Tuesday, 20 February 2007

WD’s Latest My Book Offers eSATA, USB Connectivity

Western Digital has rolled out its new My Book Premium ES Edition external hard drive supports external Serial-ATA (eSATA) and Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0.

eSATA is a new technology that transfers data between the external device and the computer at higher rates than ever before, and USB 2.0 is one of the most common method of connecting external devices to personal computers, the company said.

eSATA uses the same interface technology that is becoming the standard inside PCs, Western Digital said. It is designed to connect peripherals such as external hard drives with the same data transfer speed as internal components, the company said. Use of eSATA by the computing and consumer electronics industries is increasing with the expectation that its superior performance will drive it to be the next standard interconnect for external devices, offering an obsolescence prevention plan for consumers, Western Digital added.

My Book Premium ES Edition is both PC and Mac compatible, and includes EMC Corp.’s Retrospect Express HD 2.0 backup software, which provides users the tools needed to back up and restore a single file or an entire system in a few simple steps, Western Digital said.

My Book Premium ES is already available at select retail stores and online retailers at an estimated price of USD 179 for 320 GB (gigabytes) capacity and USD 229 for 500 GB capacity, Western Digital said.