Western Digital have outed a new portable hard-drive, the My Passport Studio, and like the My Book Studio before it they’ve slapped on a super-frugal E Ink panel to show drive status details.  Available in 320GB, 500GB and 640GB capacities, the My Passport Studio has both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connections and comes ready formatted for use with a Mac.

They’re also compatible with Time Machine, Apple’s backup system, and WD SmartWare, Western Digital’s own backup system.  That allows for automatic and continuous backup programs, complete with 256-bit hardware encryption for data security.

Since the display uses E-Ink it’s persistently visible despite the HDD having no internal battery; it’s also user-customizable, and as well as showing capacity status it can show a drive label.  The Western Digital My Passport Studio is available now, priced at $149.99 for the 320GB model, $179.99 for the 500GB and $199.99 for the 640GB.

Press Release:

WD® INTRODUCES NEW MY PASSPORT™ STUDIO™ PORTABLE DRIVES, DELIVERING SUPER-FAST, GO-ANYWHERE PERFORMANCE FOR MAC® COMPUTERS
E-Label Smart Display Helps Creative Professionals Organize Their Storage

LAKE FOREST, Calif.- Mar. 1, 2010 – WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world’s leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new My Passport™ Studio™ portable drives featuring the super-fast FireWire® 800 interface and a customizable e-label that’s always visible, even when the drive is unplugged. Sporting a sleek and stylish design, the new high-performance My Passport Studio drives are formatted for Mac® computers, compatible with Apple® TimeMachine® software, and feature automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare™ software, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers and shopwd.com, the new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB.

WD’s My Passport Studio drives are designed for creative professionals and Mac enthusiasts. Their production and use of many large files require the fast transfers from computer to My Passport Studio drives that FireWire 800 provides. Professionals such as photographers also benefit from the e-labeling system to effectively organize their work.

The e-label smart display on the front of the My Passport drives can be changed as often as desired using the included WD SmartWare software. Users can easily create a label to personalize their drive or remind themselves of its contents. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains clearly visible, even when the drive is unplugged.

According to research firm Parks Associates, the average U.S. broadband household currently has over 120 GB of digital media and files which is projected to grow to over 1 TB of data by 2013.

“Many of our customers store their content on multiple external drives, making it difficult to know what content is on each drive,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing of WD’s Branded Products group. “The e-label smart display is an elegant and practical solution for organizing and keeping track of one’s digital life and work. WD SmartWare software makes it easy for users to protect their valuable content with automatic and continuous backup and encryption.”

The new My Passport Studio is fully compatible with Apple TimeMachine software for easy backup of your most important files. It also offers the option of the simple and intuitive WD SmartWare software, with automatic continuous backup and real-time visual interface, giving users a reassuring view of their backup as it happens. After the first backup, users’ files are backed up automatically every time they change or add a file.

My Passport Studio drives also feature user-selected password protection combined with 256-bit hardware-based encryption, which scrambles files before they are stored. Typically found only on much more expensive drive systems, the encryption acts as a virtual padlock to keep users’ data safe.

Price and Availability
The new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB and have a 3-year limited warranty. My Passport Studio ultra-portable drives are available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. MSRP for the My Passport Studio drives ranges from $149.99 USD to $199.99 USD depending on capacity.

My Passport Studio
The new WD My Passport Studio ultra-portable drives feature:
Smart display – a customizable e-label that reminds users of what is stored on the drive and provides available capacity and security status at a glance even when the drive is unplugged;
FireWire 800 – users can save and access data at top speeds with the high-performance FireWire 800 interface;
Plug-and-play, designed for use with Mac computers and compatibility with Apple TimeMachine software;
WD SmartWare software that visually presents consumers’ data in a software control center;
256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for peace of mind knowing that data is protected from unauthorized access;
USB 2.0 interface – for convenience and compatibility among multiple computers;
Planet-friendly packaging derived from recycled materials to minimize waste;
HFS+ Journaled formatting and are compatible with Mac OS X Tiger®, Leopard® and Snow Leopard®;
3-year limited warranty.

WD SmartWare Software
WD SmartWare software features:
Visual backup displays that show content in categories and shows the progress of backup;
Automatic, continuous data backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file;
Retrieve valuable data to its original location whether it’s lost data or the file has been overwritten; and,
Customizable data backup that allows users to set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry’s pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.

WD was founded in 1970. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

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