderbolt cable.



Meanwhile, the Mini is the first Drobo meant to be taken on the road. It packs up to four 2.5-inch drives in its front bays, plus, like the 5D, there's an mSATA SSD nestled in its underside that serves as a caching tier to speed up your main storage -- all in a 7.3 x 1.8 x 7.1-inch package weighing three pounds when fully loaded. All the drives are hot-swappable, a process made simple and easy with a trick, spring-loaded mechanism (patent pending) that lets users swap drives as they would SD cards. As for connecting the thing to your computer, dual Thunderbolt ports (for daisy chaining) and one USB 3.0 port reside round back along with the power plug and two vents for the Mini's variable-speed fans. Ringing the front face of the Mini are five LED strips that serve as drive indicators and capacity meter to let you know when a drive has failed or you're running out of space. Intrigued? Well, we got a sneak peek at the Mini and a little history lesson about its origins at Drobo HQ, so join us past the break for more.

Continue reading Drobo debuts a duo of Thunderbolt drives: the 5D for desktops and the Mini for road warriors

Drobo debuts a duo of Thunderbolt drives: the 5D for desktops and the Mini for road warriors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and ‘other portable devices’

SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices'So, how do you best improve upon the USM standard and boldly take it to new frontiers? Well, as with most tech, simply shrinking it down never seems to hurt. The new USM Slim standard has just been announced by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) as part of the SATA 3.2 Revision. It takes the ability to plug in powered, external storage with on-board SATA and slims down the port from 14.5mm to 9mm. By trimming the jack by of a third of its bulk the SATA-IO have prepped the standard for the next generation of products, including ultra-thin ultrabooks, svelte tablets and "other portable devices." What might those other devices be? Well, we can't help but hope for a smartphone that boots to Ubuntu when docked (or Ubuntu TV) and can connect to a sizable external hard drive... ah, pipe dreams. Check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices'

SATA-IO unveils USM Slim external storage jack for ultrabooks, tablets and 'other portable devices' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200

LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200
Back at CES, we first got word of the LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series that would put two hard drives of the eSATA sort to good use. The company announced today that the storage peripheral is available now via its online store with a $199 price tag. If you recall, the device will allow you to daisy chain up to 12 drives (six hubs) to a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac while still showcasing 3Gbps eSATA speeds. If you're wanting a closer look or you're ready to commit, visit the source link below.

Continue reading LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200

LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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