Seagate FreeAgent Pro - new lineup for 2008

Seagate has announced its Autumn 2008 lineup of the award-winning FreeAgent™ external hard drives. This new generation of the Seagate® FreeAgent™ family includes attractive desktop and mobile options, for both Mac® and Windows® operated PCs that make it a breeze to back up, share and protect valuable digital content like photos, videos and music. I especially like the Go version for the Mac, which has this snazzy little desktop dock. The Mac Desktop version also looks the business... reviews will appear on the Geekanoids website in due course.

The remainder of the official press release from Seagate reads as follows;

Seagate’s flagship offering, the FreeAgent Go portable storage solution, is the slimmest external drive available today. At a height of only 12.5mm, the new FreeAgent Go easily fits in a pocket while still including all the advanced shock and vibration protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Another industry first, the new FreeAgent Go is the first external hard drive to offer a docking option, providing a practical way to move from the desk to the road, while leaving the hassle of fumbling with cables and locating USB ports to the history books. With up to 500GB of capacity, the FreeAgent Go bridges the gap between standard portable solutions and desktop solutions with enough storage to carry entire libraries of movies, pictures and music. No longer does one need to sacrifice capacity for portability, Seagate FreeAgent Go provides the benefits and convenience of both in a truly seamless on-the-go package.

“With the amount of content being created and consumed today, the average broadband household will soon need close to a terabyte of storage to account for their personal media collections on PCs, portable devices, and DVRs," said Jane Shields, research analyst, Parks Associates. “With Seagate’s coupling of high-capacity, reliable and easy-to-use solutions with attractive designs, the company is helping more people enjoy the benefits that come with backup and sharing of their digital media collections.”

“The growth of the 2.5–inch form factor external hard disk drive market has been very strong – almost doubling in 2Q08 compared with 2Q07,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. “This growth is much higher than the overall market and driven by
the products’ convenient size and connectivity, as well as their large storage capacity and affordability.”

The FreeAgent Go desktop docking station is sold separately and comes paired with a black leatherette carrying case to add style while protecting the drive from the bumps and scratches encountered while traveling in hand bags and during other on-the-road adventures. The FreeAgent Go is now available in a variety of popular colours, including silver, black, red, and blue. The drive also ships with a flexible, thin USB 2.0 travel cable.

The FreeAgent Desk drive and FreeAgent XTreme™ drive are the family’s two 3.5-inch high-capacity desktop offerings, and provide up to 1.5 Terabytes of storage. The sleek and modern design of these drives provides the flexibility to sit horizontally or stand vertically to maximise your workspace. The FreeAgent Desk drive is a brushed aluminum high-capacity solution with a USB 2.0 interface. The FreeAgent XTreme drive is a midnight black, brushed aluminum high-capacity storage solution with a triple interface of eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire 400.

“The first FreeAgent storage solution offering introduced in 2007 unquestionably made a mark for Seagate in the consumer space, demonstrating that hard drives can be designed to provide a stylish complement to a computing environment,” said Pat King, senior vice president and general manager of Seagate’s Consumer Solution Division. This second-generation of FreeAgent storage solutions takes the extra step of providing easy-to-use technology in a consumer-friendly package.”

Seagate FreeAgent drives are compatible with Windows® Vista® and Windows® XP® Operating Systems and come equipped with Seagate Manager™ software, an enhanced application that provides scheduled automated back ups and multi-computer synchronisation. The FreeAgent drives for Windows also offer security in the form of software-based AES-256bit encryption and Seagate DrivePass™ password protection for drive access to help keep your information safe and private. The environmentally smart utilities help save energy by putting the drive in sleep mode once it has been idle for 15 minutes. Seagate FreeAgent hard drives include Energy Star 5 rated AC adapters and are now packaged in 100% recyclable materials. And with Seagate’s industry-leading five-year limited warranty, the FreeAgent storage solutions provide the confidence that your digitally-captured memories and life’s work is on a hard drive you can trust.

As part of this product introduction, Seagate will also unveil external storage solutions designed specifically for the Mac community. The Mac community has spoken and Seagate is listening. The FreeAgent Go for Mac and FreeAgent Desk™ for Mac are both formatted for use with Mac OS X out of the box and are Time Machine ready with FireWire800/400 or USB 2.0 connectivity. Seagate understands that Mac customers have specific needs and performance requirements and these demands are being met with the FreeAgent external hard drive for Mac offering.

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive for Mac
With a FireWire 800/400 interface and USB 2, docking station and carrying case the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive for Mac is equipped to move seamlessly between the desktop and road. Formatted for use with Mac OS X and Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Go for Mac is the perfect back up companion for any Apple® computer. Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £94.99 for 250GB and £110.99 for 320GB.

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive for Mac
The high-capacity FreeAgent Desk drive for Mac features a brushed aluminum arctic silver finish that is a perfect match for the current iMac Desktop. With both a USB 2 and a FireWire 800/400 connection and tuned to be Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Desk for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £102.99 for 500GB and £142.99 for 1TB.

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive
A pocket-sized storage drive that packs a punch, the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive is slim, compact and shipping in four colour options available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £62.99 for 250GB, £79.99 for 320GB and £150.99 for 500GB.

FreeAgent™ | Dock and Case
Protection for those on the go and a dock station for convenient and quick access to your files, these accessories for the FreeAgent Go drive are sold separately. The dock and case will be available in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of £19.90.

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive
This convenient desktop storage solution, Seagate FreeAgent Desk drive, is the perfect desktop companion for basic back up and security for all your digital files. This high-capacity USB 2.0 interfaced drive provides enough room to hold libraries of images, music and video. The FreeAgent Desk drive is available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £67.99 for 500GB, £75.99 for 640GB and £107.99 for 1TB.

FreeAgent™ | XTreme™ Drive
Designed for performance, especially for those who work with high-definition video and graphic files, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme drive is the perfect fit. The FreeAgent XTreme delivers a 3GB per second transfer rate with the eSATA connection. This drive also includes FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connection options. The FreeAgent XTreme is available worldwide for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of £94.99 for 500GB, £102.99 for 640GB and £134.99 for 1TB.

Buffalo Technology launch new look DriveStation

Buffalo Technology today unveils the new look DriveStation external USB storage device, which now boasts power saving functionality. The DriveStation provides a low-cost, easy to use storage option for home and small office users.

Power Saving Utility* software provided with the product, allows users to set timings to put the device in a low power “sleep” mode when not in use, reducing power consumption of the idle unit by up to 75 per cent. The unit can be powered up again either manually or by accessing the drive. The DriveStation’s Auto Power On/Off function means it automatically turns on and off with your computer.

Available in five capacities, the drive is equipped with Buffalo’s TurboUSB software to facilitate increased data transfer rates via USB. It also comes with Buffalo’s exclusive Secure Lock Ware Encryption software for Windows, to provide a simple option for securing data on the drive.

“As technology users become more concerned about rising energy costs and the power consumption of their devices, they are demanding more intelligent products which use power more efficiently. The DriveStation not only helps consumers and small businesses more easily monitor and address such an important issue, but is extremely easy to set-up and use,” comments Paul Hudson, Northern European Sales Director at Buffalo Technology.

Backed by a limited two-year warranty, the DriveStation is available now from Amazon, Dabs.com, Misco and Play.com at an estimated street price of:

HD-CE320U2 (320GB) £54.99 (inc. VAT)
HD-CE500U2 (500GB) £65.99 (inc. VAT)
HD-CE640U2 (640GB) £73.99 (inc. VAT)
HD-CE750U2 (750GB) £90.99 (inc. VAT)
HD-CE1.0TU2 (1TB) £119.99 (inc. VAT)

Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype

I love Skype and have been a dedicated user for about two years now. With Skype's new subscription plans you can make unlimited calls for a fixed price, or free Skype-to-Skype calls for absolutely nowt. The only real way to take advantage of the Skype service is to have a phone or handset that negates the need to have your Mac or PC switched on. With such a device you can just pick up the phone and use it just like a normal landline.

The new Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype is such a device and it is available now for £79.99. The main features include a contact list for over 500 sets of Skype and SkypeOut contacts. You also get automatic login to your Skype account. This little baby plugs into an ethernet port on your wired or wireless router, using your broadband or ADSL connection for ultra cheap or free calls. The fact that it is wired enables the promise of plug'n'play, so really easy for joe public to set up and use. It sounds really good and certainly looks the part... expect to see a full review here soon.

D-Link Add 500 Channels to DSM-520 Media Player

Today D-Link announced it has expanded the capabilities of digital media adapters (DMAs) by adding more than 200 channels of Internet TV to its best-selling MediaLounge(TM) Wireless HD Media Player (DSM-520), a wireless device that allows users to enjoy videos, music, photos and more from a PC on a TV using a simple remote control.
More than 200 online channels serving millions of Internet videos are brought to the TV by the D-Link HD MediaLounge Player using active-TV technology, a new service that allows easy access to Internet video and entertainment sites with a remote control.

The active-TV line-up includes programming from 36 U.S. channels, offering movies and music videos, radio stations, sports, news entertainment and shopping. In addition to YouTube, some of the notable channels include: Comedy Central, AOL Video, CinemaNow, Google Video, Movielink, ROOtv Music Videos, Akimbo, MTV, Musicmatch, Napster, VH1, ESPN, FOX Sports, MSN TV Today, Reuters News, Yahoo! Sports and eBay.
The new Internet TV lineup also includes international programming from 14 countries, including the BBC and other networks from the United Kingdom, along with digital entertainment from Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Poland and Taiwan.

The D-Link MediaLounge with expanded Internet programming is now shipping. Existing DSM-520 customers will receive a free upgrade to their products that will allow them to access the new channels. The upgrade is available now for Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP and Windows Vista(TM) operating systems.
"Our MediaLounge Player has revolutionized the way people receive and watch digital entertainment. Now you can expand your viewing beyond the PC and bring a vast amount of Internet TV directly to your living room," said Steven Joe, President and CEO of D-Link Systems, Inc. "There are other media players out there, but they only provide limited programming. With D-Link's MediaLounge player, the channel line up is already far-reaching
and continually expanding."

To learn more about the D-Link DSM-520 MediaLounge Player and for a complete list of programming, please visit http://www.dlink.com/activetv.

Price and Availability
Firmware enabling active-TV technology is free of charge to existing DSM-520 customers and will be available Oct. 4, 2007 at http://www.dlink.com. The DSM-520, with an MSRP of $249.99, can be found throughout D-Link's network of retail outlets and at its online store http://www.dlinkshop.com.

Western Digital Revamp MyBook Hard Drives

Western Digital's MyBook range of hard drives have always been a favourite of mine, mainly due to their reliability, but also they are so damn quiet. Well, they have updated the MyBook range with three new versions, that look a lot sleeker than the old.

The Home Edition offer up three interfaces. In addition to FireWire 400 and USB 2.0, you also get external SATA for mega performance gains.
The Office Edition is the first in the MyBook range to offer up its files online without the need for an Ethernet connection. When you turn on your Windows PCs, the MioNet software makes files and folders available online through USB, so long as your PC is online.
The Essential Edition 2.0 is the entry level of the range, with USB-only for users just needing to add extra storage to their systems.

Pricing
The 320GB Essential Edition 2.0 costs $130 disk and go up in price, all the way up to a 1TB version. The 320GB Home Edition will set you back $170, and again is available up to 1TB. King of the crop, the Office Edition, costs $170 for the 320GB version, right up to 1TB for $380. Available now in the US, but I have yet to track down UK pricing. A handy comparison table is available here.

Cherry Marlin Wireless Keyboard Mouse Combi

The Cherry Marlin keyboard and mouse set has been around for some while now, but it skipped my radar, so about a year late here is the heads up. This combo looks very sleek indeed, with a low profile keyboard and 800dpi mouse, that connects to your computer via a wireless dongle. A really neat feature is the scroll wheel of the mouse indicates it charge status, cool!
The Cherry Marlin comes with driver software, which is no doubt for the PC, but I am hoping to bring you a review real soon and let you know if and how it works with the Mac.

Microsoft's new gaming "5,000 mice in one"; retail $79

At the GDC, Microsoft has announced their SideWinder mouse, built from the ground up specifically with gamers in mind. Featuring just about everything you could ever want (and things you'll never ever need), it's the "ultimate" in gaming mice. The mouse features a new "Quick Turn" feature, adjustable weight, adjustable glide, an LCD... via gamernode.com

read more | digg story

Canon UK - multitude of new Pixma Printers

Here in the UK we get even more to choose from when it comes to multifunction printers from Canon. We also get the MX300 and MX310 mentioned in our previous post, but also get the MP210 (£59), MP220 (£79), MP610 (£159), and the MP970 (£249), all of which are due to be available in either September or October this year. Hit the links above for the full specification, but especially check out the top of the range MP970 (pictured) which not only looks fantastic, but offers up ethernet connectivity, a massive 8.8cm colour screen, CD & DVD printing, and and amazing 9600 x 2400dpi resolution.

Canon launch three new all-in-one inkjets

Canon have launched three new all-in-one inkjet printers. Here follows the USA models, details of the UK newbies will follow shortly.

The Pixma MX700 (pictured) is a networkable 5-in-1 is all business, able to quickly produce beautiful photos and bold, professional-quality text. You can print photos right from compatible memory cards — selecting and enhancing images on the 1.8" color LCD display - or directly from a digital camera or DV camcorder. The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) holds up to 30 originals, and two paper trays can store both plain and photo paper. You'll achieve up to Super G3 fax speed in colour and B&W, and the expanded memory can store 40 speed dial codes and receive 100 incoming pages. Copies will be remarkably true to the originals, and when scanning photos you'll produce impressive 2400-dpi results, with vibrant 48-bit colour depth.

Next up is the Pixma MX310, which has a colour resolution up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi; a borderless 4" x 6" photo takes only about 46 seconds² The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) holds up to 30 originals, so it's much easier to copy, scan or fax large documents. Copies will be remarkably true to the originals, and documents will feature bold, laser-quality text. You'll produce 1200-dpi scans with vibrant 48-bit colour depth, and achieve Super G3 fax speed in color and B&W.

Last, but not least, the Pixma MX300 again had a resolution up to 4800 x 1200 color dpi — and quickly, too: A borderless 4" x 6" photo takes only about 46 seconds. You can also print photos directly from a camera DV camcorder or camera phone³, without a computer. Your documents will feature bold, laser-quality text, and copies will be remarkably true to your originals. This All-In-One produces 600-dpi scans with vibrant 48-bit colour depth. Plus, it achieves Super G3 fax speed in color and B&W, and its memory can store 20 speed dial codes and receive 50 incoming pages.

These models will retail at $199, $129 and $99 respectively.

New Compact Surge Protector from Belkin

Surge Protectors are an essential piece of equipment in every house hold and are often not the first product people think of when we mention design and style. However all that has changed with the launch of the new Compact Surge Protector from Belkin. Designed to have a small foot print and modern, sleek look the new Compact Surge Protector can accommodate up to six sockets spaced far enough apart that the unit can be filled to capacity even with over sized power blocks. The unique design means that all sockets are easily accessible whilst the unit remains as compact as possible.

Against a baseboard, mounted on a wall or on the floor behind a desk, couch or bed the Compact Surge Protector takes up minimal space and the solid, simple design reduces clutter and maintains a modern yet inconspicuous look. The unit comes with available Phone/Fax/Modem and Coaxial protection and a single indicator lights clearly shows that the unit is powered on and protecting your equipment. This unit is available for £24.99 from Belkin stockists.

Iomega launch new portable and eSata Pro Hard Drives

Iomega Corporation today introduced two exciting new choices in portable and desktop storage: the stylish Iomega® eGo™ USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive and the speedy Iomega® eSATA/USB 2.0 Professional Hard Drive.

Iomega’s Latest Portable Hard Drive
The Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 is a fast and fun notebook hard drive that delivers on form and function. Iomega’s new eGo Drive has an elegantly curved chassis with the choice of two colors – cherry-red or burnished gray – and chrome endcaps that sets it apart from other portable hard drives. With the new eGo Drive, Iomega introduces flair and panache to the HDD market, something rarely seen in any competitor’s product. The eGo Drive also packs a lot of storage capability – the 160GB* 2.5-inch drive is USB-powered for simple operation (no power supply required), and it comes with EMC® Retrospect® HD software for automatic backups, scheduled backups, or on-demand backups. DropGuard™ technology protects the drive from accidental damage caused by drops of up to 51 inches so users can carry up to 640,000 photos, over 2,900 hours of music or 240 hours of video** with confidence.

“The Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive calls attention to itself with its beautiful red contoured case, while its automatic backup software works transparently to protect your digital life,” said Peter Wharton, Vice President, Marketing, Iomega Corporation. “The eGo Drive gives users a high capacity portable hard drive as well as a fashion statement that says they’re different than all the rest.”

Iomega’s Latest eSATA External Hard Drive
Also announced today is the Iomega® eSATA/USB 2.0 Professional Hard Drive, a slender silver hard drive that uses the new 3 Gbit/second eSATA interface for the fastest possible access to its 500GB storage capacity. Its high performance makes it a perfect match for the demands of advanced graphics software, video editing applications, and small server or network environments. This Iomega eSATA Professional Hard Drive also comes with award-winning EMC Retrospect Express software for automatic backups, scheduled backups, or on-demand backups, as well as other advanced features. For computers that do not have an eSATA interface (PCI eSATA cards are available separately), the USB 2.0 interface offers a universally popular alternative.

“Iomega’s new 500GB eSATA Professional Hard Drive combines blazing speed with high capacity and an industrial design that’s rugged and futuristic,” said Wharton. “In today’s data-intensive world, both of Iomega’s new external hard drives dispense with boring design and give users an eye-catching excuse to focus on safeguarding their digital files.”

Compatibility
Both drives are compatible with Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Home/XP Professional/XP Professional x64, and Windows Vista™. The eGo Portable Hard Drive is compatible with Mac OS X 10.1.5 or above; the Professional Hard Drive eSATA is compatible with Mac OS X 10.2 or above.

The eSATA/USB 2.0 Professional Hard Drive requires a system with an eSATA interface for operation as an eSATA drive (PCI eSATA card not included).

Price and Availability
The Iomega® 160GB eGo™ Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 is now available for 139.00 Euro VAT included. The Iomega® eSATA/USB 2.0 500GB Professional Hard Drive is also now available for 179.00 Euro VAT included. Both products are available from online retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at www.iomega.com.

Lacie Launch 2TB Ethernet Big Disk

Lacie have made a new larger capacity Ethernet Big Disk available for purchase. In its new 2TB, yes, you read that right 2 terrabyte form, the drive is in stock at £669. Having been a long time Mac user, I have always liked Lacie products for their superb build quality, so this new drive is well worth a look. It offers Gigabit ethernet, and full support for Windows, Linux and Mac platforms. Of note for Mac users, AFP and Bonjour is supported, plus you get a USB2 port for extending the capacity further, or photo sharing with compatible digital cameras. I must admit, I want one.