Hasta La Gadget!

How to get a hefty new hard drive for your Mac without making your other gadgets jealous? Iomega is offering up a solution with the fairly elegant Mac Companion Hard Drive, a two or three terabyte external drive designed with Apple computers in mind that adds a high-powered charging port for your peripherals. The drive also packs additional USB and FireWire ports (no Thunderbolt, guys?), plus a set of four LEDs, which let you know how full it is with a glance. The drives are available via Apple at $195 and $295, for 2TB and 3TB, respectively.

Continue reading Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive offers 3TB of storage and a filling station for your iPad

Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive offers 3TB of storage and a filling station for your iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our parents always taught us that it’s what’s on the inside that counts — and that’s why we don’t ever take them hard drive shopping with us. Sure these Store ‘n’ Go drives are pretty standard 500GB HDDs, but hey, they come in Caribbean blue and hot pink, so they should fit in nicely with that neon fanny pack we just picked up to haul around our computer peripherals. The drives sport USB 3.0 and come loaded with Nero BackItUp software. You can pick them up for $100 from Verbatim’s site — they shouldn’t be too hard to spot. Decidedly less colorful press information after the break.

Continue reading Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go USB 3.0 hard drives add color to your otherwise drab storage needs

Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go USB 3.0 hard drives add color to your otherwise drab storage needs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you head to Apple’s online store to configure your MacBook Air, you’ll find options to increase processor speed or SSD capacity — depending on the model you select, of course. There’s no mention of flash drive speed, however, though it’s now clear that not all SSDs are created equal at Apple — not only when it comes to capacity, but also performance. Jonathan over at TLD discovered a fairly significant discrepancy when benchmarking both MacBook Air models over the weekend. The 128GB Samsung SSD in his 11-inch Air was able to achieve 246 MB/s write and 264 MB/s read speeds. When he switched to the 13-inch model, however, speeds dropped to 156 MB/s and 208 MB/s, respectively, using that notebook’s 128GB Toshiba SSD. We compared speeds on two generations of 13-inch models, and confirmed Jonathan’s findings. During our tests, the 256GB Samsung drive in our older model achieved 214 MB/s write and 251 MB/s read speeds, while the 128GB Toshiba drive in the new MacBook Air scored 184 MB/s and 203 MB/s during write and read tests, respectively. Overall, you’re not likely to notice a significant difference during normal usage, though it’s certainly an interesting find, nonetheless.

[Thanks, Larry]

Continue reading PSA: Apple using slower SSDs in some MacBook Air models (video)

PSA: Apple using slower SSDs in some MacBook Air models (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you do the day after an arsenal of new Apple products are announced? Why, take them apart as soon as you can get your hands on them, of course! Wouldn’t ya know it, iFixit is at it again — this time, tearing down the new Mac mini. At first glance, the only noticeable difference is the inclusion of the powerful Thunderbolt port. Once under the hood, though, a second hard drive port was spotted, along with just enough space for a second storage device. Perhaps the only thing standing the way of a dual HDD welding compact desktop is your ability to secure another SATA cable. If you want to give it a shot, the updated mini scored a solid eight out of ten in the repairability category as the machine had no proprietary screws or glue. Moreover, easy access makes a DIY RAM upgrade a piece of cake, especially when you’re already in there adding that extra disk. So if you’re looking to get your teardown feet wet, swan dive right in.

Update: Sure, you can get dual HDDs straight from the Apple store, but you’ll pay dearly for it. As in, the base Mac mini will run you $1550 — and that’s for the only option: a 750 GB ATA and a 256 GB SSD. The other option is to splurge for the Lion Server model, where dual 500 GB or dual 750 GB options are available. Still, going this route will set you back at least $1000. Since these bad boys are so easy to work on, you’d put far less strain on your wallet by going the DIY route.

New Mac mini gets iFixit teardown treatment, leaves space for 2nd hard drive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a knack for all things rugged, rubberized and orange? Then you’re undoubtedly familiar with LaCie’s robust line of drives, which the firm’s been peddling to abusive storage lovers since 2008. Joining the family today are 500GB, 1TB, and (next month) 1.5TB miniaturized versions of Neil Poulton‘s shock, drop, and rain-resistant baby. They also tote USB 3.0, making them perfect candidates for speedy transfers while you’re being hunted by some rare and soon-to-be extinct Amazonian jungle cat. Sound like your kind of shindig? PR and a video await you after the break.

Continue reading LaCie’s Rugged Mini is rugged, also mini (video)

LaCie’s Rugged Mini is rugged, also mini (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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