Super Talent Reveals Storage POD Mini USB 3.0 SSD

Can there be ever a period when a brand new SSD is not exciting? Doubtful. As the field of solid condition expensive is constantly on the whirl, Super Talent is presenting another option in to the mix, the ultra-portable Storage POD Small. It is a portable USB 3. SSD covered with a blue anodized, all-aluminum enclosure allows this drive to become both lightweight and rugged yet measure only 110 x 68 x 10 mm. Its top speed reaches over 260MB/s, but where this design really stands out is incorporated in the real life performance. Its on-board processor has the capacity to significantly accelerate real life performance by blending your computer data, in tangible-time, because it creates and decompressing data because it reads. Your computer data now uses less space and transfers more effectively than ever before. Copying the body now takes a small fraction of time it might undertake rotating media.

Fully backward compatible to USB 2., the Storage POD Small can also be full of many additional features. This drive includes a One-Touch Backup button that launches a backup routine that may support numerous machines. Just push the backup button and it’ll start to support all of your pre-determined data areas at creates speeds as high as 174MB/s. And also the Storage POD Small also offers a Read/Write change to safeguard your computer data from unintended creates, much like an Sdcard.

Obtainable in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capabilities, the Storage POD Small has become shipping, there is however no public reference to cost.

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WD Introduced its New My Book and My Passport External Hard Drives with USB 3.0 Connectivity

Oct. 5, 2010 – WD today introduced its new My Passport® Essential™ portable hard drive, My Passport® Essential™ SE portable hard drive, and My Book® Essential external hard drive. All three drive families come in a variety of capacities and offer lightning-fast USB 3.0 connectivity. Highest industry capacity is another key feature for the My Book Essential drive, which is now available in 3 TB capacity, in addition to 1 and 2 TB capacities. Equipped with WD SmartWare™ visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up all of their digital memories, such as high-resolution photos and videos, along with music and other critical files, all in one place.

The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 5 Gb/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.

My Passport Essential, still WD’s smallest portable drive, is available in a 500 GB capacity and comes in five fun colors – Midnight Black, Cool Silver, Real Red, Pacific Blue and Arctic White (Arctic White only available in EMEA and APAC). My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives are available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities and come in stylish black, silver, metallic blue and metallic red colors. The pocket-sized My Passport portable hard drives are powered directly through the USB cable; no separate power supply is needed.

My Book Essential, the world’s number-one selling hard drive, also impresses with its small footprint, sleek design and high-capacity storage ranging from 1 TB up to a massive 3 TB3. The drive is compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, and uses WD SmartWare visual backup software.

“With more and more devices like the iPod touch®, iPhone®4 and other smartphones adding video-capable cameras, digital video is becoming ubiquitous. Most homes already have thousands of photos and music files, increasing the need for storage around the house. Having the extra capacity to store these files and move them around quickly is becoming a big issue for many consumers around the world, WD’s newest line of My Book and My Passport external hard drives features the latest USB 3.0 connection technology, which more than triples the speed to transfer media files, but still works with today’s USB 2.0 ports. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the highest capacity available on external hard drives with the new 3 TB My Book Essential drive.” – said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

Features:
My Book Essential external hard drives, My Passport Essential and My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives feature:

  • Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces;
  • Up to 3x faster transfer rates when compared to USB 2.0;
  • WD SmartWare software for automatic, continuous backup;
  • Password protection for privacy; and,
  • Planet-friendly packaging from recycled materials which can, in turn, also be recycled.

Capacity and Compatibility:
The My Passport Essential portable hard drive is available in 500 GB capacity. The My Passport Essential SE portable hard drive is available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities. The My Book Essential external hard drive is available in 1 TB, 1.5 TB, 2 TB and 3 TB capacities. The drives are formatted NTFS for Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7. These drives require reformatting for Mac® OS® X Leopard® or Snow Leopard®.

Price and Availability
My Passport Essential portable hard drives and My Book Essential external hard drives offer a 2-year limited warranty in the U.S. and are now available at select U.S. retailers and online at wdstore.com.

MSRP for My Passport Essential portable is $99.99 USD. MSRP for My Passport Essential SE drives range from $129.99 USD to $169.99 USD. MSRP for My Book Essential drives range from $129.99 USD to $249.99 USD.

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Glossary of Western Digital Hard Disk Drive (Letter U)

Ultra ATA
A high-speed host data transfer feature that transfers data at up to 133 MB per second. See also Ultra DMA.

Ultra DMA
A protocol for transferring data between a hard drive through the bus to the computer’s RAM. Also known as Ultra ATA, Ultra ATA/66, Ultra ATA/100, and Ultra ATA/133.

Ultra/150 CQ
A technology that optimizes the sequence of data transfers from the host to the hard drive, providing increased data transfer efficiency and resulting in higher performance for enterprise applications.

uncorrectable error
An error that cannot be overcome using error detection and correction.

unformatted capacity
The total number of usable bytes on a disk, including the space that is required to record location, boundary definitions, and servo data. See also formatted capacity.

unrecoverable error
A read error that cannot be overcome by an ECC scheme or by re-reading data when host retries are enabled.

untagged queuing
The ability of a drive to receive a maximum of one input/output (I/O) process from each initiator.

upgrade
In hard drives, the replacement of a hard drive with one offering greater capacity or performance or both.

UPnP
Universal Plug n Play. A set of computer network protocols that simplify the implementation of networks in the home by allowing devices to connect seamlessly. See also protocol.

UPnP NAT traversal
Combines UPnP and NAT features.

UPS
Uninterruptable Power Supply. A standalone device that provides secondary power to connected equipment in the event of a power failure.

USB
Universal serial bus. A serial bus for connecting peripherals to a microcomputer. It connects external drives, printers, modems, mice, keyboards, etc., through a single, general-purpose port. It can automatically add and configure new devices without having to shut down and restart the system.

USB 2.0
Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) supports data transfer rates up to 480Mb/s. USB 2.0 is backward-compatible with USB 1.1. If you connect to a USB 1.1 device, data is transferred at USB 1.1 speed (up to 1.1 Mb/s).

USB 3.0
SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) supports data transfer rates of up to 5 Gb/s. USB 3.0 is backward-compatible with USB 2.0. If you connect to a USB 2.0 device, data is transferred at USB 2.0 speed (up to 480 Mb/s).

USB 3.0 HBA adapter
WD’s USB 3.0 PCI adapter card. Allows users to upgrade their PC to take advantage of the faster data transfer speeds available through the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port.

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USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or FireWire – What is the recommended solution for data storage?

1. What is USB 2.0?

USB 2.0, USB 3.0, Firewire USB 2.0 is the industry standard peripheral connection type for most x86 computers (Windows based). This specification is rated with maximum transfer rate of 480Mb/s (60MB/s). Sustained transfer rate of USB 2.0 depends on many factors including type of device in use, data being transferred, and speed of the computer system. A normal sustained data transfer rate for USB 2.0 ranges from 10-30 MB/s. Only burst data transfers can reach the 480Mb/s rate.

What are the benefits of USB 2.0?

  • USB 2.0 is “hot swappable,” eliminating the need to reboot or restart your computer when attaching a device.
  • There’s no need for terminators, memory addresses or ID numbers with USB devices.
  • Various sorts of devices can plug into a USB port: external hard drives, digital cameras, printers, Zip drives, SuperDisk drives, floppy drives, mice, keyboards, etc.

2. What is USB 3.0?

USB 3.0 is the replacement connection type for USB 2.0. This specification is rated with maximum transfer rate of 4Gb/s. Sustained transfer rate of USB 3.0 depends on many factors including type of device in use, data being transferred, and speed of the computer system. Sustained transfer rates can reach speeds of 3.2 Gbit/s.

What are the benefits of USB 3.0?

  • USB 3.0 is “hot swappable,” eliminating the need to reboot or restart your computer when attaching a device.
  • There’s no need for terminators, memory addresses or ID numbers with USB devices.
  • Various sorts of devices can plug into a USB port: external hard drives, digital cameras, printers, Zip drives, SuperDisk drives, floppy drives, mice, keyboards, etc.
  • USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports, and USB 2.0 devices will work on a USB 3.0 port (both at USB 2.0 speeds)

3. What is FireWire?

FireWire is a high-performance connection standard for personal computers and consumer electronics. Originally developed for Apple computers, this connection has been implemented by x86 computers for some time now. FireWire can move large amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices at transfer rates of up to 400 Mb/s (50 MB/s). A new FireWire specification, FireWire 800 (or FireWire B) has entered the computer market with transfer rates of up to 800 Mb/s (100MB/s).

What are the benefits of FireWire?

  • FireWire is “hot swappable,” eliminating the need to reboot or restart your computer when attaching a device.
  • There is no need for terminators, memory addresses of ID numbers with FireWire devices.
  • Though USB 2.0 is rated at a higher throughput speed (480Mb/s related to FireWire’s 400Mb/s), FireWire delivers faster performance for sustained transfer rates on external hard drives. This is because FireWire has lower overhead (less instructions that the CPU has to interpret related to USB 2.0).

Which connection type is better? USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or FireWire?

  • If you plan on transferring large amounts of data often, then USB 3.0 would be the best connection type for you.
  • If you are doing Audio/Video or are on a Mac, than FireWire would be a good choice as many of these programs recommend FireWire over USB 2.0, and Apple currently does not support USB 3.0.
  • If you want the versatility of connecting the hard drive to many different computer systems quickly and easily, and transfer rates are not that important, then USB 2.0 would be the ideal because it is compatible with both PCs and Macs, and most computers today still have USB 2.0 ports.
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