WD Desktop My Book With USB 3.0

Western Digital Corp. introduced its fastest My Book external hard drive – the new My Book 3.0 desktop external drives are among the first devices certified with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. With an interface that’s up to 10 times faster than the previous-generation USB 2.0 interface, the high-performance My Book 3.0 drive significantly reduces the time it takes to open and save large files.

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Offered standalone, or in a kit that includes a USB 3.0 PCIe (gen2) adapter card, the 1 TB My Book 3.0 drive is available now at select retailers and shopwd.com. The 2 TB model is expected later this week.

The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface on My Book 3.0 drives provides transfer rates of up to 5 gigabits-per-second, allowing users to open and save files up to 4.7 times faster than USB 2.0. The new My Book 3.0 drive is compliant with the USB-IF SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard to provide compatibility with other USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 products. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1.

Market research firm In-Stat expects the worldwide market for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to reach over 1 billion units in 2013, representing over 25 percent of the market by 2013 (Sept. 2009).

"Consumers no longer have to wait for technology to keep up with their ideas. With the new super speed My Book 3.0 drives, consumers have the speed they need for resource-intensive video editing, animation, and graphic design applications," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD’s branded products group.

Price and Availability
The new My Book 3.0 drives have 1 TB capacity and a 2-year limited warranty. My Book 3.0 drives are available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. MSRP for the My Book 3.0 drive 1 TB is $179.99 USD. MSRP for the My Book 3.0 drive in a kit that includes a USB 3.0 PCIe (gen2) adapter card is $199.99 USD. The 2 TB My Book 3.0 drive is expected later this week.

The new My Book 3.0 drives feature:

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface with transfer speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 to accelerate data transfers with the fastest available interface;
Ideas accelerated – resource-intensive video editing, animation, graphic design, and large media files can be saved so quickly that you no longer have to wait for the technology to keep up with your ideas;
Sleek, streamlined design features a premium finish that will look great sitting on your shelf;
Compatible with USB 2.0 ports – USB 3.0 interface is backward compatible with USB 2.0 with no additional hardware needed;
WD quality inside and out – designed with the same commitment to quality that has made My Book external hard drives the number one selling drives in the world;
Planet-friendly, small retail recyclable box made from recycled materials to minimize waste;
Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs; and,
Two-year limited warranty.

Comments

It’s a tsunami for USB 3.0 at CES!

All the big names of the external HDD market are ready to deliver now or shortly their devices with the new serial interface: Buffalo, Freecom, LaCie, Seagate, WD, etc. You also will see the SuperSpeed interface on RAIDs coming progressively, and probably later on all peripherals (optical discs and tape drives, flash keys and SSDs, scanners, printers, screens and other CE products like digital TVs, cameras, smart phones, etc.).

But we thing that the external storage market could be slowed for a while as smart users will wait for the complete availability of the interface on their computer before buying more capacity.

That’s the reason why all of the current external HDD makers are now also offering special kits with PCIe-to-USB 3.0 card to connect their units to PCs, as no one is integrating the new interface. But not for a long time. HP ad Fujitsu are the first known computer manufacturers with direct connexion on their notebooks.

“To date, the USB interface is the most prevalent interface and will continue to dominate as the interface of choice through 2011,” said Liz Conner, lead research analyst of IDC’s personal storage research. “This will be re-enforced with the introduction of USB 3.0, which provides significantly increased bandwidth to better handle the growing number of large multimedia files being stored to external hard drives.”

Market research firm In-Stat expects the worldwide market for USB 3.0 to reach over 1 billion units in 2013, representing over 25% of the market by 2013.