Seagate will be showcasing new and innovative storage solutions at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including the Seagate Backup Plus FAST/Slim, 500GB of Storage for Tablets, and the expanded availability for Seagate's Rescue Data Protection Plan.
Seagate will be showcasing new and innovative storage solutions at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including the Seagate Backup Plus FAST/Slim, 500GB of storage for tablets, and the expanded availability for Seagate's Rescue Data Protection Plan.
Seagate Backup Plus FAST/Slim
The Seagate Backup Plus FAST is their its lightning-fast 4TB portable hard drive, which is the first of its kind deliver up to twice the capacity and speed of existing external portable hard drives. With this performance (220MB/s) and capacity boost, it is ideal for field photographers, filmmakers and others that must quickly backup large files.
Also announced is the second generation of its sleek external storage lineup, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim. With a svelte compact design and USB 3.0 interface, the Backup Plus Slim drive is the ideal storage solution to aggregate and back up valued photos, videos and other files despite being spread across numerous devices, social networks and personal computers.
Seagate Backup Plus' metal top-case is a quality, sturdy design and is resistant to scratches and fingerprints. Additionally, it does not need an external power supply and is compact enough to fit easily in a camera bag or backpack while delivering the same or higher capacity of today’s desktop drives. The drive is configured as RAID 0, which stripes the data across both drives increasing the volume capacity and transfer speed.
All new Backup Plus drives include an updated version of Seagate’s Dashboard software as well as a mobile backup app to protect content on smart phones and tablets. The Seagate Dashboard software provides users with an simple one-click backup solution; however, it can also be set as a scheduled backup up when needed. The Dashboard software can also back up Facebook and Flickr albums. Additionally, the Save and Share features download and upload content from these social network sites.
The free Seagate Mobile Backup app backs up pictures and videos to a drive or a cloud service using a WiFi connection within a network, or through Dropbox, Google Drive or other cloud service while on the road.
Pricing and Availability
Seagate Backup Plus drives are currently available at Amazon and Seagate.com by capacity. The Backup Plus Slim portable: 500GB Slim – $99.99, 1TB Slim – $119.99 MSRP, 2TB Slim – $179.99 and the 4TB Fast – $299.99. The high-capacity Seagate Backup Plus desktop 3.5-inch is available in 2TB – $129.99, 3TB – $159.99 4TB – $229.99.
500GB of Storage for Tablets
Seagate has also announced that its Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD will be used in the latest generation of Haier Computer’s 13-inch Tablet/PC, the Sailing P13A. Haier Computer has also selected Seagate hard disk drives to be standard in all of its PC products.
When integrated into a tablet the Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD, it provides up to 7x the storage capacity of a traditional 64GB tablet. Additionally, it features up to 500GB of storage, which is the highest capacity available in a small, ultra-thin form factor.
The Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD also integrates Seagate’s own Zero Gravity Sensor, providing better shock management. Incorporated power modes support the drive in sleep, standby, and idle, resulting in consumption as low as 0.14W and long battery life. Additionally, its 2.5-inch Ultra Mobile HDD is just 5mm thin while weighing only 3.3oz , and its slim, rugged design allows it to be utilized in new emerging applications such as convertible and detachable storage.
Seagate is also partnering with Lenovo to deliver the Yoga 2, which is a new, affordable laptop hybrid tablet powered by the Seagate’s 5mmLaptop Ultrathin HDD. Both companies will demonstrate the Yoga 2 Ultrabook at CES 2014.
The Laptop Ultrathin HDD provides up 500GB of storage capacity at a fraction of the cost while delivering similar power, performance and reliability as SSDs. The 500GB HDD delivers the highest-capacity available in a small, ultra-thin form factor while supporting over 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video and movies.
Expanded Availability for Seagate Rescue Data Protection Plan
Also announced at CES is the expanded availability of the industry’s first data protection service plan, Seagate Rescue, to include Staples in the United States and with NCIX and Canada Computer in Canada. The plan now also covers hard drives and storage that may be included in a laptop or desktop computer system, while delivering comprehensive data protection on a range of storage options from multiple brands. It’s also the only data recovery service offered by the people who make storage technology.
The extended warranties that come with a new system usually only cover the hardware and not the files that have been saved to or edited on a device. The cost of recovering data from a damaged or corrupted drive can often cost thousands of dollars, as the process involves highly skilled technicians who must manually disassemble a drive and recover the data bit by bit. By purchasing protection in advance of an incident, it keeps costs low for consumers as well as providing peace of mind that their files can live beyond the life of their computer system.
Pricing and availability
The Seagate Rescue service is now available. Staples launched the Seagate Rescue plan in 1,537 stores in the U.S. with the following prices: laptop and desktop computers starting at $49.99 USD for a two-year plan; external drives starting at $29.99 USD for a two-year plan. For the Canadian retailer, NCIX has made the service available this quarter with the following prices: $69.99 CDN two-year rescue plan for both laptop and desktop personal computers; the three-year plan for computers is $89.99 CDN. The external storage protection plan has an MSRP of $39.99 CDN for two years and $49.99 CDN for three years. Canada Computer made Seagate's Rescue service available last month with the same pricing.
UPDATE 3/9/14 – Seagate Backup Plus Fast Review Posted
