Storage

38 'Storage' stories September 2011 - June 2014

Opinion: Why the new $50 iPod pricing tiers probably won’t make it to Apple’s lucrative iPhones and iPads

Mike Beasley Jun 26 2014 - 7:08 pm PT

Earlier today Apple made a significant change to the iPod touch lineup. Aside from a few small hardware improvements to the lowest-end model, the company has—for the first time—started to close the price gap between storage tiers.

When the iPod touch first launched, there was a $70 gap between the 8 GB and 16 GB models. Jumping from 16 GB to 32 GB would cost an extra $100. However, with the launch of the second-generation iPod touch, the gap between the lowest two tiers increased to $100, and it’s stayed there ever since.

Until today, that is. Now, for the first time since the debut of the first iPhone in 2007, there is a mere $50 gap between all three capacities of an iOS device. Is this a sign that Apple is ready to give in and drop the ridiculous $100 pricing tiers on future big ticket premium devices when the actual Flash storage and controllers only cost Apple a few bucks? Or will we continue to see a $100 price gap between iPhones when the next-gen model is revealed this fall?

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WD ships the first Thunderbolt-powered portable dual-drive

Mar 27 2014 - 8:31 am PT

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WD today announced immediate availability of the My Passport Pro, which it bills as the first Thunderbolt-powered portable dual-drive. The two internal 2.5-inch hard drives and an integrated Thunderbolt cable are packed in a svelte aluminum enclosure that weighs just 1.59 pounds. Users can easily choose between a RAID 0 setup for increased performance or RAID 1 for data redundancy. It’s capable of speeds up to 233 MB/s and to help put that in perspective, it is capable of “copy[ing] a 22 GB high-definition video file in half the time typically required by a USB 3.0 drive working in RAID 0 format.” Combined, it is about half the speed of an SSD but with much more space/$.

The My Passport Pro is available in 2TB ($299.99) and 4TB (429.99) capacities from Amazon, WD, and Apple stores.
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iDevices top data usage charts, iPhone 5s users downloading 41 percent more data than Samsung S4

Ben Lovejoy Jan 23 2014 - 4:48 am PT

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While Android devices have the greatest market share, the evidence that iOS users do more with their devices continues to grow. The latest survey by analytics company Arieso found that iDevices took six out of the top ten slots in terms of the amount of data downloaded by 2013 devices. All numbers use the iPhone 3G as their base, and exclude the iPad Air which was launched after the survey ended.

Unsurprisingly, the company found that our appetite for data grows with each generation of device, as they become increasingly capable. iPhone 5s owners, for example, download 19 percent more data than iPhone 5 owners.

But tellingly, iPhone 5s owners download 41 percent more data than the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung’s current flagship handset (a figure that increases to 54 percent in developing markets). A previous study showed that iPhone users spend more time using their phones than do Android owners.

In a separate analysis by the UK consumer association Which?, the iPhone 5c was found to have the greatest amount of usable storage space after built-in apps were accounted for. Comparing the 16GB models of eight leading smartphones, the 5c was found to leave users with 12.6GB of storage, with the 5s at 12.2GB taking third place behind the Nexus 5. The Samsung Galaxy S4 took bottom place, with just over half of its 16GB space available to the user.

Via TechCrunch

Adobe Revel cloud service gets updated iOS app with support for video

Jordan Kahn Sep 12 2013 - 6:20 am PT

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Adobe has updated its Adobe Revel app today, which allows users to store and access photos and videos in the cloud and sync across Mac, PC, and iOS devices. Previously only available for photos, Adobe has updated its iPhone and iPad apps today to include support for uploading, watching, and sharing videos with the service.

The Adobe Revel service provides unlimited uploads for the first 30 days for free, and 50 photos every month after that. Adobe didn’t specify if the same limits will apply to videos, but upgrading to Revel Premium for $5.99/month will provide unlimited photo and video imports.

In other app news, Apple appears to have started accepting apps compiled with the iOS 7 SDK. We noticed one of the first– Local Cloud Pro— has been updated today with full iOS 7 support including iOS 7’s Dynamic Type and other new features.

9to5Toys Last Call: Apple 13″ MacBook Air Haswell 128GB SSD AC WiFi $1045, 2TB WD My Passport USB 3.0 Portable HD $110, app/game deals, more

Jul 12 2013 - 3:02 pm PT

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From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+

Today’s Featured deals:

Apple 13″ MacBook Air 1.3 GHz i5 Haswell, 128GB SSD, AC WiFi, 12 hours battery $1,045 Shipped (Reg. $1,099)

Western Digital 2TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $110 Shipped

Angry Birds Star Wars (Android) FREE, PC digital downloads galore, iOS freebies, more
Save 50% on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mac/iOS), Angry Birds Star Wars (iOS) FREE, more
Homerun Battle 2: FREE, NYTimes 1 Week FREE trial, more
Gamers’ Deals & Free iOS EA Games: Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, The Sims Medieval
Apple App Store 5th Anniversary Sale: Infinity Blade II, Over, Badland, Where’s My Water?, Traktor DJ, more

The Summer 2013 Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop 8 For Mac for $50 (89% off)

Other great deals we love:

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Synology releases DiskStation Manager 4.3 public beta w/ revamped iOS apps

Jordan Kahn Jul 9 2013 - 5:33 am PT

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Anyone that reads 9to5Mac often knows that we are big fans of Synology’s DiskStation network attached server products. On top of making a selection of well priced storage options under its DiskStation brand (a couple of which we’ve reviewed), Synology’s big draw for us has always been its web interface and ecosystem of apps that goes well beyond Time Capsule and your average NAS. Today, things are about to get even better for DiskStation users as the company announces the public beta release of the latest DiskStation Manager operating system, DSM 4.3, alongside revamped iOS apps and tons of new features.
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Review: Readdle brings Documents to the small screen

Mike Beasley Apr 11 2013 - 6:49 am PT

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Readdle has finally brought their popular Documents iPad app to the iPhone and iPod touch with the latest update. The iPhone version has all of the features you would expect in a file management app and a few extras.

The main file manager window displays all of your files in a grid or list sorted by name, date, or size. You can create folders, zip and unzip archives, and view a variety of file types from this view. PDFs, plaintext files, audio, pictures, and more can be added to your collection. The audio player works when the app is in the background so you can continue listening to your music.

Your most recently used files will accumulate in a special folder automatically so you can find them again easily. A search feature on the main page allows you to search any file by name, but you can also enable an indexing feature lets the app search the contents of your documents as well.

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Apple allows Microsoft SkyDrive 3.0 update into App Store following delays

Jordan Kahn Apr 3 2013 - 9:25 am PT

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Update: Microsoft provided us with the following comment noting that “people interested in buying additional storage will do so via the web versus in the app.” In other words, it doesn’t look like Apple will be getting a cut of additional storage purchased, but users won’t be able to do so via the iOS app:

We worked with Apple to create a solution that benefited our mutual customers. The SkyDrive app for iOS is slightly different than other SkyDrive apps in that people interested in buying additional storage will do so via the web versus in the app.

Back in December we heard reports, later confirmed by Microsoft, that Apple was delaying updates to its SkyDrive iOS app. The delays were apparently over a dispute regarding whether or not Apple should receive its usual 30% cut for additional storage that users purchased through the app.

While there is no word yet on exactly how Microsoft and Apple resolved the issue, Microsoft announced today on its Windows SkyDrive blog that a new update is available for the iOS app via iTunes starting today.

Version 3.0 of the app, the first update to SkyDrive for iOS since June, brings support for iPhone 5 and iPad mini, a revamped user experience, enhancements to photo features such as the ability to download full res photos to iPad and iPhone, and much more:
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Study finds iCloud/iTunes Match on top in cloud storage wars with 27 percent market share in US

Jordan Kahn Mar 21 2013 - 9:57 am PT

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According to a recent survey by research firm Strategy Analytics (via Engadget), Apple is dominating the cloud storage space with 27 percent of respondents picking iTunes Match and iCloud as their go-to service. Closely behind is Dropbox at 17 percent, Amazon Cloud Drive at 15 percent and Google Drive at 10 percent. The report is quick to point out that Dropbox is the one major player that has gained its share of the market without actually selling content associated with its service. It might not be entirely accurate of usage worldwide, as the survey included around 2,300 people only in the United States.

Usage of cloud storage is heavily skewed towards younger people, in particular 20-24 year olds, whilst Apple’s service is the only one with more female than male users. Amongst the big four, Google’s is the one most heavily skewed towards males.

Cloud storage is overwhelmingly dominated by music; around 90% of Apple, Amazon and Google’s cloud users store music. Even Dropbox – which has no associated content ecosystem – sees around 45% of its users storing music files. Dropbox’s recent acquisition of Audiogalaxy will add a much needed native music player to the platform in the coming months.

The 64GB version of Surface Pro has 23GB of free storage out of the box?!

Jordan Kahn Jan 29 2013 - 11:17 am PT

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Imagine if the 32GB iPad only had that much free space?

When we posted a comparison of the iPad 4 and Microsoft’s new $999 128GB Surface Pro, Apple was yet to introduce its new 128GB iPad with Retina display. Apple announced this morning that the new iPad model would début Feb. 5 starting at $799, and that’s an attractive offer for those considering a Surface Pro when it goes on sale Feb. 9. Making the new 128GB iPad an even more attractive option for pros looking at more storage, Microsoft confirmed today that 45GB of space would be dedicated to Windows 8 and preloaded apps. This leaves customers of the 128GB Surface Pro with 83GB of free storage (via Engadget):

“The 128 GB version of Surface Pro has 83 GB of free storage out of the box. The 64GB version of Surface Pro has 23GB of free storage out of the box. Of course, Surface Pro has a USB 3.0 port for connectivity with almost limitless storage options, including external hard drives and USB flash drives. Surface also comes pre-loaded with SkyDrive, allowing you to store up to 7GB of content in the cloud for free. The device also includes a microSDXC card slot that lets you store up to 64GB of additional content to your device. Customers can also free up additional storage space by creating a backup bootable USB and deleting the recovery partition.”

One day Amazon SD Card and USB3 sale, prices from $28 for 64GB

9to5 Staff Nov 16 2012 - 4:08 am PT

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Click to enlarge

Amazon today has a big sale on storage with notable deals on Transcend storage products. Whether you are adding an SD Card or USB stick to your Mac for some extra sneakernet or backup space, or using it for a camera or peripheral, pretty much any size and speed is covered here.

Standouts include the 64GB and 32GB Jetflash USB2 Flash Drives for $27.99 and $13.99 respectively.

More deals at 9to5Toys.com
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Dropbox remains unfazed by rival services, quadruples to 100M users over the last year

Jake Smith Nov 13 2012 - 12:34 pm PT

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Even with the influx of cloud storage options like Apple’s iCloud and Google’s Drive, Dropbox is having continued success adding users, according to the company’s co-founder Drew Houston. Houston took to the company’s blog to boast that Dropbox now has 100 million users, quadrupling in the last year. Speaking to the New York Times, Houston further expressed that he is not worried about the competition that his company has seen. “Those companies are busy trying to build something we had four years ago. We’re out front,” Houston said, “We’re already out there and building smaller features and things. All those other companies have turf to protect, and they’re fighting a battle on a totally different front.”

Apple announced iCloud now boasts 190 million users on its last earnings call, as its integration with iOS helps bring new users. However in comparison, the Galaxy S III (not inside the US) comes with a free Dropbox account loaded with 50GB of storage, along with many HTC devices that come with 25GB — surely driving sales.
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Transcend 64GB USB Flash Drive: $29.99

9to5 Staff Sep 29 2012 - 5:54 am PT

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Amazon has the Transcend 64GB Jetflash Retractable USB Flash Drive for $29.99 with free shipping.. That’s the lowest price we’ve ever seen on a 64GB flash drive from a reputable brand/store. The drive reads 19 MByte/s and writes 7 MByte/s and ships in Amazon frustration-free packaging. These deals don’t usually last long.
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Seagate announces industry’s first 4TB hard drive

Seth Weintraub Sep 6 2011 - 8:55 pm PT

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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.

Full press release below:

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Storage

Apple 13″ MacBook Air 1.3 GHz i5 Haswell, 128GB SSD, AC WiFi, 12 hours battery $1,045 Shipped (Reg. $1,099)

Western Digital 2TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $110 Shipped

Angry Birds Star Wars (Android) FREE, PC digital downloads galore, iOS freebies, more

Save 50% on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mac/iOS), Angry Birds Star Wars (iOS) FREE, more

Homerun Battle 2: FREE, NYTimes 1 Week FREE trial, more

Gamers’ Deals & Free iOS EA Games: Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, The Sims Medieval

Apple App Store 5th Anniversary Sale: Infinity Blade II, Over, Badland, Where’s My Water?, Traktor DJ, more

The Summer 2013 Mac Bundle Ft. Parallels Desktop 8 For Mac for $50 (89% off)