Seagate Hits 4TB Storage On Desktop

Chris Preimesberger,

Enough storage in a $250 desktop device to store the collected knowledge of a top TV quiz contestant

As they have for more than a decade, makers of storage systems for consumers and small and midsized businesses continue to leapfrog over each other when it comes to aerial density and overall storage capacity in their devices.

The latest such example is Seagate which has announced it is now shipping a new 4TB GoFlex Desk 3.5-inch external hard drive. The company contends that this is the highest-capacity consumer- and small-business hard drive now available.

Space For 125 Hours Of HD Movies

The drive has the space to contain over 2,000 high-definition movies, said Patrick Connolly, Seagate vice president and general manager of retail products.

That is a lot of storage in a toaster-sized desktop device, especially when one realises that Watson, IBM’s gameshow-playing computer, worked from a store of 200 million pages of structured and unstructured information stored in 4TB . It is also significant that this device will retail for $250 (£157).

The storage devices are Windows- and Mac OS X-compatible and have the flexibility to go between both operating systems, Seagate said. In addition to cross-platform compatibility, the GoFlex Desk drive can also be used with the GoFlex Home adapter, if required as a network drive.

With the pre-loaded Memeo backup software, the GoFlex Desk external drive provides automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all files. It includes a USB 3.0 adapter that works with USB 2.0 ports, making it easy to connect to a Windows or Mac computer. The adapter also features an illuminated gauge to display available space on the drive.

The GoFlexes made their debut in May 2010 (see a slideshow of the launch event here). This has become a hot-selling product line for Seagate.

The new 4TB GoFlex Desk drive is now available from the Seagate Website and will be available from select online retailers this month for $249.99 (£156.82). A GoFlex Desk for Mac external drive, featuring both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0, will be available in Apple stores by the end of the month, Seagate said.