Data Storage | DataRecoveryUnion.com

LAKE FOREST, Calif. and MANAUS, Brazil – Oct. 14, 2010 – Western Digital today announced that the company will begin hard drive manufacturing operations in Brazil, positioning the company to more effectively meet customer demand in this rapidly growing market and adding a key element to WD’s global supply chain infrastructure.

To maintain the highest levels of quality and lowest cost, WD will be partnering with local Brazilian electronics manufacturing leader Digitron to perform manufacturing operations and fulfillment services. Digitron’s high-volume notebook PC assembly and motherboard manufacturing plant in the Manaus Free Trade Zone is being utilized for WD’s products. This facility has existing infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce and a seasoned management team.

“The strategic decision to expand our global manufacturing operations into Brazil positions WD to more efficiently meet growing customer demand as we invest in the development of this key market, Continued investments in large high-growth markets like Brazil, markets with developing infrastructures, strong underlying economics and an important customer base, will further solidify WD’s industry leadership. The new operations are part of a multi-year project to strengthen and diversify WD’s manufacturing base while increasing our footprint in one of the world’s most exciting markets.” – said Tim Leyden, WD’s chief operating officer. ”

The venture is expected to produce an estimated US$175 million worth of hard drives in its first year of operation and at least 50 new jobs in the region.

“We’re extremely proud to have been selected to be a part of WD’s manufacturing strategy in the country,this allows us to utilize our local knowledge and infrastructure with access to WD’s extensive hard drive manufacturing expertise to provide high-quality, competitive products to customers.” – said Sung Un Song, chief executive officer of Digitron.

“The new operation will help WD streamline its supply chain to Brazilian OEM and distribution partners and greatly strengthen its ability to meet the explosive growth of storage demand in the country,We expect significant improvements in turnaround time and service for our customers in Brazil. Initial customer shipments are planned by the end of October.” – commented Scott Davis, WD’s vice president of worldwide channel sales.

Data Storage

WD Introduced its New My Book and My Passport External Hard Drives with USB 3.0 Connectivity

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago4 years ago07 mins

Oct. 5, 2010 – WD today introduced its new My Passport® Essential™ portable hard drive, My Passport® Essential™ SE portable hard drive, and My Book® Essential external hard drive. All three drive families come in a variety of capacities and offer lightning-fast USB 3.0 connectivity. Highest industry capacity is another key feature for the My Book Essential drive, which is now available in 3 TB capacity, in addition to 1 and 2 TB capacities. Equipped with WD SmartWare™ visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up all of their digital memories, such as high-resolution photos and videos, along with music and other critical files, all in one place.

The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 5 Gb/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.

My Passport Essential, still WD’s smallest portable drive, is available in a 500 GB capacity and comes in five fun colors – Midnight Black, Cool Silver, Real Red, Pacific Blue and Arctic White (Arctic White only available in EMEA and APAC). My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives are available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities and come in stylish black, silver, metallic blue and metallic red colors. The pocket-sized My Passport portable hard drives are powered directly through the USB cable; no separate power supply is needed.

My Book Essential, the world’s number-one selling hard drive, also impresses with its small footprint, sleek design and high-capacity storage ranging from 1 TB up to a massive 3 TB³. The drive is compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, and uses WD SmartWare visual backup software.

“With more and more devices like the iPod touch®, iPhone®4 and other smartphones adding video-capable cameras, digital video is becoming ubiquitous. Most homes already have thousands of photos and music files, increasing the need for storage around the house. Having the extra capacity to store these files and move them around quickly is becoming a big issue for many consumers around the world, WD’s newest line of My Book and My Passport external hard drives features the latest USB 3.0 connection technology, which more than triples the speed to transfer media files, but still works with today’s USB 2.0 ports. In addition, consumers can take advantage of the highest capacity available on external hard drives with the new 3 TB My Book Essential drive.” – said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

Features:
My Book Essential external hard drives, My Passport Essential and My Passport Essential SE portable hard drives feature:

Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces;
Up to 3x faster transfer rates when compared to USB 2.0;
WD SmartWare software for automatic, continuous backup;
Password protection for privacy; and,
Planet-friendly packaging from recycled materials which can, in turn, also be recycled.

Capacity and Compatibility:
The My Passport Essential portable hard drive is available in 500 GB capacity. The My Passport Essential SE portable hard drive is available in 750 GB and 1 TB capacities. The My Book Essential external hard drive is available in 1 TB, 1.5 TB, 2 TB and 3 TB capacities. The drives are formatted NTFS for Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7. These drives require reformatting for Mac® OS® X Leopard® or Snow Leopard®.

Price and Availability
My Passport Essential portable hard drives and My Book Essential external hard drives offer a 2-year limited warranty in the U.S. and are now available at select U.S. retailers and online at wdstore.com.

MSRP for My Passport Essential portable is $99.99 USD. MSRP for My Passport Essential SE drives range from $129.99 USD to $169.99 USD. MSRP for My Book Essential drives range from $129.99 USD to $249.99 USD.

Data Storage

Seagate Introduces the world’s First 1.5TB Portable External Drive

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago2 years ago06 mins

New FreeAgent® GoFlex™ Ultra-Portable External Drive Packs a Punch with Unprecedented Amount of Storage, Blazingly Fast USB 3.0 Connection and Pre-loaded Films.

September 21, 2010 – Seagate launched the world’s first 1.5 terabyte (TB) 2.5-inch portable external hard drive. Available immediately, the new 1.5TB FreeAgent® GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive delivers an all-in-one, technically advanced solution to help store, share and enjoy libraries of digital content in one’s preferred medium—whether on a Mac or PC, or a television, at home or on the go. With 1.5TB of capacity people can now store and carry up to 60 HD movies, 750 video games, thousands of photos or countless hours of digital music.

This ultra–upgradable, ultra–portable hard drive makes it ultra–easy for you to store, backup, encrypt and access your files anytime, anywhere.

Seagate introduces the world’s first 1.5TB portable, external hard drive with a Blazingly Fast USB 3.0 Connection and Pre-loaded Films.

“Today’s announcement is a ‘triple-crown’ of consumer technology—packaging record breaking capacity, blazingly fast USB 3.0 connectivity and the bonus of movie entertainment—making the 1.5TB GoFlex™ ultra-portable drive an unprecedented and innovative solution, bringing this solution to market on the heels of our 3TB GoFlex™ Desk drive and the Momentus® XT solid state hybrid drive is proof of Seagate’s continuing technology leadership and tradition of setting storage industry milestones.” – said Darcy Clarkson, vice president of Global Retail Sales and Marketing for Seagate.

Shipping now in the United States and rolling out globally later this year, all 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drives¹ will ship with a USB 3.0 interface cable, accelerating the transfer speed of a drive up to 10x when connected to a USB 3.0 port, when compared to a USB 2.0 port. For example, a drive using a USB 3.0 connection can transfer a 25GB file in under five minutes versus the 14 minutes it would take using a traditional USB 2.0 drive². In addition, all GoFlex ultra portable drives will now also ship with the new Superspeed USB 3.0 cable, which will still continue to work with existing USB 2.0 ports.

“Consumers continue to push the growth of digital music, photos, and video content, and increasingly want access to this content from a variety of CE devices, including a PC, higher capacity disk drives in combination with higher bandwidth interfaces like USB 3.0 will help to make a greater number of large multimedia files more accessible from multiple devices in the home.” – says John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives.

A key addition to the GoFlex™ family, the new 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drive delivers ultimate flexibility in how people collect, protect, share and enjoy their digital libraries, all in a convenient compact package. In addition to coming bundled with USB 3.0 connectivity, the drive can be used with an array of add-on cables and accessories such as the GoFlex™ Net media sharing device and the GoFlex™ TV HD media player, that provide the flexibility to enjoy your content on a TV, a network, using a mobile device, or via the Internet.

All 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drives are compatible with both the Windows® operating system and Mac® OS X computers. Each drive includes an NTFS driver for Mac, which allows the hard drive to store and access files from both Windows and Mac OS X computers without reformatting. The NTFS driver is simply installed once on the Mac® OS X computer, allowing it to read and write files on a Windows formatted³ drive.

The 1.5TB GoFlex ultra-portable drive with USB 3.0 adapter is available in black and can be purchased on Seagate.com and through select retailers for $249.99.

Data Storage

Seagate Self-Encrypting Laptop Hard Drive First To Win Key U.S. Government Certification

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Seagate’s Momentus Laptop Hard Drive Earns FIPS 140-2 Certification, Clearing Way for Deployment of Drives by All U.S. Government Agencies and Regulated Industries such as Healthcare, Defense and Finance.

September 14, 2010, seagate announced that its groundbreaking Momentus ® Self-Encrypting Drive, the world’s first laptop hard drive with built-in encryption to protect against unauthorized access to information on lost or stolen mobile computers, has secured FIPS 140-2 certification from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The key government certification clears the way for deployments of Momentus Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) by all U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, many state and local governments, and regulated industries such as healthcare, finance and defense required to use FIPS-certified gear to help protect sensitive data on PCs and computer networks. Many utility, education and transportation entities also have adopted the FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 standard to lock down confidential information. Foreign governments in addition to Canada also recognize FIPS-validated products. The Momentus SED is the first hard drive with native encryption to earn the FIPS certification.

“The FIPS 140-2 certification exemplifies Seagate’s commitment to security standards that enable the widespread adoption of encrypting hard drives for laptops and other computers as the explosive growth of laptop PCs puts more sensitive personal and business information at risk, today’s NIST approval gives our system builder and end-user customers the peace of mind that Momentus ® Self-Encrypting Drives deliver the full power of government-grade security.” – said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate.

The FIPS 140-2 seal of approval comes three years after NIST, the federal agency focused on promoting product innovation by establishing technical standards for government and business, certified the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) chip built into the Momentus drive. Seagate has shipped more than a million of its self-encrypting laptop drives since their introduction in 2006.

See Seagate’s FIPS 140-2 certificate here: http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140crt/140crt1388.pdf .

More information on NIST and FIPS 140-2 is available on the NIST website:
http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/index.html

Seagate® Momentus® hard drives deliver high capacity and performance along with innovative technology, such as self-encryption and free-fall sensors. If you require feature-rich, reliable, robust and secure laptop storage, Momentus drives are for you.

More details: Seagate’s self-encryption Momentus Laptop hard drive

Data Storage

Seagate And Samsung Announce Agreement To Jointly Develop Controller Technology For SSDs

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago4 years ago03 mins

August 12, 2010 – Seagate Technology and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., announced that they have entered into a joint development and licensing agreement.

Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly develop and cross-license related controller technologies for solid state drive (“SSD“) storage devices to attain the high levels of performance, reliability and endurance demanded by enterprise storage applications.

The joint development effort builds on the existing SSD capabilities of each company while combining Seagate’s leadership in enterprise storage technology with Samsung’s flash memory technology specific to 30 nanometer-class MLC NAND. The jointly developed controller will be utilized in Seagate’s enterprise-class SSDs.

“Seagate has long recognized that solid state technology has an important role to play in the comprehensive solutions the storage industry will deliver today and in the future, particularly in the enterprise market, today’s agreement with Samsung will help us bring a compelling set of SSD innovations to the enterprise storage market, with benefits that range from enhanced performance, endurance and reliability to cost and capacity improvements. Overall, this agreement with Samsung strengthens our SSD solutions strategy, and positions Seagate well as global demand for storage continues on its strong growth path.” – said Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman, president and CEO.

“We are pleased to be jointly developing a high-performance SSD controller with Seagate for the enterprise storage market, our green memory solution is designed to enable more energy-efficient server applications, which is expected to increase the use of NAND-based SSD storage in enterprise applications.” – said Dr. Changhyun Kim, senior vice president and Samsung Fellow, Memory product planning & application engineering, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics.

Data Storage

Most Popular Internal Hard Drives on Amazon.com

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago9 months ago05 mins

A hard disk drive (hard disk, hard drive, HDD) is a non-volatile storage device for digital data. It features one or more rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a metal case. Data is encoded magnetically by read/write heads that float on a cushion of air above the platters.

Hard disk manufacturers quote disk capacity in SI-standard powers of 1000, wherein a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes and a gigabyte is 1000 megabytes. With file systems that measure capacity in powers of 1024, available space appears somewhat less than advertised capacity.

The first HDD was invented by IBM in 1956. They have fallen in cost and physical size over the years while dramatically increasing capacity. Hard disk drives have been dominant device for secondary storage of data in general purpose computers since the early 1960s. They have maintained this position because advances in their areal recording density have kept pace with the requirements for secondary storage. Form factors have also evolved over time from large standalone boxes to today’s desktop systems mainly with standardized 3.5″ form factor drives, and mobile systems mainly using 2.5″ drives. Today’s HDDs operate on high-speed serial interfaces, i.e., Serial ATA (SATA) or Serial attached SCSI (SAS).

The presentation of an HDD to its host is determined by its controller. This may differ substantially from the HDDs native interface particularly in mainframes or servers.

Popular Manufacturers: Western Digital, Seagate

	Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EARSList Price: $159.99 Price on Amazon.com: $119.99 Shipping: Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days) Model number: WD20EARS
	Seagate Barracuda 7200 1.5 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST31500341AS-Bare DriveList Price: $199.99 Price on Amazon.com: $79.99 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: ST31500341AS
	Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 2.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 5400 RPM SATA II WD5000BEVTList Price: $81.99 Price on Amazon.com: $54.99 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: WD5000BEVT
	Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD5000AAKSList Price: $122.93 Price on Amazon.com: $44.95 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: WD5000AAKS
	Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD2001FASSList Price: $320.99 Price on Amazon.com: $174.95 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: WD2001FASS
	Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive (WD1002FAEX)List Price: $119.99 Price on Amazon.com: $89.99 Shipping: Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days) Model number: WD1002FAEX
	Western Digital 320 GB Scorpio Black SATA 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD3200BEKTList Price: $82.99 Price on Amazon.com: $59.99 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: WD3200BEKT
	Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD10EARSList Price: $90.99 Price on Amazon.com: $64.99 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: WD10EARS
	Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST31000528AS-Bare DriveList Price: $135.99 Price on Amazon.com: $69.95 Shipping: FREE with Super Saver Shipping Model number: ST31000528AS

Data Storage

Deals of the Day: Hard Disk Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago10 months ago01 mins

1. TOSHIBA MK3265GSX 320GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model: MK3265GSX
Shipping: Free
Price: $42.99

2. WD SiliconEdge Blue SSC-D0128SC-2100 2.5″ 128GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) – OEM

Model: SSC-D0128SC-2100
Shipping: Free
Price: $199.99

3. WD SiliconEdge Blue SSC-D0064SC-2100 2.5″ 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) – OEM

Model: SSC-D0064SC-2100
Shipping: Free
Price: $124.99

4. HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model: HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381)
Shipping: Free
Price: $39.99

5. Seagate Barracuda LP ST32000542AS 2TB 5900 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model: ST32000542AS
Shipping: Free
Price: $109.99

Data Storage

Recommended Western Digital External Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM14 years ago10 months ago13 mins

The main purposes we need an external hard drive:

Expand your computer’s storage capacity;
Backup your data and share data between computers;
Easy to use. Most of the time, you just need to plug it into the computer and use it as an internal hard drive.

Desktop external hard drives are based on the 3.5-inch internal hard drives and laptop (or portable) external hard drives that are based on the 2.5-inch internal hard drives. Generally, external hard drives are connected to a computer using collectively these types of connections: USB 3.0, USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA.

Here’s the list of our current favorites.

Western Digital WD Elements 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $99.99
Price: $59.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAR3200ABK

Western Digital WD Elements 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $74.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAR5000ABK

Western Digital WD Elements 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $74.99 on Amazon.com
Free Standard Shipping
Model: WDBAAU0010HBK

Western Digital WD Elements 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $169.99
Price: $106.49 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAU0015HBK

Western Digital WD Elements 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $229.99
Price: $129.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAU0020HBK

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $199.99
Price: $139.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABM0010BBK

Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $127.60
Price: $119.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABT0010HBK

Western Digital My DVR Expander 1 TB eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $159.99
Price: $119.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDG1S10000VN

Western Digital Elements SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
Original Price: $149.99
Price: $119.99 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBABV0010BBK

Western Digital My Book for Mac 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
Original Price: $129.99
Price: $99.00 on Amazon.com
Model: WDBAAG0010HCH

See my another post: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, or FireWire – What is the recommended solution for data storage.

Data Storage

Seagate announced the world’s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM15 years ago2 years ago07 mins

May 24, 2010 – Seagate announced channel and OEM shipments of the Momentus ® XT hard drive, the world’s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive, combining SSD-like performance with the massive capacity and much lower cost of HDDs. The Momentus XT drive also features Adaptive Memory™ – a groundbreaking new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive’s performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs, and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems.

Today’s high-performance SSDs for mobile computing cost as much as 10 times more than hard disk drives of the same capacity, with the price of a 250GB SSD outstripping even the cost of many laptop PCs. As a result, most consumers and system builders are unwilling or unable to pay the high price for the greater speed and quiet operations of SSDs. Additionally, SSDs offer fewer capacity options than hard disk drives.

Momentus XT, 2.5-inch Solid State Hybrid Drive

The Momentus XT drive is a best-of-both-worlds solution that combines a 7200RPM spin speed, 4GB of solid state memory and Seagate’s Adaptive Memory technology to deliver unprecedented hard drive performance. The unique Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying patterns in how often certain digital data is used, and then moving the most frequently used information to the embedded solid state memory for faster access – effectively tailoring hard drive performance to each user and their applications.

“For notebook PC users looking forward to faster PC performance without sacrificing storage capacity or affordability, now there’s an option, Seagate’s new Momentus ® XT drive is the first storage device for notebook PCs that raises the bar for affordable capacity and performance.” according to John Rydning, IDC’s research director for hard disk drives.

“We see the Momentus ® XT drive as a game changer, a product heralding a new generation of hard drives that combine SSD and HDD capabilities so that laptop users don’t have to make trade-offs on speed, cost or capacity, The feedback we’ve received from customers, industry experts and early reviews has been overwhelmingly positive, and Seagate will continue to drive innovation that provides more value and a better computing experience to consumers.” said Dave Mosley, Seagate executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management.

Momentus ® XT Drive Brings Unprecedented Speed to New ASUS Gaming Laptop PC
ASUS has also announced that it will offer the Momentus XT drive as an upgrade option for its new Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh notebook. The system is powered by an Intel i7 720Qm quad-core processor, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and DX11 capable ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5870.

“With the Momentus ® XT drive, ASUS gives gaming customers who prefer the ASUS ROG G73 the capacity they need and the performance they crave, Seagate’s innovative solid state hybrid drive hands down delivers the best value, capacity and SSD-like performance to a wide audience.” said PC Wang, vice president of the ASUS Systems Business Group.

The Momentus XT drive installs as easily as a traditional 9.5mm-high notebook drive for new systems or laptop upgrades and, unlike early hybrid drives, operates independently of the operating system and the motherboard chipset.

ASUS and Seagate Unveil the Momentus ® XT Drive and the ROG G73JH with a Live Webcast
On Wednesday, May 26, Seagate and OEM customer ASUS will co-sponsor a live webcast unveiling not only the new Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive, but also featuring the new ASUS ROG G73JH system with two Momentus XT drives. Three lucky attendees of this webcast will win a new G73 system just for attending*. Special guest speakers will provide an in-depth look at how this drive will transform high-performance computing.

For more information visit the Momentus XT drive product page.

Data Storage

WD Introduced Photos Photo Viewer App For Iphone and Ipod Touch

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM15 years ago4 years ago07 mins

Apr. 21, 2010 – WD introduced WD Photos photo viewer, an iPhone/iPod Touch app for use with its My Book World Edition and WD ShareSpace network drives, that lets users access up to 250,000 of their favorite photos from anywhere in the world.

The WD Photos photo viewer app allows users to easily log in to their drive from anywhere so they can view their entire photo library.

Users’ photos remain private, safe and secure in full high-resolution format, on their network drive, eliminating the need for painstaking uploads to costly online photo services and the need to choose which pictures to sync to their iPhone – with WD Photos photo viewer, they’re all instantly and easily accessible. The app’s powerful search tools, thumbnail previews and viewing options make it easy to find that special picture to show a friend at a coffee shop or remember a special moment.

With more than 50 million iPhones sold as of Apr. 2010 (Apple®), the iPhone has become one of the fastest growing smart phones in the market and is used every day by consumers to access and share their photos.
According to research firm Parks Associates (Mar. 2010), the number of network storage drives worldwide is projected to increase from 2.6 million units sold in 2009 to more than 18 million units by year-end 2014 as consumers realize the value of having one central place to store and share all their media. In 2009, 56 percent of households rated remote access of their network storage an important feature. Combining the centralized storage and remote access benefits of the My Book World Edition network drive with the iPhone is a natural fit with this rapidly growing consumer behavior.
Users can view up to 250,000 pictures on their iPhone or iPod touch by simply copying their pictures into the “Shared Pictures” folder on their My Book World Edition network drive. A unique application that runs directly on these WD network drives automatically creates optimized versions of users’ photos ahead of time, enabling fast viewing on an iPhone or iPod touch without having to wait for the photos to load.

Available now at the Apple iTunes App Store, the WD Photos photo viewer app is free. Registration with MioNet, WD’s secure remote access service (included with My Book World Edition), is also free and required to use this app. WD Photos photo viewer also works with WD ShareSpace network storage systems.

Home networks are becoming prevalent in many parts of the world, and WD’s My Book World Edition network drives are the easiest way to create one place for all your photos that is accessible to everyone from within the home, and securely from outside the home,With the WD Photos photo viewer app and a WD My Book World Edition network drive, users can access all of the photos from their collection via their iPhone without syncing, without extra organizing and without paying a fee. Photos are available instantly making it easy to relive those great memories or share them with friends.

said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

WD Photos Photo Features & Compatibility:

Features of the WD Photos photo viewer app for iPhone and iPod touch devices include:

Access to all the photos in the “Shared Pictures” folder of users’ My Book World Edition network drives and WD ShareSpace network storage systems;
Photos are automatically resized for perfect viewing on iPhone or iPod touch, leaving originals in full resolution;
Smart filtering to find the photos you want — view photos by album, folder or all images and search by date, folder name or file name;
Access previously viewed photos offline;
E-mail a photo to a friend;
Assign a photo to a contact;
Add a photo to the Camera Roll;
View a slideshow; and,
Set slideshow duration.

WD Photos photo viewer app is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch OS 3.1 or later and works with WD’s My Book World Edition network drives and WD ShareSpace network storage systems. Users must register with WD’s free MioNet remote access service to use the app.