Western Digital Unveils New External HDD Collection

Western Digital is known for their cutting-edge digital storage
solutions so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they have
decided, yet again, to give their fairly extensive line of external hard
drives a makeover to keep up with the times. Their latest introduction
features five new external HDDs in a pretty wide variety of flavors.
According to Western Digital, the latest product portfolio move is an
effort to move storage solutions into a smaller, smarter, and safer
arena. To this end, every one of the new drives will come dressed up
with 256-bit hardware encryption, built-in automatic backup software,
and password protection.
The most important update for this latest release has to be the
security. Yeah they've made them smaller and now offer them in way more
colors than necessary – The new My Passport Essentual comes in
five colors – but the security is where it's at. In the past, most
of the WD drives relied strictly upon a software encryption program to
protect the data inside. This, apparently, was not secure enough. All of
the new drives come with 256-bit hardware encryption. This ultra-secure
feature will pretty much guarantee that no one will be able to get at
your info. And this includes WD, so don't even think about ever losing
your password…ever.
So what's included in this latest launch? For starters, you get three
new ultra-portable My Passport drives: the My Passport Essential, My
Passport Essential SE, and My Passport for Mac. Coming in behind the
tiny little Essential is the My Book series, of which there are now two
additional models, the My Book Essential and My Book for Mac. All of new
the HDDs have another thing in common. WD has removed the
USB-to-SATA-to-drive connections and made them all direct to USB 2.0.
Here are the details:
My Passport Essential – Available in 320, 500, and 640GB and are
NTFS File system optimized for PC. Five color options, Midnight Black,
Arctic White, Pacific Blue, Cool Silver and Real Red. USB 2.0
connectivity. MSRP $99-$149
My Passport Essential SE – Available in 750GB and 1TB and are NTFS
File system optimized for PC. Midnight Black color with USB 2.0
connectivity. MSRP $179-$249
My Passport for Mac – Available in 320GB and 500GB models and are
HFS+JournaledFile system optimized for Mac. Carcoal Matte color with
Apple Time Machine compatibility. USB 2.0 connectivity. MSRP $99-$139
The AC-powered, larger-capacity My Book Series has an illuminated
capacity gauge on the side, WD GreenPower eco-friendly drive, and quiet,
fanless operation. MSRP $99-$249
My Book Essential – Available in 500GB, 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2 TB
models and are NTFS File system optimized for PC. USB 2.0 connectivity.
MSRP $99-$249
My Book for Mac – Available in 1TB only. HFS+JournaledFile system
optimized for Mac with USB 2.0 connectivity. MSRP $139
All of the new Western Digital external hard drives listed above are
available for sale now. You can get more information on these and all of
the Western Digital products by going to www.wdc.com.