Seagate Launches World’s First 3TB External Drive

Size counts in the storage industry, after Seagate Technology announced the availability of the first 3TB desktop storage device, in the guise of a new version of its popular FreeAgent GoFlex.

Only a few weeks ago, Seagate was touting its 2GB GoFlex drives. At this rate, 4GB storage devices are only another few months away, a veteran storage analyst told eWEEK.

Seagate’s FreeAgent GoFlex 3TB, priced at $249 (£165), features 3.5-inch HHD platters and a USB 2.0 interface. USB 3.0, while now available, is not in widespread use at this point.

Larger-capacity disks are invariably slower-moving, so users who want to speed up data flow between a PC and the new storage device will need to obtain a desktop adapter. Choices include USB 3.0 bundled with a PCIe x1 USB 3.0 card ($79 or £52), FireWire or USB 2.0 ($49 or £32), or straight USB 3.0 ($39 or £26).

Seagate, which has been lobbying for a new 4KB sector standard (a major increase from the outdated 512 bytes on most of the current drives), features a 64-bit operating system in the 3TB GoFlex machine. The new sector standard, once adopted, will help increase aerial density in storage devices by a substantial amount.

For more information, go here.