G-Technology™ Launches New USB 3.0 External Storage Solutions

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- G-Technology today announced a new line of portable and desktop USB 3.0 storage solutions for a broad range of users from consumers to audio/video professionals. Given the brand's strength in the content creation and Apple Mac® community, G-Technology is well positioned to move the Mac industry forward in leveraging high-capacity, high-performance USB 3.0 drives across a variety of customer segments, all while delivering one of the industry's most respected external storage platforms with proven quality, reliability and performance.

Today, new kinds of devices and media formats require considerably more interface bandwidth and higher transfer rates to move, store and edit data quickly. Backward compatible with USB 2.0, G-Technology's USB 3.0 drives deliver speeds 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and six times faster than FireWire 800. This means that users can now transfer two full-length movies from a G-Technology USB 3.0 drive to a computer in minutes.

(Come visit G-Technology in New York City at the Gdgt event, June 25 from 7-10 pm ET at The Altman Building; and at CE Week, Hitachi GST Booth #61, June 27-28 at the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building.)

G-Technology Mobile Family

G-DRIVE™ slim: Ideal for any laptop user, the G-DRIVE slim is the ultra-slim, ultra-stylish portable solution. Featuring a high-performance USB 3.0 interface and a thin design, the G-DRIVE slim is the Mac user's sleekest answer to superior data storage. Its slender, lightweight aluminum case packs up to 500GB(1) of storage for photos, videos, music and more. The drive is also USB 3.0 bus-powered, eliminating the need to carry an external AC power supply. The 500GB G-DRIVE slim will have a MSRP of $109.99.

G-DRIVE mobile and G-DRIVE mobile USB 3.0: The G-DRIVE mobile features versatile USB 3.0, FireWire 800 and FireWire 400(2) interfaces, and delivers exceptional throughput performance–making it the perfect storage option for portable use. The G-DRIVE mobile USB 3.0 offers simple USB 3.0 only. Both drives are offered 1TB, 750GB and 500GB capacities, and are USB bus-powered. The 1TB             G-DRIVE mobile will have an MSRP of $189.99. The 1TB G-DRIVE mobile USB 3.0 will have an MSRP of $159.99.

G-DRIVE mini: The G-DRIVE® mini is the perfect storage solution for those who demand the highest performance possible from their mobile storage device. Featuring a 2.5-inch 7,200 RPM hard drive, the G-DRIVE mini is the high-performance solution designed specially with the content creator in mind. The all-aluminum enclosure protects valuable data from the bumps and bruises encountered on the road, and the system is USB 3.0 or FireWire bus-powered for easy storage on the go. The drive features high-speed USB 3.0 and FireWire, and has a built-in heat sink to silently dissipate heat. The G-DRIVE mini will be available in 750GB ($169.99 MSRP) and 500GB ($159.99 MSRP).

G-RAID™ mini: The G-RAID mini is the perfect companion for video and still shooters or editors working on location. Out of the box, G-RAID mini is set up in RAID 0 (performance mode), with its two 7,200 RPM drives working together for the performance needed to edit the most popular compressed HD formats. Using the included software utility, the G-RAID mini can be configured in RAID 1 (protected mode), giving users peace of mind that digital video or images are protected while on the road. G-RAID mini can be FireWire bus powered. The G-RAID mini will be available in 1.5TB ($359.99 MSRP) and 1TB ($259.99 MSRP).

G-Technology Desktop Family:

G-RAID: Leveraging two 7,200 RPM drives, the G-RAID drive is a blazing-fast, dual-drive RAID 0 storage solution with capacities up to 8TB, with USB 3.0 and FireWire 400/800 interfaces. Ideal for professional content creators, it supports simultaneous playback of multiple layers of HDV, DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD and ProRes 422 HQ with the leading video editing applications including Final Cut Pro™, Adobe® Premiere® and many more. Its soft-touch On/Off switch and thermo-regulated "smart" fan keeps the G-RAID drive reliable, cool and quiet in the editing suite. The 8TB G-RAID drive will have an MSRP of $809.99.

G-DRIVE: The G-DRIVE is a professional-strength external hard drive in a single-drive desktop solution. With capacities now up to 4TB and multiple interface options (USB 3.0 and FireWire 400/800), the G-DRIVE is the perfect high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including A/V editing, digital photography, music libraries, and high-speed data backup. The G-DRIVE solution features fast 7,200 RPM drives and a fan-less cooling system for a quiet operation. The 4TB G-DRIVE solution will have an MSRP of $359.99.

Availability:

The G-Technology G-DRIVE slim and G-DRIVE mobile external drive family will be available in Apple Stores in July. The G-DRIVE and G-RAID solutions will be available in August 2012. The G-DRIVE mini and G-RAID mini solutions will be available in Q3 2012.

"In a digital world, there's one common thread among all of us – storage. It's ubiquitous, and it's growing rapidly as we continue to purchase, create, download and save content daily," said Mike Williams, vice president and general manager, HGST Branded Business. "Perfectly timed and aligned with Apple's new USB 3.0 offerings, our new USB 3.0 drives support our strong following of Mac and creative professionals who require reliable, high-performance, high-capacity storage."

All G-Technology drives are formatted for Mac® OS X systems right out of the box and are Time Machine® ready so backing up important documents, music, digital video and photos is quick and easy. A simple initialization is required to prepare the drives for use with Windows® systems.(3) 

Stay connected with G-Technology:

G-Technology drives are engineered specifically to meet the needs of the content creation and Apple Mac communities, including heavy users of multimedia content, Final Cut Pro® digital audio/video specialists and other pre/post production professionals. From portable drives to ultra-fast, multi-drive RAID storage, G-Technology's USB, FireWire, eSATA, SAS, and wireless storage solutions support virtually all levels of A/V production and can be found in post-production facilities worldwide.

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About HGST

HGST (formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies or Hitachi GST), a Western Digital company, develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world's most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, HGST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage. HGST was established in 2003 and maintains its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.hgst.com.

G-Technology external hard drives serve as an element of an overall backup strategy. It is recommended that users keep two or more copies of their most important files backed up or stored on separate devices or online services.

(1) Actual capacity will vary depending on operating environment and formatting.

(2) FireWire 400 is via a FireWire 800 to 400 cable.

(3) G-RAID and G-DRIVE solutions greater than 2TB are not supported by Windows XP or older 32-bit operating systems, which limit maximum volume size to 2.2TB. G-RAID and G-DRIVE solutions greater than 2TB are compatible with Mac OS X, Windows Vista or other 64-bit operating systems.

G-Technology is a trademark of HGST, a Western Digital company. Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE G-Technology