WD, a Western Digital company, has redesigned its popular My Book and My Book for Mac lines of external desktop drives to provide as much as 4 TB storage capacity and enhanced data protection for those who create and collect large volumes of data, video, music and photos.

With USB 3.0 for speed, the new My Book lines are available in 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB capacities for the largest content collections. At any point in time, anything can happen to one's data. Whether it's a lost notebook or destructive virus, it's critical to keep data safe and maintain a backup of important documents and valued content.

Synology Inc. today announced the compatibility of its DiskStation & RackStation lineup with WD Red NAS hard drives that include the new 3.5" 4 TB capacity (WD40EFRX) and 2.5" 1 TB (WD10JFCX) and 750 GB (WD7500BFCX) capacities. The above models have successfully passed stress and compatibility test from Synology, and proven to be compatible with select Synology DiskStation & RackStation from the x14, x13, x12, x11, x10 and x09 series.

WD Red hard drives are designed specifically for home and small office NAS server. Powered by NASware 2.0 and 3D Active Balance Plus technologies, the WD Red line delivers improved drive reliability, enhanced performance, and simplified integration process.

Keeping up with its product roadmaps, Western Digital rolled out WD Green 4 TB hard drive (model: WD40EZRX). Designed for personal desktops that need energy-efficient, high-capacity storage, the drive offers 4000 GB of unformatted space, which should yield about 3.6 TB under a Windows NTFS file-system. Built in the 3.5-inch form-factor, the drive features SATA 6 Gb/s interface, variable sub-6,000 RPM spindle-speeds, 64 MB cache, and acoustics management. When spinning and idling, the drive is designed to draw about 3.3W, which goes up to 4.5W under stress, and just 0.4W, when the drive is parked and spun-down. Available now, the WD Green 4 TB is priced between $170 and $190, depending on what package you choose.

WD, a Western Digital company and world leader for storage deployed in datacenters, today announced availability of its innovative WD Se line of hard drives, the first designed for scale-out datacenter deployments. Built on an enterprise-grade platform for reliable 24x7x365 datacenter operation, WD Se is tailored to deliver the right combination of performance, reliability and robustness for large-scale replicated environments, mid-sized network attached storage (NAS) deployment, and backup/archiving applications.

WD Se is a true enterprise-class drive with the right blend of affordability and capabilities to address the massive growth of semi-structured data, which is accelerating the scale-out of datacenters of all sizes. Now shipping in capacities up to 4 TB, the new WD Se hard drives enables customers to balance their data growth challenges in multi-drive enclosures without compromising enterprise-class features.

LaCie, in collaboration with world-famous designer and creator Philippe Starck, announced the Blade Runner. Inspired by the mysterious, incredible power of information technology, the LaCie Blade Runner combines an anthropomorphic metal interior with an angular cage-like shell. It begs the question; can we truly confine technology to a cage?

With only 9,999 produced, the LaCie Blade Runner is a limited edition hard drive for design-conscience consumers. Starck's influence is evident from the complex design concept to the hands-on manufacturing process. Each unit is custom-built to ensure superb form and function. It is the statement piece in any home office, study or media room. The artistic design combines with the high-speed USB 3.0 interface and cross-platform compatibility to result in a hard drive that is as practical as it is stunning.

HighPoint Technologies, Inc., a leading SAS, SATA and USB 3.0 HBA and storage solutions manufacturer, Proudly announces the next generation of eSATA storage devices; boosting performance from 3 Gb/s to 6 Gb/s - the RocketStor 5322 Dual 6 Gb/s eSATA Storage Dock. HighPoint's innovative dual-dedicated 6 Gb/s eSATA architecture optimizes the transfer speeds of 6 Gb/s SATA storage devices. Each of the RocketStor 5322s dual 6 Gb/s SATA bays is built for today's fastest SATA storage devices, and deliver twice the performance of eSATA 3Gb/s storage docks - up to 12 Gb/s of aggregated transfer bandwidth.

HighPoint's no-compromise approach to eSATA technology aims to revolutionize desktop and workstation storage. The RocketStor 5322 overcomes the known performance shortfalls of existing 3 Gb/s eSATA devices and delivers dual-dedicated 6 Gb/s eSATA host connectivity. Each 6 Gb/s SATA bay is capable of fully leveraging the performance potential of today's high-speed SATA 6 Gb/s SSD's.

It will be towards the end of 2013, when Western Digital will have 5 terabyte (or 5000 GB) models of its NAS-optimized WD Red, and energy-efficient consumer-optimized WD Green lines of consumer hard drives. According to launch plans unearthed by Russian website AlwaysMoreDigital, the 5 TB WD Red (model: WD50ERFX) and 5 TB WD Green (WD50EZRX) will be launched in Q4 (in or after October 2013). A little earlier than that, the two lines will be updated with 4 TB variants, the WD40ERFX and WD40EZRX. All four drives feature 64 MB of cache, SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and are built in the 3.5-inch form-factor.

Buffalo has today announced a new external storage solution, the HD-LXV4.0TU3C drive featuring a 4 TB capacity and a USB 3.0 interface. This HDD measures 39 x 123 x 189 mm, it weights 1 kg and has a design enabling both vertical and horizontal use, a built-in fan, internal rubber mounts that lower vibration, AES 256-bit hardware encryption, and an eco mode that reduces power consumption by up to 97% (Buffalo claims a power draw of only 0.15 W when the drive is idle).

The HD-LXV4.0TU3C comes bundled with the Turbo PC EX2 data transfer software and costs about $458.

Buffalo Inc. has today announced the OP-HD4.0T/LS, a 4 TB replacement hard drive for the LinkStation Pro Duo and CloudStation NAS servers (and other 4 TB-supporting devices). This RAID1-ready 3.5-inch drive features a SATA interface, has a recommended price tag of about $679 and is set to start shipping at the end of this month.

WD, a Western Digital company and a world leader in hard drives, today announced its highest performance, highest capacity desktop hard drive, the WD Black 4 TB, 3.5-inch, 7200 RPM drive. Shipping immediately, the fast performance and ultimate capacity of the award-winning WD Black drives make them perfect for gaming, high-performance desktop systems and workstations.

WD Black hard drives combine 7200 RPM spin speed, 64 MB cache, dual stage actuator technology, SATA 6 gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface, and an integrated dual processor to deliver ultimate performance in a maximum-capacity drive.

I-O Data has today unveiled three fresh additions to its HDCA-UT family of external hard drives. Offering 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB worth of storage space, the new offerings measure 39 (W) x 185 (D) x 120 (H) mm, they weight 1.1 kg and feature a fanless design, USB 3.0 connectivity, and an Eco mode for saving power while idle.

Like their predecessors, these models can be installed both vertically or horizontally and can be easily connected to TVs and camcorders for direct, PC-less use. They are backed by a one-year warranty and are coming out gradually - the 4 TB (~ $465) drive is already selling, while the 1 TB (~ $144) and 2 TB (~ $183) will debut in mid-November.

With the consumer availability of Microsoft Windows 8 operating system, Seagate Technology plc is helping to make the move as seamless as possible for those making the upgrade. Seagate Backup Plus family of drives is the essential upgrade tool to ensure that all your important files make the move with you. All of Seagate's external storage devices are compatible with current Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP, and will also work with the new Windows 8 OS.

According to Gartner's Forecast Analysis: PC OS Market, Worldwide, 2008-2015, 2011 Update, July 2011; "By the end of 2012 it is expected that 9.6 million of the installed base of personal computers will run Windows 8 and by 2013, it is predicted that 193.2 million personal computers in use will be running Windows 8."

Seagate Technology today announced three new enterprise-class hard disk drives (HDD) optimized for traditional data centers and emerging cloud infrastructures.

Perfect for cloud bulk data storage, the Seagate Enterprise Value HDD provides up to 3 TB of storage in a low-power configuration that is perfect for efficiently and affordably storing the ever-growing amount of unstructured data typically stored in the cloud. The company also announced its next generation of highly-reliable hard disk drives, the Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 HDD featuring the industry's widest range of capacities (1, 2, 3 and 4 TB) of secure data storage for robust data center usage and the Seagate Enterprise Performance 10K HDD which delivers best-in-class performance and built-in security for optimized storage efficiency and data protection.

Western Digital (WD) released new high-capacity variants of its My Book and My Book Duo external hard drives. The Thunderbolt-equipped My Book Duo series is expanded with a new 8 TB variant, which uses a pair of 4 TB drives in an internal RAID 0 configuration. Measuring 99 x 157 x 165 mm (WxDxH), the My Book Duo 8 TB weighs 2.26 kg. It uses an internal PSU, and features two Thunderbolt I/O ports that allow you to set up daisy-chains with other My Book Duo units, or other devices. The new 8 TB variant is priced at $849.99.

WD also introduced a 4 TB variant of its My Book USB 3.0 hard drive. The My Book encloses a single 4 TB hard drive. Measuring 48 x 135 x 165 mm (WxDxH), it weighs about 1.18 kg. It includes an internal power supply, and uses USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface (backwards compatible with USB 2.0) to communicate with the host. It is priced at US $250.

I-O Data Japan expanded its HDCA-UT series of external HDDs with the HDCA-UT4.0K, which packs 4 TB of unformatted capacity, and USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface. Like other members in its series, the HDCA-UT4.0K is designed to work as a self-contained DVR with compatible TVs, to record high-definition TV programs. It can be concealed behind TVs by clinging it onto its VESA wall-mount. The drive features a power-management mode that powers itself on/off along with the TV. Measuring 39 x 185 x 120 mm, the HDCA-UT4.0K weighs 1.1 kg. Slated for late October, it is priced at 38,850 JPY (US $496).

WD, a Western Digital company, and a leader in the mobile, desktop, high-capacity enterprise and consumer markets for hard drives today announced it is further expanding its enterprise-class storage offerings with the release of new WD RE SAS and WD RE SATA hard drives in capacities up to 4 TB, the largest on the market today.

Available immediately in 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB capacities for nearline SAS and 2 TB, 3 TB and 4 TB for SATA, the 3.5-inch WD RE SAS and WD RE SATA hard drives offer the powerful combination of enterprise-class features and superior capacity to meet the growing demands of conventional business-critical environments as well as the high-capacity and performance requirements of cloud and scale-out computing.

The Thecus users already know that their NAS devices give them the liberty to customize their storage experience to a level that is unmatched. Constantly up-dating their products, the storage expert follows the latest trends and makes sure their users gets to work with the best.

Following the hard drive disks market developments, Thecus never stop to test more brands and more types of drives every day. Already supporting 4TB drives since the beginning of 2012, the list of compatible 4TB HDD devices from Thecus has never been longer.

Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking and network and direct attached storage solutions, today announced the availability of 4 TB hard drives in select Buffalo storage solutions including the TeraStation 5000 series of business-class network and iSCSI storage, the LinkStation Pro home and small office network storage device and the DriveStation Axis USB 3.0 desktop hard drive.

"The introduction of 4 TB hard drives and Buffalo's early adoption in leading storage solutions provides customers with even higher capacities for greater data storage," said Matt Dargis, senior director of sales at Buffalo Technology. "We strive to provide a breadth of affordable and reliable storage solutions for business and home in the latest available hard drive capacities."

Buffalo Japan released a new LS-VL series home NAS model, LS-V4.0TLJ, which packs 4 TB of storage, a faster CPU, and software with a new web-access (remote-access over internet) feature. The single-drive NAS is designed for home convergence, with support for a large variety of entertainment devices such as 3D HDTVs, with support for DTCP-IP, providing recording features. Gigabit Ethernet is its only network interface, while it features USB 2.0. Measuring 45 x 175 x 156 mm (WxDxH), and weighing about 1 kg, the device draws about 24W of power under typical load. It is priced at 46,725 JPY (US $585).

Fusion-io today announced that it is enabling high performance database and virtualization solutions with seven new Fusion-powered HP IO Accelerator products for the industry-leading HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem platforms. Integrated into HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers, the new HP IO Accelerators can boost application performance to address organizations' growing requirements to cost-effectively accelerate data-intensive applications.

To enable enterprises to cost-effectively enhance their data infrastructure, one or more HP IO Accelerators can be easily integrated within servers according to application and organizational needs. The HP IO Accelerators sit inside the server, directly on the PCIe bus with CPUs and Memory, rather than external to the server in a storage array being accessed over much slower links. The IO Accelerators boost applications by bypassing traditional storage controllers and unlocking trapped compute cycles.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced its new additions for the high-end SMB market segment with two 16-drive 3U rackmount Turbo NAS models with up to 64TB storage capacity using 4 TB drives. The TS-EC1679U-RP and TS-1679U-RP, powered by the Intel Xeon processor and the Intel Core i3 processor respectively, are the highest capacity and highest performing NAS products ever developed by QNAP. Both models feature optional 10GbE networking and 6Gb/sec SATA interfaces, achieving incredible 2,000 MB/sec and 200,000 IOPS throughput; delivering sustained ultra-high performance suitable for demanding data center & high-end SMB environments. The new models feature cable-less disk drive backplanes, hot-swappable power supply, and cooling fan modules for maximum reliability and uptime.

HGST (formerly Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and now a Western Digital company) today introduced the world's first 4 TB enterprise-class hard drive family, the Ultrastar 7K4000.

Ushering in a new generation of 512e Advanced Format drives, the Ultrastar 7K4000 family provides space-efficient, high-performance, low-power storage for traditional enterprises as well as for the explosive big data and cloud/Internet markets where storage density, watt-per-gigabyte and cost-per-GB are critical parameters. Hungry for massive storage, cloud and Internet businesses are redefining the datacenter by designing new types of servers and storage architectures to help manage explosive petabyte (PB) growth. Critical to their datacenter infrastructure is the ability to scale and efficiently manage performance, power and storage space to help reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).