We’re big fans of the Seagate GoFlex series of hard drives and, as of this evening, Seagate has pushed the size limit to an impressive 4TB on a single physical disk.
Currently the 4TB disk is only available in the form factor to the right for a significant $249 price tag. Obviously, the added density drives will filter down into other form factors including bare drives and RAID arrays in the coming weeks and months.
Seagate’ GoFlex enclosure got a facelift as well but alas, no Thunderbolt action for a few more months according to the press release.
As for the USB Desktop version pictured, we’re looking to get our hands on one for a review as soon as possible. It is available for pre-order now for $229 at Amazon.
Earlier today, Wacom introduced its Inkling digital sketch pen for those who want to simultaneously draw on paper and on the computer.
The Inkling digital sketch pen captures a digital likeness of your work while you sketch with its ballpoint tip on any sketchbook or standard piece of paper. Designed for rough concepting and creative brainstorming, Inkling is ideal for the front end of the creative process. Later, refine your work on your computer using an Intuos4 tablet or Cintiq interactive pen display.
In addition to capturing your sketch, stroke by stroke, Inkling allows you to create layers in digital files while you sketch on paper. Digital files are transferred to your computer using the Inkling Sketch Manager software, and later, exported to applications such as Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator®. Files can also be opened with the included Inkling Sketch Manager software to edit, delete, add layers or change file formats.
If you aren’t interested in the $1000 Apple Thunderbolt display but still want to add some speedy data transfer to your new MacBook Air, Sonnet has a pretty good solution. Shipping in October, Sonnet’s Echo ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter
[ECHO-E34] will set you back $150 but give you access via ExpressCard to the faster data transfers including eSATA, USB 3, Firewire 800, Gig Ethernet or even speedier access to SDXC and CF cards.
There will be more of these “Thunderbolt docks” coming before the holidays.
So I imagine there is a marketing meeting at the Sony Bravia offices a few months ago where they are brainstorming new ways to market this 46″ TV.
Someone steps up and says Apple is about to release a new OS and all of their boxes are going to have this ‘Galaxy Swirl’ thing on the cover. Perhaps we can confuse a few people into thinking this is Apple/type/quality products.
Sure, its a different angle and view, but it is pretty clear what the intention was. While this is probably legal and will certainly fool a certain part of the population, those who follow tech have to feel a little sorry for the once-great Sony, which is rapidly turning into an also-ran knock-off artist.
Remember the iHub, a four-port USB port that set itself apart with the cool-looking, glowing Apple logo – until Cupertino outlawed them? Apparently someone in China was inspired enough with the iHub and walked away concluding this must be the way to roll with everything. Check out a Chinese SD card reader in the below clip. We actually love its miniaturized all-white design with round corners and the advert certainly looks business, if we disregard the too obvious focus on the many close-ups of the glowing Apple logo. The iSD Card Reader is interesting because it lets the 11-inch MacBook Air owners accept SD and SDHC memory cards via USB as the notebook lacks an SD card slot. It can be yours for $9.90 over at the K.O. Gadget store. And while you’re there, make sure to check out their obnoxious white iPhone 4 air cooler. And what’s with the “Apple and 7 Pioneers” article (mark 00:13)
MacMall via eBay Daily Deal offers the factory-refurbished Western Digital Elements 3TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive, model no. WDBAAU0030HBK-NESN, for $99.99 with free shipping. That’s $0.03/GB, $20 below our mention of a new unit from three days ago, and the lowest total price we’ve seen for this drive. (It’s $18 below the current price low for a new unit.) This drive uses GreenPower technology to reduce power consumption by up to 30%.
A Western Digital warranty applies; however, MacMall does not mention the length of this warranty on the product page.
Beach Camera via eBay Daily Deal offers the Toshiba Canvio 3.0 Plus 750GB USB 2.0 Portable 2.5″ External Hard Drive, model no. E05A075PBU2XK, for $57.99. With free shipping, that’s $0.08/GB, $7 under our December mention, and the best total price we’ve seen for any 750GB portable drive. (It’s a current price low by $17.) It runs at 5400 rpm and features an 8MB cache. Deal ends September 1 at 3:25 pm ET. Expand Expanding Close
The old Cinema Display (left) had three USB ports on the back and required a cable with separate power, USB and Mini DisplayPort connections. The new Thunderbolt display (right) adds Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt, all fed to a computer via a single Thunderbolt cable (in addition to three USB ports, built-in microphone and FaceTime HD camera).
We take it you’re still digesting the new hardware Apple has released this morning. Before you grab that credit card, here are some observations you may wanna take into consideration.
MacBook Airs
• Built-in FaceTime camera has not been upgraded to high-definition. As a result, you are not able to FaceTime in HD with people who use the latest iMacs or MacBook Pros, which sport a FaceTime HD camera
•Based on the description from Apple “And because we place the flash chips directly on the logic board, they take up much less space — about 90 percent less, in fact.” , it sounds like the SSD is probably no longer upgradable via OWC and others (thanks commenter)
• Just as previous, RAM is soldered directly on the motherboard so configure your machine carefully because you won’t be able to upgrade RAM yourself later
• Just like with the previous generation, the 11.6-incher lacks an SD card slot found on the 13-inch model
• Last year’s models got a significant discount today
• New Airs sport Bluetooth 4.0 compatibility versus Bluetooth 3.0 in the previous generation, which gives you low-energy wireless Bluetooth transfer within a short range of up to 50 meters, per this Wikipedia article
• New MacBook Airs can use Firewire and Gig Ethernet! If you hook up your new MacBook Air to that latest Apple Thunderbolt Display, you will enjoy the ultimate simplicity because a single Thunderbolt cable is all you need to charge your notebook and transfer data from your monitor’s Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800, an additional Thunderbolt port, three USB ports, a FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 stereo sound and a built-in microphone. Perhaps Apple will release a Thunderbolt to GigE, Firewire, etc. standalone adapter.
• On the Thunderbolt Displays, the old MagSafe would have been a better match, because the new one has to be bent around (see the image below) for MacBook Pros
• Additionally, On MacBook Airs, the Thunderbolt port and MagSafe are on opposite sides of the keyboard meaning that cable is going to Y-Out behind the computer.
The new Thunderbolt Display comes with a new MagSafe adapter, which has to be bent around the computer rather than going straight on, like the old MafSafe adapter could have
There’s not much to say about the new Western Digital My Book Studio 3TB hard drive. It looks quite nice and would go nicely with a Mac Pro or any aluminum Mac. The new MyBook Studio, unlike the previous My Book LX models, doesn’t have the LED display which showed free space and other nice specs without the need to dig it up from the connected computer. It does, however, have a quiet, cool running green hard drive with a fan-less enclosure. But the $150/$200/$250 for 1TB/2TB/3TB models, it isn’t going to hit 9to5toys.com anytime soon.
In fact, the same 3TB Western Digital Internal Green Drive resides in a USB-only package for only $130. Because this is a green drive, the extra speed that Firewire provides isn’t as noticeable as with a high performance drive. See speed tests and more images below. Expand Expanding Close
Amazon offers the four star-rated Western Digital Elements 2.5 TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $99.99 (<$.04/GB). This drive features reliable WD GreenPower Technology, which claims to reduce energy consumption by 30% and has a portable case which also adds protection.
The Post PC age is upon us and we’ve now got new iOS devices in all shapes and sizes in our homes. But getting and sharing media to all of these many devices starts to become a chore, especially when on the go. One solution is moving media into an Internet-connected NAS or the (i)Cloud.
Unfortunately, pulling that data down to your iDevice when you are on the go, especially high quality video, can be an expensive burden on your wireless data plan. Just a few movies can put you over your monthly data limit. And that’s where you have a speedy Internet connection that can handle a full screen movie. And what do you do when there is no signal (camping?) at all?
Apple last week bumped up its Time Capsule wireless backup appliance to 2TB and 3TB models, priced the same $299 and $499, respectively. In addition, Apple appears to be now using consumer public drives from Western Digital (bumped up from Hitachi Deskstar drives). That, plus the $499 price point puts the new 3TB Time Capsule pretty much out of reach on price-conscious buyers. In fact, you’re better off, as we explained, hooking up an external USB drive to your 1TB Time Capsule.
But if you hate the clutter and yearn for a sealed, elegant solution with only one plug, you needn’t pony up $200 extra for a 3TB Time Capsule: It would seem that the wireless gizmo accepts 3TB internal drives, if properly partitioned. According to a HardMacreader:
I personally installed a 3 TB WD Caviar Green 3To (by chance!), when it came out 5 months ago, in a 1 TB Time Capsule that I bought around that time as well. I formatted it with Airport Utility to have the 3 partitions that are necessary for Time Machine and it was immediately recognized as a 3 TB disk. I’ve been using it ever since without any problem.
We know Apple charges a premium on storage. That’s why many people buy RAM and HDD/SSD storage for their Macs from third party retailers, saving lots of money. With iOS devices, however, Apple is able to keep out third party upgrades because the devices are sealed shut. That’s why a device with 16GB costs $100 less than a device with 32GB of RAM, which in turn costs $100 less than a device with 64GB of flash storage. Apple buys Flash for less than anyone else on earth but mere mortals can get storage for a fraction of what Apple charges.
So here’s this Time Capsule thing.
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$299 for 2TB. To upgrade to a 3TB drive, you’ll need $200 more. How absurd is this? The difference between a 2TB and 3TB drive is like $40.
Not only is this beyond the call of the “Mac Tax” but it is crazy easy to get around. For an extra $150 (Still $50 less than the 3TB model) you can buy a perfectly good 3TB USB Seagate or Western Digital hard drive from Amazon. Then just plug it into the back of the 2TB model and you have 5TB of addressable space. You’ve been able to use USB drives since 2008 as Time Machine backups or Network Attached Storage.
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Of course it is nice to have the drive in a convenient little package with only one plug, but for $200, only getting an extra TB seems a little absurd. Expand Expanding Close
TUAWnotes that inside the USB device profiles of iOS 5 are profiles for two never before seen devices called “iPad3,1” and “iPad3,2.” Obviosuly Apple is going to be making more iPads in the future and devices often show up in these profiles many months before they are delivered. However, there was some speculation earlier this year that an enhanced iPad 2 or iPad 3 with a Retina display would be released in time for the holidays.
Most analysts currently estimate that the next version of the iPad will hit at the beginning of next year so.
Interestingly, TUAW notes that there are no new iPod touches listed. Touches usually are released in the Fall, but with no new iPhone hardware announced or released at WWDC, Apple’s traditional hardware release schedule has been put in question. Expand Expanding Close
We’ve spent the past few weeks using the Seagate GoFlex Slim 320GB portable hard drive and have come away with some mixed feelings on the drive. On one hand, it is obviously the thinnest external hard drive in the market and it is plenty fast with its internal 7200 RPM internal drive. In fact, it is about the same depth as an iPhone 4.
We’ve been hoping Light Peak might make an appearance in new Macs since the technology first made an appearance working with a lab demo Mac Pro in 2009. We’ve been excited for the super-fast and super-flexible connectivity standard ever since — now it seems there’s a way to go before its ready to hit the market, according to Intel.
Update, we’ve been told (not so nicely) to remove those mold drawings because they are the property of someone else. We’ve complied.
Some purported iPad 2 cases hit the web over the last few weeks as well as some unconfirmed reports claiming the iPad 2 will gain an iPod-touch inspired design with tapered edges. These cases appear to show a new slot on the bottom for an enhanced speaker system as well as a hole for a back camera. These case designs are still of course unconfirmed to be legitimate but 9to5mac has managed to get a hold of some iPad 2 case mold drawings from an Asian case supplier.
As you can see in these drawings (above, below, and after the break) the edges are clearly tapered and the iPad 2’s back is slightly contoured like the current iPad and past iPod touch models. These drawings also add confirmation to the back camera reports and our sources say the camera hole size is close to the size of the iPhone 4’s (which may or may not indicate a similar shooter).
Some new information we have discovered through these drawings is a brand new port opening on the left side of the device. We’re not sure what this opening is for but it is there on these latest iPad 2 design schematics. On the drawings there appears to be an SD card going into the port but that could just be a piece of the case mold machine. The latest rumors point to either a mini USB or a full USB port being present on the iPad 2 so it very well could be one or a combination of the three ports.
Well, they have to be doing something over at HP with that $1B acquisition. According to FoxNews, they are going to announce a (gasp) tablet…
HP will introduce three models of the PalmPad at CES, with minor hardware differences distinguishing them. All three will run a new iteration of the WebOS operating system, version 2.5.1; they’re collectively a spin-off of the never-released HP Slate. A fourth version won’t be shown off at CES, I’m told, but it will be custom made for university students to prove how versatile the machines can be.The consumer version of the PalmPad will run on Sprint’s fast 4G network, but otherwise it has hardware specs nearly identical to Apple’s iPad. There are minor differences, of course: It has a mini HDMI port, for example, while the iPad requires a special dongle for video output. And there are front- and rear-facing cameras (1.3 megapixel and 3 megapixel, respectively), both with LED flashes.The PalmPad is slightly thinner than the iPad with rounded edges closer to the Amazon Kindle. At 1.25 lbs, the PalmPad also sports a USB 3.0 port and a “multi-switch” just like the one on the Palm Pre.
I can’t wait to take advantage of the front facing flash camera. Expand Expanding Close
These iPad adapters are starting to look like mini docking stations. Earlier this week, we showed you a simple $25 3-in-1 adapter that simply pales next to this latest adapter which has USB, mini USB, SD, MicroSD, and a AV-Out port with an included RCA-jack adapter (below). You simply need to buy at least 50 of them an arrange for shipping from China. Again via MICGadget. Expand Expanding Close
If you are the adventurous type and want 4G wireless (and it is available in your place of residence), you now have a few more options, thanks to your friendly neighborhood hackerz.
If 4G WiMAX from Sprint is what your are after, you can pick up the Clear iSpot for $100 and connect all of your (up to 8 ) iOS devices to it for $25/month (deal!). However a simple hack allows you to take it a bit further and connect those bandwidth-heavy Macs (and PCs and Androids and Linux if you are into that sort of thing) to your $25/month iSpot. The hack releases the MAC address restrictions which ironically include the latest batch of iPads…yes that’s right, it will only work as intended if hacked. Be warned however that Sprint could take it all away with an over the air update to their little iSpot…unless you are savvy enough to change your Mac MAC address.
If, for whatever reason, you were after Verizon’s USB 4G Wireless service on your Macs, you are officially out of luck. However, a hack developed within the gardens of Howard Forums allows one of the two USB Modems (Pantech) to work on the Mac. Verizon is said to be working on an official Mac version of the drivers for both modems so this would just be a holdover until the better drivers/setup come along.
Now, is anyone thinking about replacing their Broadband connection with 4G Wireless? Expand Expanding Close
We’re big fans of the Seagate GoFlex series of hard drives and, as of this evening, Seagate has pushed the size limit to an impressive 4TB on a single physical disk.
