Wednesday, May 5th 2010
Seagate Introduces GoFlex Family of Storage Products
Seagate, the worldwide leader in hard drives and storage solutions, today introduced the next evolution of the company's award-winning FreeAgent external hard drives-its new GoFlex storage solutions. This new family of external drives and accessories introduces a new level of flexibility to traditional USB 2.0 storage that will change the way people store, access, enjoy and share their digital content. The FreeAgent GoFlex storage family includes easy, plug-and-play portable and desktop drives, with an array of interchangeable cables and desktop adapters that allow each drive to adapt to the interface or device being used. GoFlex hard disk drives are also specially designed to provide interoperability between operating systems in order to work with both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X computers.
"GoFlex interface cables are about providing the speed, performance and connectivity people need to support their interaction with their digital content. The explosive growth of video capture and multimedia collecting is expanding personal digital libraries to terabytes worth of content within the home," said Dave Mosley, executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. "These trends are driving demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage. The GoFlex family of storage products meets this need by delivering simple, USB 2.0 storage and backup devices, with the flexibility to adapt as interface technology advances by using the various GoFlex cables and accessories to access content stored on the same drive."
Protect, store and access files through the interface of your choice
Recent survey results by the Yankee Group indicate that more than half of people planning to purchase a new hard drive consider the interface connection an important factor in their selection. GoFlex drives address this concern by providing a flexible, plug-and-play way to adapt to the most popular available interfaces or devices. The seamless GoFlex cable system enables the GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable USB 2.0 drives to be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching out the cable adapter. Additionally, specially-designed GoFlex upgrade cables provide even more applications of how each drive can be used. For example, the GoFlex Upgrade cable - Auto Backup transforms the drive into a continuous full-system backup, giving consumers the peace of mind that their files and system settings are backed up, while leaving the remaining capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer.
"As consumer's lives become increasingly connected, people will demand capabilities beyond the traditional hard drive," said Carl Howe, director, Anywhere Consumer Research, Yankee Group. "Consumers are looking not only for storage, but for new ways to use their digital content. Connecting, sharing, and repurposing content is part of the purchasing decision process for today's 'Anywhere Consumer'."
Do More with the GoFlex Storage System
Within the GoFlex family, Seagate has created a special ecosystem wherein people experience easy backup and enhanced protection of all their data-the same way they would expect a traditional hard drive to perform-only now their interaction with that content is not wholly dependent on the drive. In addition to several cable options, people can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex TV HD media player or the GoFlex Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive's content.
Using the GoFlex TV HD media player consumers can easily enjoy their personal digital media library on their television screen by inserting a GoFlex ultra-portable drive or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive directly into the media dock, or connecting another storage device, digital or Flip camera to the two additional USB ports on the back of the device. Using the intuitive remote, owners of GoFlex TV HD media players can view movies, photos, and music from the comfort of their couch in 1080p high-definition and surround sound. Connect your GoFlex TV HD media player to the internet using the Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi adapter and stream digital content from a home network or popular online service providers such as Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, Picasa and more.
The GoFlex Net media sharing device transforms a GoFlex ultra-portable drive, GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive, or any USB mass storage, into a media sharing device, allowing consumers to enjoy their digital content outside their home using a PC, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry or any other internet-connected computer. The GoFlex Net media sharing device also integrates with social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and publishes RSS feeds allowing people to keep friends and family updated GoFlex media sharing device owners can Seagate Introduces New Era Of External Storage: A Flexible Hard Drive Solution With Multiple Interface And Content Sharing Options also stream content to other devices on a home network, including the GoFlex TV HD media player, to enjoy movies, photos and music on their TV.
Bridging the Gap between PC and Mac
For the first time, Seagate will include an NTFS driver for Mac OS X on all GoFlex portable and desktop offerings, enabling storage and access of files from both Windows and Mac computers. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on your Mac computer, and allows access and storage of files on a Windows-formatted drive.
With capacities ranging from 320GB to 2TB, FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable and desktop drives group high-capacity, adaptability and ease-of-use with all the backup and protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Available immediately through Seagate.com and select online retailers, the GoFlex storage family includes:
GoFlex Drives:
"GoFlex interface cables are about providing the speed, performance and connectivity people need to support their interaction with their digital content. The explosive growth of video capture and multimedia collecting is expanding personal digital libraries to terabytes worth of content within the home," said Dave Mosley, executive vice president, Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. "These trends are driving demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage. The GoFlex family of storage products meets this need by delivering simple, USB 2.0 storage and backup devices, with the flexibility to adapt as interface technology advances by using the various GoFlex cables and accessories to access content stored on the same drive."
Recent survey results by the Yankee Group indicate that more than half of people planning to purchase a new hard drive consider the interface connection an important factor in their selection. GoFlex drives address this concern by providing a flexible, plug-and-play way to adapt to the most popular available interfaces or devices. The seamless GoFlex cable system enables the GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable USB 2.0 drives to be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching out the cable adapter. Additionally, specially-designed GoFlex upgrade cables provide even more applications of how each drive can be used. For example, the GoFlex Upgrade cable - Auto Backup transforms the drive into a continuous full-system backup, giving consumers the peace of mind that their files and system settings are backed up, while leaving the remaining capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer.
"As consumer's lives become increasingly connected, people will demand capabilities beyond the traditional hard drive," said Carl Howe, director, Anywhere Consumer Research, Yankee Group. "Consumers are looking not only for storage, but for new ways to use their digital content. Connecting, sharing, and repurposing content is part of the purchasing decision process for today's 'Anywhere Consumer'."
Do More with the GoFlex Storage System
Within the GoFlex family, Seagate has created a special ecosystem wherein people experience easy backup and enhanced protection of all their data-the same way they would expect a traditional hard drive to perform-only now their interaction with that content is not wholly dependent on the drive. In addition to several cable options, people can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex TV HD media player or the GoFlex Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive's content.
Using the GoFlex TV HD media player consumers can easily enjoy their personal digital media library on their television screen by inserting a GoFlex ultra-portable drive or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive directly into the media dock, or connecting another storage device, digital or Flip camera to the two additional USB ports on the back of the device. Using the intuitive remote, owners of GoFlex TV HD media players can view movies, photos, and music from the comfort of their couch in 1080p high-definition and surround sound. Connect your GoFlex TV HD media player to the internet using the Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi adapter and stream digital content from a home network or popular online service providers such as Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, Picasa and more.
The GoFlex Net media sharing device transforms a GoFlex ultra-portable drive, GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive, or any USB mass storage, into a media sharing device, allowing consumers to enjoy their digital content outside their home using a PC, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry or any other internet-connected computer. The GoFlex Net media sharing device also integrates with social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and publishes RSS feeds allowing people to keep friends and family updated GoFlex media sharing device owners can Seagate Introduces New Era Of External Storage: A Flexible Hard Drive Solution With Multiple Interface And Content Sharing Options also stream content to other devices on a home network, including the GoFlex TV HD media player, to enjoy movies, photos and music on their TV.
Bridging the Gap between PC and Mac
For the first time, Seagate will include an NTFS driver for Mac OS X on all GoFlex portable and desktop offerings, enabling storage and access of files from both Windows and Mac computers. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on your Mac computer, and allows access and storage of files on a Windows-formatted drive.
With capacities ranging from 320GB to 2TB, FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable and desktop drives group high-capacity, adaptability and ease-of-use with all the backup and protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Available immediately through Seagate.com and select online retailers, the GoFlex storage family includes:
GoFlex Drives:
- GoFlex ultra portable drive-The core of the GoFlexTM Storage System. Available in 14.5mm and 22mm versions and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $99.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $129.99 for 500GB (silver, black, red, blue); $169.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $199.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
- GoFlex ultra portable drive, drive-only version-MSRP $89.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $119.99 for 500GB [silver, black, red, blue]; $159.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $189.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
- GoFlex Pro ultra portable drive kit-A 7200RPM, 2.5" drive that delivers premium backup with encryption and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB [black].
- GoFlex Pro ultra portable drive, drive-only version-MSRP $129.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB [black].
- GoFlex Desk external drive kit-Delivers high-capacity storage and automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all your files and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $129.99 for 1TB [black]; $199.99 for 2TB [black].
- GoFlex Desk external drive, drive-only version-MSRP $119.99 for 1TB [black]; $189.99 for 2TB [black].
- GoFlex Cable - USB 2.0-The baseline interface for your GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drives. MSRP $19.99.
- GoFlex Upgrade cable - USB 3.0-Equips your GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files vs USB 2.0, while being backwards compatible. MSRP $29.99.
- GoFlex Upgrade cable kit - USB 3.0-Includes ExpressCard adapter to update a laptop and GoFlex ultra-portable drives from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 and deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files than USB 2.0, MSRP $79.99.
- GoFlex Upgrade cable - FireWire 800-Upgrades your GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver 2x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0. MSRP $39.99.
- GoFlex Upgrade cable kit - eSATA-Empowers your GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 6x faster performance over USB 2.0. MSRP $19.99.
- GoFlex Upgrade cable - Auto Backup-Delivers continuous backup and protection of data giving consumers the peace of mind that their data is backed up, while leaving capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer. MSRP $29.99.
- GoFlex Desk Desktop adapter-USB 3.0-Allows the GoFlex Desk to deliver up to 10x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $39.00.
- GoFlex Desk Desktop adapter kit-USB 3.0-Includes PCI Express adapter to upgrade a desktop PC and GoFlex Desk external drive for USB 3.0 performance, MSRP $79.00.
- GoFlex Desk Desktop adapter-FireWire 800/USB 2.0-Upgrades your GoFlex Desk external drive to deliver 2x faster performance over USB 2.0 with FireWire 800/USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $49.99.
- GoFlex TV HD media player-Allows for enjoyment of digital content on a TV. MSRP $129.99 for media player only.
- GoFlex Net media sharing device-Enables instant, easy access and sharing of content over a network. MSRP $99.99.
- GoFlex Intelligent dock-Transforms the GoFlex ultra portable drive into the perfect desktop solution that delivers convenient file access and backup with an easy-to-view capacity gauge. MSRP $29.99.
7 Comments on Seagate Introduces GoFlex Family of Storage Products
It claims to "introduce a new level of flexibility to traditional USB 2.0 storage" they forgot to add while charging you through the eyeballs for doing so
So if you want usb 3.0 and esata, guess what thats gonna cost you another $60 if you want firewire thats $40 thank you!!
I was thinking, maybe the controller chip is stored in the cable, and the GoFlex port is actually just a straight pass-thru into the drive?
If so, I would actually like one of these enclosures, only because I have yet to find an external enclosure that has USB 3.0, Firewire 800 and eSATA all in one.
But, if the enclosure themselves are actually USB 2.0, and these cables convert a USB 2.0 signal into a different signal, count me out. You'll still only get USB 2.0 speeds out of it that way.
But really, I'd rather just have an enclosure that has all the options in one already, without need of special adapters.
I'm getting these. I'm going to get a 500GB+ 2.5" drive, the USB 3.0 adapter, and the Network adapter. That thing's really cool. Lets you "dock" two of the 2.5" drives and have them accessible to not only your home network, but lets you remotely access your data from anywhere (forget what that's called).
Yes, it's expensive, but I want something that I can bring with me if I'm going to need my files and transfer them quickly without plugging into the wall, then plop into a dock to transfer over the network without locking myself at USB 2.0 speeds.
Wish they would sell the bare enclosure tho. :(
From what I've seen so far, they've made the enclosures "proprietary" along with all other docks and drives in the series, but if my intuition is correct, it will be a simple fix.