Following on the heels of Verbatim, hard drive maker Western Digital has introduced two new external hard drives—the My Book Studio and My Book Elite—that feature E-Ink labels that show a drive’s name and remaining capacity, even when the drive is unplugged. The company has also introduced its latest My Passport Elite portable drive with a convenient grab-and-go USB dock.
All three drives also feature Western Digital’s WD SmartWare for continuous backups under Mac OS X and Windows; the SmartWare software also enables users to set up the E-Ink drive labels. The E-Ink labels can display a drive’s name, its remaining free capacity, and an indicator of whether the drive is locked.
The My Book Elite is available in capacities of 1, 1.5 and 2 TB, and feature a USB 2.0 interface and 256-bit hardware encryption so users’ data safe even if the drive is lost or stolen. The My Book Studio drives come in capacities of 500 GB to 2 TB and are aimed at Mac users; they’re pre-formatted with the HFS+ Journaled file system and offer both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 interfaces; they’re also compatible with Apple’s Time Machine backup system built into Mac OS X 10.5 and newer and offer 256-bit hardware encryption. The My Book Elites range from $169.99 to $279.99; the My Book Studios run from $149.99 to $299.99.
The new My Passport Elite features an illuminated capacity gauge rather than an E-Ink display, but it’s all about portability rather than labeling: the slim, streamlined drives are designed to be docked and undocked from a grab-and-go USB cradle with just one hand, making them ideal for folks who need to move a drive between two locations with a minimum of fuss. The drive features a USB 2.0 port, but the grab-and-go go eliminates cable-futzing and port-hunting. The My Passport Elite drives are available now in capacities of 320, 500, and 640 GB at prices from $119.99 to $169.99; they also feature WD’s SmartWare backup system and 256-bit hardware encryption.
