14 DAY TRIAL // Western Digital continues to expand its hard disk drive line, this time having launched a set of models that are much more specialized than its usual flavor.
The beauty of network-attached storage devices is that they can house and manage any hard drive, so long as the interface is compatible.
Since mSATA and SATA II or SATA III are the ones commonly employed, that means that most desktop PC units work with them just fine.
Western Digital decided this wasn't enough anymore, so it launched the Red NAS HDD line, specifically made for SOHO NAS devices.
"The network attached entry level storage market is poised to grow at an 86.2 percent 2011-2016 CAGR," according to John Rydning, IDC's research vice president for hard disk drives.
"WD's new WD Red hard disk drives offer a unique combination of product features and customer support for users seeking to expand the capacity of their entry-level network attached storage solutions."
WD's Red line is composed of HDDs of 1 TB, 2 TB and 3TB capacities. They boast the 3.5-inch form factor and NASware technology, for higher reliability and system performance.
The press release goes on to mention the 3D Active Balance Plus enhanced balance control technology, which drastically improves those same two attributes.
WD Red hard drives should already be up for sale, at $109 to $139 (€88.72 to €113, according to exchange rates). Find more information here.
"The My Book Live family has received strong reception from consumers and the WD Red drive offers attributes ideal for small NAS systems," said Scott Vouri, vice president and general manager of WD's connected home solutions group. "My Book Live customers will benefit from WD Red's NASware features in the future."
In addition to Red, WD offers WD Blue (solid performance and reliability for regular computing tasks), WD Green (eco-friendly, cool and quiet) and WD Black (highest performance per watt level). The color coding is nicknamed “Power of Choice.”