Seagate, Western Digital to launch new high-capacity portable drives

Both Western Digital and Seagate are set to launch the latest entries in their portable hard drive ranges, bringing consumers more storage than ever before.

As more and more high resolution images and videos are being used by consumers, the demand for storage has grown rapidly in recent years.

As a result, Western Digital will launch the latest hard drive in its My Passport Ultra range, giving consumers USB 3.0 interface and 2TB of storage space. Seagate’s latest release in its Seven range will be developed in conjunction with its internal Samsung HDD department and offer 4TB of storage.

The focus of both companies on portability is likely to stem from the fact that more and more users are relying on their smartphones and tablets to consumer data. This demand for increased mobility has meant that hard drives must also be as compact as possible. Western Digital’s My Passport Ultra measures just 11 x 8.15 x 1.27 cm and weighs just 153 grams. Seagate’s Samsung hard drives will be similarly portable, fitting inside a 2.5-inch case.

"Previously only attainable in desktop or bulky multi-drive internal designs, we can now achieve a 4TB capacity in a compact drive thanks to the latest Samsung HDD technology", said Dave Klenske, director of product line management at Samsung HDD. "By going to a single drive solution, we can power the drive through just a USB connection while fitting it into a case that is only a 1/10 of an inch thicker than our 2TB drive. They are the perfect lightweight drives for notebook computer owners who need to access media collections too large to fit on traditional internal storage options".

It has not yet been confirmed when either of the ultra-portable offerings will be available commercially, but Western Digital’s 3TB drive is expected to launch in July, while the new Seagate devices are likely to launch later this month.

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