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.

Aerocool Advanced Technologies, one of world's leading manufacturers of excellent gaming PC gear, brings the second addition to the GT chassis portfolio by introducing the GT-R Midi-Tower. The new GT-R chassis is designed to satisfy the demand of Gamers and Power Users, who are looking for a well-designed chassis with much space for latest high-end hardware. Thanks to its more compact dimensions and the great design, GT-R Midi-Tower is the right companion for ambitious Gamers, frequently visiting LAN-Parties.

The new GT-R utilizes the unified and futuristic GT series exterior design with the choice between a white and a black version. Its main frame is made of 0,7 mm thick SEEC steel, in order to assure a very solid and firm chassis structure. The clean mesh-front-panel has been designed to provide great cooling capabilities. Users are able to mount up to six case fans inside the chassis, two of which are already included! One 180 mm case fan (700 RPM, 39,21 CFM, 25,5 dBA) is located in the front of the chassis and is equipped with four LEDs, which are illuminating in red (Black edition) respectively blue (White edition) color. Another 120 mm axial-fan model (1.200 U/min, 36,4 CFM, , 26,5 dBA) has been mounted in the rear, offering great airflow inside the chassis. It is possible to mount additional fans in the top and side panel, to further optimize the airflow inside the GT-R chassis.

mLogic announced today that it is now shipping its innovative mBack external hard drives to customers worldwide. mBack is the industry's first zero-footprint hard drive designed specifically for the iMac and Apple Displays.

mBack Highlights:

• Unique zero-footprint design - mounts to iMac or Apple Display stand
• 500 GB, 1 TB & 2 TB models
• SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface
• Bus powered - No AC adapter required
• Built-in cable management minimizes cable clutter
• Time Machine Ready

ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, has announced today that all of its NAS products are fully compatible with Seagate's newly launched range of NAS hard drives. These hard drives come in 2TB, 3TB and 4TB models with their model numbers being ST2000VN000, ST3000VN000 and ST4000VN000. By supporting these hard drives, ASUSTOR is able to give its users greater flexibility and choice when configuring their network attached storage devices.

ASUSTOR NAS are the first NAS devices in the world to be designed entirely around an App-based concept. Built on a stable and high performance hardware platform, ASUSTOR NAS devices provides users with an intuitive UI that closely resembles the simplicity enjoyed on most tablet computers. After installing hard drives onto the NAS device, users will be able to set up their very own personal cloud server in just a few easy steps. Additionally, users can download any NAS Apps of their choice from ASUSTOR's App Central, expanding functionality and creating a customized device for themselves.

Seagate Technology plc, a world leader in storage solutions, today announced it's shipping its thinnest hard disk drive (HDD) ever to OEM partners - the Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD. Just 5mm thin, the Laptop Ultrathin HDD is designed to be integrated into ultra-thin, lightweight mobile computing devices and tablets all while delivering high capacity storage at an affordable price.

"When we originally demonstrated this solution last September, we knew we had a truly innovative product that would empower our partners to reimagine mobile applications," said Steve Luczo, president, CEO and chairman of Seagate. "The strong support from our OEM partners indicates we have delivered on our vision and look forward to a new wave of innovative solutions enabled by this revolutionary product."

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.

I-O Data introduced the HDPD-SUT line of rugged portable hard drives. The drives feature a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) exterior, backed by internal cushioning, which make it compliant with MIL-STD-810F military standards. It can withstand a drop of up to 122 cm (typical drop from hand-level). The HDPD-SUT features USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, and hardware data encryption. Measuring 84 x 120 x 19 mm (WxDxH), it weighs around 180 g. It is available in two capacities, 500 GB (HDPD-SUT500K), priced at 12,810¥ (US $137); and 1 TB (SUT1.0K HDPD), priced at 16,485¥ ($176).

Seagate reportedly began shipping the industry's first 4 TB-class hard drives with 1 TB per platter density. Slotted in the company's Barracuda 7200.15 series, the drive provides 4000 GB of unformatted space, backed by 7,200 RPM spindle-speed, 64 MB buffer, and SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drive is said to provide sequential speeds as high as 146 MB/s, with the 6 Gb/s interface enhancing buffer-to-host burst speeds. When it reaches stores, the OEM trim (drive-only) can be purchased for as low as US $190, and the retail version (boxed, with cables and documentation), for $212. At these prices, Seagate is claiming the lowest price-per-GB for any internal storage device in the industry. The terabyte platter technology should also make it possible for Seagate to launch a 5-platter 5000 GB hard drive soon.

Building on the momentum of its current line of solid state hybrid drives (SSHD), Seagate Technology plc today announced it will begin shipping its third-generation of SSHD products. Featuring the Seagate Laptop SSHD, 7 mm-high Seagate Laptop Thin SSHD designed for the thinnest and lightest laptops in the industry, and the all-new Seagate Desktop SSHD, the line of drives will deliver blazing-fast performance and high-capacity at an affordable price.

Boasting solid state drive (SSD) like speed and hard disk drive capacity, the new Seagate Laptop and Laptop Thin SSHDs are the most affordable way to increase your laptop performance. With storage performance up to 40 percent faster than previous generations, the Laptop and Laptop Thin SSHDs can add as much as 30 percent to total system performance - regardless of the processor inside the system. These products also enable system builders to build high-performance, high-capacity systems, including new thin and light laptops, at mass-market price points.

The Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. announced that a leading German luxury car manufacturer is now shipping its vehicles standard with Toshiba's MK2060GSC 200GB Serial ATA automotive hard disk drives (HDD), marking 26 million automotive-grade HDDs shipped. Toshiba has led innovation in the automotive sector since launching its first automotive-grade HDD in 2000, and is the leading vendor in the automotive storage market.

By 2016, more than 55 million people worldwide will have Internet access built into their vehicles, according to iSuppli Corp. Sophisticated navigation and entertainment systems, smartphone and tablet integration, and Internet connectivity are all features that consumers rely on to enhance their in-car experience, and these systems depend on reliable, shock-resistant HDDs to operate. Toshiba works in partnership with premier automotive manufacturers to provide best-in-class storage devices that can withstand severe road conditions, the growing quantities of data embedded in a vehicle's systems, and users' demands for constant connectivity to stream high-definition movies and update their navigation systems simultaneously.

With a continued focus on delivering the industry's most trusted, high-performance and reliable solutions for content creators, G-Technology today announced that its G-SPEED¹ RAID external storage solutions now come equipped with the industry's highest capacity and most reliable enterprise-class hard disk drives (HDDs), the 4TB HGST Ultrastar drives. With 7,200 RPM performance, 64MB cache, the highest 2.0 million hour mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) HDD specification, and unique enterprise-class features, the G-Technology G-SPEED family continues to deliver uncompromised performance, quality and reliability for the escalating demands of today's post-production workflows.

Freecom Technologies announced the "Hard Drive Classic" line of portable HDDs, which provides 2 TB capacity, with fast USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, and a single cable that handles both power and host-connectivity. Available in matte red and matte black, the drives measure 32 x 176 x 112 mm (WxDxH), weighing about 760 g. The drives include software for secure erasing, encryption, and an eco-mode, which spins down the internal drive when idling, to conserve your laptop's battery. It is priced around 14,980¥ (US $180).

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.

WD, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today's connected life, today introduced My Passport Enterprise, one of the industry's first portable hard drives designed specifically for use with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows To Go, which enables corporate customers to provision a fully featured Windows 8 workspace on a bootable USB drive.

My Passport Enterprise includes 500 GB of storage space, while still maintaining a sleek and compact design for maximum portability. The capacity and portability allows users to easily carry all their data and settings so they can quickly boot and run their personalized Windows 8 system on any compatible PC in the office, at home or on the go. Additionally, setup is fast and easy with the WD Compass utility included with My Passport Enterprise.

Sharkoon presents two external hard drive docking stations for the USB3.0 interface, in which unobstructed SATA hard drives can be quickly and without effort connected to a computer or notebook. The two Sharkoon Vertical Docking USB3.0 stations, with a choice of either one or two fast-swap bays for SATA hard drives in 3.5 inch format, are equipped internally with a SATA II interface and externally with a USB3.0 SuperSpeed interface.

The disks are easily inserted upright lengthwise into the hard drive bay. A lockable front flap secures the drives against unwanted access while a rear fan helps prevent unwanted heat. The Sharkoon Vertical Docking Single USB3.0 Station with its hard drive bay and 40 mm fan measures 212 x 44 x 129 mm (L x W x H) and weighs 650 g. The Sharkoon Vertical Docking Duo USB3.0 Station with its two individually lockable hard drive bays and 50 mm fan measures 222 x 83 x 134 mm (L x W x H) and weighs 860 g.

Toshiba announced the new MQ01ABD series hybrid hard drives for notebooks. Built in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor, the drives embed a dual-platter hard drive with 8 GB of SLC NAND flash memory, and 32 MB cache for the hard drive component. The hard drive component has a maximum spindle speed of 5,400 RPM. Available in 750 GB (MQ01ABD075H) and 1 TB (MQ01ABD100H) variants, the drives support SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and Advanced Format. The company did not reveal pricing, as the two drives are being sampled from today.

As hard drives stared at oblivion in the Ultrabook segment, with Intel planning to slim the specification down even further, leaving room for nothing but bare SSDs, WD pulled a rabbit out of its hat with the revolutionary 5 mm-thick hybrid HDD. Following its September 10 announcement, 5 mm-thick hybrid HDDs have reportedly sparked great interest in notebook vendors, which prompted WD to pull its mass-production schedule from Q1 2013 to end of 2012.

WD, a subsidiary of Western Digital Corp., today introduced its newest version of My Passport line of portable hard drives for PC and Mac with the debut of My Passport Edge. The My Passport Edge and My Passport Edge for Mac feature 500 GB of storage and a USB 3.0 interface for fast read/write speeds to help consumers effectively manage, share and enjoy digital content everywhere they go. Its sleek, ultra-slim design makes transport easy and convenient while a variety of security features protects the drive's content from unauthorized access.

The My Passport Edge for Mac portable hard drive complements popular MacBook computers and MacBook Air computer designs with an all-aluminum exterior to protect the drive and its contents from everyday bumps. The My Passport Edge for Mac is also compatible with Apple Time Machine for added peace-of-mind and seamless operation out of the box with one's Mac computer.

Synology Inc. today announced the compatibility of its DiskStation & RackStation lineup with WD Red NAS 3.5" hard drives that include WD30EFRX (3 TB), WD20EFRX (2 TB), and WD10EFRX (1 TB). The above models have successfully passed stress and compatibility test from Synology, and proven to be compatible with select Synology DiskStation & RackStation from the x12, x11, x10, x09, and x08 series.

WD Red hard drives are designed specifically for home and small office NAS server. Featuring NASware and 3D Active Balance Plus technologies, the WD Red line is enhanced to drive reliability, improve overall performance, and simplify integration process.

QNAP Systems, Inc. is extending the number of compatible peripherals for its Turbo NAS products. The additions, including five 500GB to 1TB 2.5-inch internal SATA hard drives, ten 2.5-inch 60GB to 480GB internal Solid State Drives, two USB Wi-Fi adapters, and one USB camera are now fully compatible. The expanded peripherals are expected to give users greater convenience and deployment flexibility.

Japanese cooling expert Scythe proudly presents its newest product in the field of PC Accessories. Scythe Easy Mobile Rack is an easy Mounting Bay for 3,5" HDDs which is meant to be installed into a vacant 5,25" Bay. New Scythe Easy Mobile Rack comes in an elegant black colored design, allowing it to fit into a wide range of on-market PC chassis.

Installation of Scythe Easy Mobile Rack is really easy. It only has to be placed into a vacant 5,25" Bay of the PC chassis and secured by several screws, similar to the installation of an optical (CD, DVD or Bluray) drive. Required 8 screws are typically for Scythe included in the Package of the Scythe Easy Mobile Rack. After the Easy Mobile Rack is installed, user only have to connect one S-ATA Power Cable from the Power Supply Unit and one S-ATA Data Cable from the Mainboard to the back side of the Easy Mobile Rack. As soon as the installation is completed, users can plug-in a 3,5" Hard Drive right away without any additional work. Thanks to its Hot Plug support, Scythe Easy Mobile Rack allows removal and insertion of Hard Drives even while the PC is running.

HGST (formerly Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and now a Western Digital company, NYSE: WDC) today announced a new family of CinemaStar 2.5-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) for the growing traditional and small form factor audio/video (A/V) and consumer electronics (CE) HDD markets. With continued technological advancements and increased capacities, 2.5-inch hard drives are satisfying the needs of both the traditional 3.5-inch CE market as well as the small form factor market, while allowing OEMs to design smaller, more compact A/V streaming devices.

From slim 7mm z-height 500GB HDDs to high-capacity, 2.5-inch, 9.5mm 1TB HDDs, HGST's new CinemaStar family targets the vast majority of CE capacity needs, while providing the right balance of performance, low power and quiet acoustics for multi-stream digital video recorders (DVRs) and set-top-boxes (STBs). Now in its sixth generation, each CinemaStar drive is fine-tuned with advanced streaming technology to efficiently optimize the 24/7 recording and playback of A/V content.

Dell's newly redesigned portfolio of Dell Precision tower workstations announced today delivers superb performance, accessibility and best-in-class¹ chassis design to help creative and design professionals deliver results faster. Dell engineered its tower workstations to enable engineering, product design, animation, and other graphics and compute intensive professionals increased productivity and minimized downtime so they can focus on their innovations.

From creating the 854 stereo 3D VFX shots featured in the award-winning movie "Hugo" to designing unique architectural spaces to analyzing seismic data to accelerate exploration of natural reserves, companies around the world rely on Dell Precision workstations to design and deliver superb results fast.

I-O Data of Japan introduced a new line of hard drives for DVRs and smart TVs, the AVHD-PxU. Available in two variants based on capacity, 500 GB and 1 TB, the AVHD-PU is capable of functioning as a storage medium for DVRs and smart TVs such as Toshiba Regza, Sharp Aquos, Sony Bravia, etc. Measuring 79 x 23 x 134 mm (WxDxH), and weighing around 200 g, the drives connect to host machines over USB 2.0 interface (standard and mini type-A connectors). It includes mounting holes to make it discrete (behind the TV). The 500 GB and 1 TB variants are priced at 13,125 JPY (US $161) and 17,640 JPY (US $216), respectively.

LSI Corporation today announced it is sampling the industry's first 28 nm system-on-a-chip (SoC) for the desktop and mobile HDD market segments. The transition to 28 nm SoC technology provides a cost-effective way to increase the amount of data that can be stored on a hard drive by enabling higher areal density and yield through superior signal-to-noise ratio performance.

"The explosion of digital content driven by rich media such as high-definition video and photography is challenging HDD manufacturers to deliver higher-capacity, more energy-efficient drives," said Phil Brace, senior vice president and general manager, Storage Peripherals Division, LSI. "By being first to sample 28 nm SoC technology, we're offering HDD manufacturers a low-risk, time-to-market advantage in meeting next-generation HDD capacity points while staying within the power envelope."