Kanguru Announces Power Saving Hard Drives

Kanguru's new Eco Drive external hard drive is RoHS-compliant and offers three power saving modes, making for a greener computing experience.

There’s no doubt that external hard drives are very useful tools for everyone from computing professionals down to the technologically timid—but anyone who’s used them knows they tend to stay on all the time, suckng power even if there’s no computer attached to them, or if they’re unused for for hours, days, or even weeks. To that end, storage and security vendor Kanguru has announced its new Kanguru Eco Drive, which is not only manufactured to be RoHS compliant and avoid the use of hazardous materials, but sports three power saving modes which can reduce the drive’s power consumption by up to 75 percent compared to a typical hard drive—which also translates to a longer operational life for the drive.

“With energy costs and environmental concerns on the rise Kanguru is setting the standard for environmentally concerned manufacturers. We are proud to be able to offer a high quality and cost effective storage solution that is environmentally friendly,” said Nate Cote, Kanguru’s VP of Product Management, in a release.

The Kanguru Eco Drives range from 80 to 750 GB; each feature 7,200 rpm devices, USB 2.0 connectivity, a vertical stand, power supply, and custom carrying case. Windows users get the added bonus of on OEM version of NTI Backup Now 4 backup software. The drives comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), which limits the amount of mercury, lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and PBB and PBDE flame retardants which can be used in electronic products: Kanguru says the Eco Drives are free of lead and mercury.

The Eco Drives also feature three power saving modes: Idle, Standby, and Power Down. Idle kicks in after three seconds of inactivity and reduces power consumption to 80 percent of normal; Standy activates after 3 minutes of inactivity and reduces power consumption to 10 to 20 percent of normal, while after 5 minutes of inactivity, Power Down takes things another step, operating the drive at 5 to 10 percent of normal power consumption. Kanguru says the Eco Drives use up to 75 percent less power than a traditional hard drive, and the low power states also extend the life of the drive. Windows 2000/XP/Vista users can configure the Eco Drive’s power modes using included software.

Kanguru says SATA versions will be available soon; in the meantime, the Eco Drives are available now at prices ranging from $94.95 for 80 GB to $349.95 for 750 GB.