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Late last year Connected Data’s Transporter, a private peer-to-peer storage solution, was revealed to the world through a Kickstarter campaign. Shortly thereafter we got to see the thing in person, and today those who funded Transporter will be happy to know that the company has begun fulfilling those orders. Not only that, folks who didn’t go the Kickstarter route can pre-order a Transporter (or two) from Adorama and Datavision currently, an you’ll be able to get one from Amazon, B&H Photo, J&R or PC Mall in the very near future. Interested? Prices start at $199 should you wish to supply your own 2.5-inch HDD, but those who don’t want to go the BYOD route can get a 1TB drive thrown in for 100 bucks more, and a 2TB version can be had for $399.

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Having a portable hard drive these days is nothing new, and if you were to carry one around with you, it would most probably come in a rather large capacity. Well, there are a fair number of companies out there that do churn out their share of portable hard drives, with Western Digital being one of them, but today we will concentrate on what Toshiba has in store. The Toshiba Canvio Basics 3.0 range has just been expanded, where the highest end model is now capable of toting around up to 2TB of your favorite digital memories as well as any other files. Apart from that, Toshiba also has something a little bit extra special for the masses, which is a 2TB Canvio Special Edition portable hard drive.

It is said that the new 2TB solution will enable Toshiba’s customers who want basic functionality without having to sacrifice on storage capacity, and it must be said that majority of the basic users are “hard at work” whether they realize it or not, in growing an expansive digital library.

The most basic storage solution from Toshiba is the aptly named Canvio Basics 3.0, where as mentioned earlier, it now comes in a 2TB capacity. Just in case you need to get a rough idea on how much data does 2TB equal to, we are looking at roughly 571,000 digital photos, 526,000 digital music files or 1,640 downloaded digital movies. Best of all is, you need not have to go through the hassle of performing a software installation as the Toshiba Canvio Basics 3.0 follows the usual plug-and-play maneuver.

As its name suggests, the Canvio Basics 3.0 will offer support for USB 3.0 to deliver rapid transfer speeds, and will also play nice with USB 2.0 devices, where it will come equipped with a special internal shock sensor and ramp loading technology so that you can shrug off accidental drops.

As for the Canvio Special Edition Portable Hard Drive, it offers spacious storage capacity and a complete, indeed simple-to-use backup solution. Sporting NTI Backup Now EZ software that makes backing up systems a cinch, users can now choose to store their digital files to the cloud, or back up their files and folders to their Canvio portable hard drive.

The 2TB Toshiba Canvio Basics 3.0 portable hard drive will retail for $189.99 a pop, while the 2TB Toshiba Canvio Special Edition portable hard drive is a wee bit more expensive at $219.99.
[ Toshiba Canvio Basics 3.0 portable hard drive copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

2012 was a difficult year for hard drive makers after flooding in Thailand seriously impacted hard drive availability. With hard drives in short supply, prices went up which meant hard drives and SSDs were closer together in price giving a boost to SSD sales. It took several months for hard drive supplies return to pre-flooding levels, but the damage had been done to many in the hard drive industry.

The problem for the hard drive industry has been the fact that sales of computers have been on the decline. The hard drive industry is very closely tied to the fortunes of the PC industry so when the PC industry is down, typically the hard drive industry is down as well. One of the biggest hard drive makers in the industry is Western Digital and the company announced its Q2 financials this week.

Western Digital reported revenue of $3.8 billion on hard drive shipments totaling 59.2 million for the quarter. Net income for the quarter was $335 million, working out to $1.36 per share for fiscal Q2. Net income for the hard drive maker was $513 million working up to $2.09 per share. That is a significant improvement from the same quarter a year ago when the company reported revenues of $2 billion, with net income of $145 million working out to only $.61 per share. In the same quarter of last year, the company shipped only 28.5 million hard drives.

Western Digital notes that it generated $772 million in cash from operations during its December quarter and ended with total cash and cash equivalents $3.8 billion. The company also used $146 million to buy back 4.2 million shares of its common stock. It looks like things are turning around for Western Digital after a difficult 2012.

“We are pleased with our December quarter results, reflecting outstanding execution and value creation by our HGST and WD® teams,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer. “In an environment marked by continued macroeconomic uncertainty, soft PC demand and inventory rebalancing by our customers, we continue to manage our business by focusing on those variables that we control, allowing us to generate better than expected revenue and profitability and strong cash generation.”

[via Western Digital]

Western Digital posts fiscal Q2 revenue of $3.8 billion is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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When the original iUSBport made its debut at CES last year it was called the CloudFTP. Since then, it changed its name and today it gained some new relatives — the iUSBport mini, 2 and HD. For those who aren’t familiar with the technology, it’s battery-powered file server that connects USB storage devices and streams their content over WiFi, and it can serve as an external battery for those devices, too.

The iUSBport2 looks much the same as the CloudFTP, but streams data at a 50 percent faster rate (30mbps) and can connect to up to 12 devices at a time or send out five simultaneous streams of 1080p video. It also packs two USB ports, a microSDXC slot, and a larger 3300mAH battery than its predecessor. Plus, it charges via micro-USB and has a small LCD display. Its cousin, the larger iUSBport HD, has the same capabilities and LCD status screen as the 2, but it’s larger chassis comes with a 2.5-inch HDD with up to 2TB of storage. It also has an SDXC card slot, one USB 3.0 port, and a 5,200mAH rechargeable cell. Lastly, there’s the iUSBport mini, which looks like an overgrown flash drive. It has single USB port — for connecting powered external HDDs — and microSD slot, and can connect up to eight devices or stream three 720p videos simultaneously. All three iUSBports will be available in Q1 of this year, with the HD starting at $160, the 2 costing $150 and the mini running $70.

Continue reading Hyper debuts iUSBport mini, 2 and HD cloud storage and streaming devices (hands-on)

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A (very) early slip through the FCC’s database uncovered Seagate’s Wireless Plus drive several months ago, but here at CES, the company is finally ready to take the official wraps off of the aforesaid drive. It’s a portable 1TB affair, shipping with USB 3.0 support and offering up the ability to stream music and video to practically anything courtesy of its inbuilt wireless module and 10-hour battery. In our testing, the unit did everything it promised, but those with an iOS device will enjoy enhanced usability via the gratis app.

In essence, it’s a slimmed version of the GoFlex Satellite from 2011, enabling users to load up bookoodles of content and then create an ad hoc WiFi network in order to stream it to nearby tablets (iPad, Kindle Fire, etc.), phones, Smart TVs and items that support AirPlay / DLNA. While the cloud seems suitable enough for retrieving content, being on a flight to Dubai or roughing it in cellular black hole throws a kink in those plans. And that, friends, is what Seagate hopes will attract you to its newest $200 HDD. The full presser is embedded after the break, and those who are already sold can pick one up starting now at Amazon and Best Buy.

Continue reading Seagate’s $200 Wireless Plus 1TB hard drive streams content everywhere, includes 10-hour battery

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Source: Seagate