14 DAY TRIAL // Seagate, a world leader in storage solutions, announced today new additions to its award-winning FreeAgent external hard drives series. The Fall 2008 lineup of the FreeAgent family includes devices for desktop and mobile machines, for both Mac and Windows operated PCs, enhancing the backup, sharing and protection of valuable digital content like photos, videos and music.
The first device from the new series is the FreeAgent Go portable storage solution, today's slimmest external hard drive. It includes advanced shock and vibration protection, yet it is small enough to fit into one's pocket. The new FreeAgent Go offers a docking option for the first time in the industry. It can easily be plugged in, eliminating the hassle of handling cables and USB ports. The storage space it offers rises to 500GB, which allows users to carry entire libraries of movies, pictures and music. Seagate's FreeAgent Go provides both capacity and portability, packed together in a seamless on-the-go solution.
“With the amount of content being created and consumed today, the average broadband household will soon need close to a terabyte of storage to account for their personal media collections on PCs, portable devices, and DVRs,” said Jane Shields, research analyst, Parks Associates. “With Seagate’s coupling of high-capacity, reliable and easy-to-use solutions with attractive designs, the company is helping more people enjoy the benefits that come with backup and sharing of their digital media collections.”
“The growth of the 2.5-inch form factor external hard disk drive market has been very strong - almost doubling in 2Q08 compared with 2Q07,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. “This growth is much higher than the overall market and driven by the products’ convenient size and connectivity, as well as their large storage capacity and affordability.”
The FreeAgent Go desktop docking station comes in a separate package, and it is offered along with a black leatherette carrying case which offers both style and protection from bumps or scratches. The drive is available in a wide range of colors, including silver, black, red, and blue. The shipping package also includes a flexible and thin USB 2.0 travel cable.
The FreeAgent series was designed for both Windows and Mac users
The new lineup also includes the FreeAgent Desk drive and FreeAgent XTreme drive, two 3.5-inch high-capacity desktop devices which can provide up to 1.5 Terabytes of storage. The drives feature a sleek and modern design paired with the flexibility to either sit horizontally or stand vertically for the maximization of workspace. The FreeAgent Desk drive is a high-capacity solution with a USB 2.0 interface. The black, brushed aluminum high-capacity FreeAgent XTreme storage solution features eSATA interface, USB 2.0 connectivity, as well as FireWire 400.
“The first FreeAgent storage solution offering introduced in 2007 unquestionably made a mark for Seagate in the consumer space, demonstrating that hard drives can be designed to provide a stylish complement to a computing environment,” said Pat King, senior vice president of Seagate’s Consumer Solutions Division. "This second-generation of FreeAgent storage solutions takes the extra step of providing easy-to-use technology in a consumer-friendly package.”
The new Seagate offerings are compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP Operating Systems and feature a Seagate Manager software, designed for automatic back-ups and multi-computer synchronization. The security features of the Windows compatible drives include a software-based AES-256bit encryption and the Seagate DrivePass password protection for drive access. Environmentally smart utilities included in the drives turn them into sleeping mode if idle for more than 15 minutes, allowing for power savings as well. Seagate's FreeAgent hard drives also come with Energy Star 5 rated AC adapters and 100% recyclable materials.
The FreeAgent Go for Mac and FreeAgent Desk for Mac are the company's new storage offerings for the Mac community. They are shipped formatted for use with Mac OS X and are Time Machine ready with FireWire800/400 or USB 2.0 connectivity. As Mac users have different needs and performance requirements, Seagate's FreeAgent external hard drive for Mac comes to fulfill them.
The company offers a five-year limited warranty for the FreeAgent storage solutions. The FreeAgent Go Drive is available at a MSRP of $119.99 for 250GB, $149.99 for 320GB and $239.99 for 500GB. The FreeAgent Dock and Case have a MSRP of $29.99. FreeAgent Desk Drive is available this month at a MSRP of $129.99 for 500GB, $149.99 for 640GB, $229.99 for 1TB and $279.99 for 1.5TB (available in October 2008). These are available in US, Europe and Asia Pacific. The FreeAgent XTreme is available worldwide for a MSRP of $159.99 for 500GB, $179.99 for 640GB, $259.99 for 1TB and $299.99 for 1.5TB (available in October 2008).
The new FreeAgent solutions for Mac are also available this month. The FreeAgent Go for Mac comes with a MSRP of $159.99 for 250GB and $189.99 for 320GB, while the FreeAgent Desk for Mac features a MSRP of $169.99 for 500GB, $269.99 for 1TB and $349.99 for 1.5TB (available in October 2008).
