Hard drives are far from the most glamorous products you’d typically look for at a glitzy, high-profile event like the International Consumer Electronics Show. But when a pivotal player of the low-key market niche such as Seagate brings half a dozen new wireless storage solutions to the Las Vegas expo, we take note.
The aptly named, 7mm thin Seven is hands down the crowd’s standout performer, although we have no reason to assume it’ll come close to SSD speediness. The premium all-metal design should all but make up for any common HDD sluggishness, and on top of that, “the slimmest way to carry 500GB of data” is also unusually affordable, at a measly $100. ETA? Mid to late January, so really, really soon.
Slightly pricier, at $130, and due out a little later (“by early February”), the Seagate Wireless is just as lowly in terms of capacity, holding “up to 200 HD movies” with 500GB storage. Nowhere near as skinny as the Seven, this baby is bound to catch the eye with flashy lime green and fire-engine red paint jobs, as well as autonomous Wi-Fi signal and stellar battery life.
Smartphones, tablets, PCs, HD TVs and even Google’s Chromecast can hook up to the Seagate Wireless in seconds and stream the HDD’s content hassle-free. Up to three different devices are supported simultaneously, and the battery should last a solid nine hours or so between charges.
The Personal Cloud is the final Seagate-branded storage item showcased at CES and, unlike the Seven and Wireless, it’s designed squarely for home use. Always capable of turning into a streaming device, this offers a spacious data depository (ranging from 3 to 8TB), but requires an external Wi-Fi connection and some additional software to get the job done.
Last but not least, Seagate is introducing the world to a couple of fresh portable LaCie hard drives, one aimed at fashionistas and the other at butterfingers. The 1TB LaCie Mirror was conceived by French designer Pauline Deltour, is cloaked in scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, and priced at $280.
As for the Rugged RAID, the name says it all. Compact and easy to transport, it can take a beating without flinching, with resistance to shock, dust and water, and features Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connectivity for high-speed data transfer. It’s not cheap, going for $450 later “this quarter,” but holds up to 4TB of digital goods.
