Dell is taking a page out of Apple’s business model by introducing a new line of bags and accessories dubbed “Designed for Dell”. These are products designed by third party manufacturers that complement the latest Dell PCs such as the Studio laptops that were recently introduced. This is Dell’s attempt to create an industry similar to what we’ve seen with Apple’s iPod/iPhone product line - third party products that accentuate the capabilities of the main product. In this case, we’ve got the new Dell Studio notebook which is just begging for matching case designs, cool looking speakers, hard drives for more storage space, and funky mice. Current manufacturers participating in the Designed for Dell program include:

• Belkin: Backpacks and messenger cases
• Built: Computer sleeves, cargo bags and portfolios
• Creative Labs: Headphones and speakers
• Iomega: Portable hard drives
• Logitech: Mice
• Swiss Gear: Backpacks
• Targus: Messenger cases and accessories bundles

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Dell, Designed for Dell, Belkin, Built, Creative Labs, Iomega, Logitech, Swiss Gear, Targus

Need a small form factor external hard drive with lots of storage space? Check out the LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra (boy.. that name is begging for jokes if you ask me). The “Little Big” comes in 400GB, 500GB, and 1TB storage capacities and features a four interfaces - eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0.  Other features include built-in RAID 0, firewire bus-powered, and heat sink aluminum design. This drive is compatible with PCs and Macs as well as Apple’s Time Machine application. The 400GB model sells for $429.99 (same price as the 500GB although the 400GB is a 7200RPM drive). The 1TB drive is $699.99.

[Check it out via Tech Digest]

Technorati Tags: LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra,

Addonics has announced a new line of hard drive enclosures called the “Snap-In” series which allows users to hot swap hard drives by simply popping out the drives. Three new products were introduced today - the Snap-In ExDrive25, the Snap-In Double Drive, and the Zebra Snap-In Mobile Rack.

The Snap-In ExDrive25 is a portable 2.5 inch hard drive enclosure which allows users to install a 2.5 inch notebook hard drive without any tools or mounting screws. Simply “snap” in the hard drive and you’re all set. The ExDrive25 has an aluminum body and connects to your desktop or notebooks via your choice of either a USB 2.0 connector or an eSATA connector. Features include:

• Easy installation and removal of hard drive without any special tool or mounting screws
• Built-in eSATA and USB 2.0/1.1 interface to computer
• Compatible with any 2.5″ SATA hard drives of 9mm - 9.5mm height
• Sturdy aluminum construction with patented interior anti-shock protection system
• LEDs on both sides of the enclosure for power indication and hard drive activity
• Weight less than 5 oz.
• Compact size for convenient transportation
• USB Y cable with dual USB Type B connectors to support 7200RPM drives with higher power requirements
• Hot swappable
• Plug and play
• OS support -
  • USB connection - Windows 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux (Kernel 2.4 and above), Mac OS X and above
  • eSATA connection - DOS, Windows NT, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux (Kernel 2.4 and above), Mac OS X and above, Solaris 10 and above.

The 2.5 inch Snap-In ExDrive costs $29 dollars with an optional AC/DC 5.0V power adapter at $15 dollars.

The Snap-In Double Drive allows users to install two 2.5 inch SATA hard drives in a single 3.5 inch bay. Users can install or remote hard drives from the enclosure simply by “snapping” open the door and pushing or pulling the drive. Features include:

• Installs into standard 3.5″ drive bay
• Easy insertion and removal of hard drive without any tool or mounting screws.
• Two drive slots to accommodate up to two 2.5″ SATA 1.5Gbps or SATA 3Gbps hard drives
• Sturdy steel construction
• LEDs for power and drive activity
• Supports hot swap (when connects to controller with this feature)
• Plug and play
• DOS, Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux (Kernel 2.4 and above), Solaris 10 and above, Mac OS X and above

The Double Drive will run you $39 dollars.

Finally, the Zebra Snap-In Mobile Rack is similar to the ExDrive25 except the Zebra model supports 3.5 inch SATA hard drives. You can choose between an eSATA interface model or a combination USB/eSATA interface model. Features include:

• Supports any 3.5″ SATA hard drives
• Hot swap hard drives
• Choice of eSATA or eSATA /USB combo interface
• black color bezel
• Rugged steel construction for rough handling and fast cooling
• Point to point Serial ATA connection (no cable to connect hard drive to enclosure)
• Suspension mount to protect against vibration and shock
• Key lock to secure hard drive
• Compact size for convenient transportation
• Rear mount 40×40mm cooling fan
• LED for drive access and power
• Plug and play
• Stereo ear phone jack
• Bootable under DOS
• Simple installation
• OS Compatibility:
  • Zebra eSATA Model: DOS, Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux (Kernel 2.4 and above), Solaris 10, Mac OS X 10.4.x
  • Zebra eSATA / USB 2.0 Combo: DOS, Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux (Kernel 2.4 and above), Solaris 10, Mac OS X 10.4.x

The Zebra Snap-In Mobile Rack with an eSATA interface will cost $69.99 while the dual USB/eSATA interface model will cost $77 dollars.

Technorati Tags: Addonics, Snap-In ExDrive25, Snap-In Double Drive, Zebra Snap-In Mobile Rack

Iomega is now selling a USB based external hard drive marketed towards the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 game consoles called the Media Xporter. Yes.. I do say marketed because a traditional USB based external hard drive will work just fine with either the PS3 or the Xbox 360. What makes the Xporter slightly different boils down to two umm.. features. Feature 1 - the Xporter has a "cool, contemporary black style" design (though I suppose cool is pretty subjective) and Feature 2 - the drive comes with the Prism Video Converter MX software application which allows users to convert media files into file formats compatible with the 360 and the PS3. Specs on the Iomega Media Xporter are as follows:

• 160GB
• Preformated
• No AC adapter required - USB powered
• USB 2.0
• Meaures 0.625 x 2.93 x 5.15 inches and weighs 0.4 lbs

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Iomega, Media Xporter, 160GB, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, External Hard Drive

LaptopMag published a review of the 1 terabyte Time Capsule device here on their website. Those of you not familiar with Apple products, here’s the basic gist. Time Capsule, which looks like an Apple Airport Extreme device, is a combination wireless router and network attached backup device. The device works in conjunction with OS X Leopard’s Time Machine backup software application and from what I’ve seen and heard, it works quite well. Here’s the gist of the review from LaptopMag:

It’s so easy to use, that Mac users now have no excuse not to back up their content.

Read more of the review at LaptopMag’s website here.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Apple, Time Capsule, LaptopMag, Review

The folks at Everything USB have published a review of the Buffalo MiniStation 320GB Turbo USB Hard Drive here on their website. This 5400 RPM external hard drive solution is designed to be compact and shock resistant while offering throughput speeds up to 34.9 MB/s. Other features include support for USB 2.0, Shock Resistant Chassis, USB powered, convenient wrap around cabling, and included software such as Memeo AutoBackup Solution, and SecureLockWare. Here’s what Everything USB thought of the drive:

The Buffalo 320GB MiniStation is an excellent bus powered drive that delivers great speed and easy to use backup software. The only drawback is the high price, but that has always come with increased performance.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Buffalo, MiniStation 320GB Turbo USB Hard Drive, Everything USB, Review

LaCie is now taking pre-orders for a new small portable hard drive designed by Sam Hecht called the LaCie Little Disk. The Little Disk comes in a black rectangular shape no larger than the size of your palm. It has a protective removable cap which reveals an extractable USB connector on the inside. Simply plug the Little Disk directly into an available USB port - no cables or power adapters needed. LaCie also provides LaCieSync software which keeps your important data secure.

Pre-order the 30GB model now for $129.99 with units shipping in February.

Specs include:

• 30GB storage capacity
• USB 2.0 connectivity
• 3600 RPM
• 2MB cache
• Up to 480Mbits/second
• Measures 2.64 x 1.69 x .67 inches
• Weighs 85 grams

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: LaCie, Little Disk, Sam Hecht

This is an upcoming IOGEAR device (which has yet to be announced nor named) which is basically an external hard drive/media player. Inside the green chassis is a small portable hard drive which you can use to store all of your latest digital content - everything from music to photos to videos. Bring it with you to your friends or families’ home and then connect it up to your television set to view the content.

On the video side, the device will support most of the popular formats including MPEG-2/MPEG-4/H.264 etc. Storage sizes have yet to be finalized but you can probably expect a 250GB unit to be available sometime in 2008.

The device can be controlled using the onboard buttons or a separate remote control.

Technorati Tags: IOGEAR, CES 2008

Now here’s something interesting for you storage folks out there. Intel has decided to enter the home/small office NAS market by announcing the new Intel Entry Storage System (or model SS4200-EHW). According to Intel, the Entry Storage System targets small businesses, SOHO folks, and the digital home and will come with EMC backup software installed. Not surprisingly, you’ll find a slew of Intel components inside the box including:

• Intel Celeron 420 series processor running at 1.6GHz
• Intel 945GZ/ICH7-R chipset
• 512MB DDR2 memory
• Four USB ports
• Four tool-less drive retention bays
• Three year warranty
• One Intel Gigabit LAN port
• 250 watt PSU

The box is capable of supporting up to four 3.5 inch SATA hard drives ranging from 80GB to 1TB in size and comes with an eSATA connection too. Curiously, the Intel Entry Storage System doesn’t support hot-swappable drives.

Features of the box include:

• Data file sharing among Microsoft Windows, Linux OS, and Apple Mac systems with user name, password protection, and management access in local workgroups
• Support for RAID levels 5, 10, and 1
• Easy to use setup wizard
• Backup and recovery application provides system backup, remote boot, and recovery for Windows clients
• Capable of being a DHCP server
• Can act as a DHCP client
• User-friendly web interface for setting up users and access rights
• Built-in FTP server
• Web-based management
• Can be used as linear storage or as RAID 0 setup

Price point for this box? $500 dollars - which puts it squarely against devices like the new HP MediaSmart Server which is due out later this month. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone takes this box and installs Windows Home Server instead on it. One nice thing about this Intel box - out of the box support for Linux and Apple systems.

[Check it out via ExtremeTech]

Technorati Tags: Intel, Intel Entry Storage System, SS4200-EHW, NAS

Are you looking for an external hard drive solution with practically every single interface connector under the sun (well ok.. maybe not all of them but it comes close to having all the modern ones)? Check out NewerTech’s miniStack v3 ‘Quad Interface’ Powered Hub Storage Solution. Available in capacities up to 1 TB, the miniStack v3 comes with eSATA, two FireWire 800, one FireWire 400, and three USB 2.0 ports. It also comes with FireWire 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0 connection cables too! The drive connects to either Mac or PC systems and offers Plug-and-play ease.

Features of the miniStack v3 include the following:

• Up 1 TB storage space
• Large 8MB, 16MB, or 32MB data cache
• Oxford OXUF924DSb chipset for high performance FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, eSATA to SATA-II with NCQ
• Compact design measuring 6.5 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Auto Power on/off automatically with computer
• Intelligent thermal monitoring activates fan only when needed to reduce power consumption and minimize noise output

miniStack v3 is available in the following storage configurations:

• 160GB
• 250GB
• 320GB
• 400GB
• 500GB
• 750GB
• 1 TB

[Check it out via ChipChick]

Technorati Tags: miniStack v3, External Hard Drive, eSATA, USB, FireWire