Seagate Does Expansion With Flexible GoFlex HDD And Accessory Line

Seagate's FreeAgent external hard drive line has competed with Western Digital's My Book line for several years now, and aside from growing capacities and the occasional feature-add, both lines have remained mostly constant. But now, Seagate is really putting the pressure on everyone else with the introduction of the GoFlex family.

This range of storage solutions begins with the hard drives. Ranging from 320GB to 2TB, this drives have been slightly updated and look a lot more stylish, and they each ship with USB 2.0 support. The GoFlex cable system is unique in that it allows consumers to add support for USB 3.0, eSATA and even FireWire 800 without the need to buy a new drive or enclosure. It's the first portable HDD that's upgradable in terms of connectivity, at least in the widespread consumer realm.


Seagate is also claiming unrivaled multi-platform support, with GoFlex hard drives being able to work at the same time with Mac and PC machines. Seagate is also shipping a bunch of new accessories to make the most of their new drives, with the GoFlex Upgrade Cable - Auto Backup allowing the drive to continuously auto-backup your system without hindering productivity.

The GoFlex TV HD media play allows consumers to enjoy their personal media collection on their television, with 1080p support built right in. It can also pull down content from your networked drives or from the Internet, including Netflix, YouTube, MediaFly, etc. The GoFlex Net media sharing device transforms any GoFlex drive (or any other USB 2.0 hard drive) into a NAS drive, but unlike the Pogoplug and other similar adapters, this one also integrates with social media networks to let people keep tabs on your media adds if you so choose. Prices and future details are listed below, and all of these devices should begin to ship out soon.

GoFlex Drives:

• GoFlexTM ultra portable drive —The core of the GoFlex™ Storage System. Available in 14.5mm and 22mm versions and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $99.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $129.99 for 500GB (silver, black, red, blue); $169.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $199.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
• GoFlex™ ultra portable drive, drive-only version—MSRP $89.99 for 320GB [silver, black]; $119.99 for 500GB [silver, black, red, blue]; $159.99 for 750GB [silver and black]; $189.99 for 1TB [silver, black].
• GoFlex™ Pro ultra portable drive kit —A 7200RPM, 2.5” drive that delivers premium backup with encryption and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $139.99 for 500GB; $189.99 for 750GB [black].
• GoFlex™ Pro ultra portable drive, drive-only version—MSRP $129.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB [black].
• GoFlex™ Desk external drive kit — Delivers high-capacity storage and automatic, continuous backup with encryption for all your files and includes a USB 2.0 cable. MSRP $129.99 for 1TB [black]; $199.99 for 2TB [black].
• GoFlex™ Desk external drive, drive-only version—MSRP $119.99 for 1TB [black]; $189.99 for 2TB [black].

GoFlex Cables and Adapters:

• GoFlex™ Cable – USB 2.0— The baseline interface for your GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Proultra-portable drives. MSRP $19.99.
• GoFlex™; Upgrade cable – USB 3.0— Equips your GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files vs USB 2.0, while being backwards compatible. MSRP $29.99.
• GoFlex™ Upgrade cable kit–USB 3.0—Includes ExpressCard adapter to update a laptop and GoFlex™ ultra-portable drives from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 and deliver up to 10x faster transfer of files than USB 2.0, MSRP $79.99.
• GoFlex™ Upgrade cable – FireWire® 800 —Upgrades your GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver 2x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0. MSRP $39.99.
• GoFlex™ Upgrade cable kit – eSATA—Empowers your GoFlex™ and GoFlex™ Pro ultra-portable drives to deliver up to 6x faster performance over USB 2.0. MSRP $19.99.
• GoFlex™ Upgrade cable – Auto Backup —Delivers continuous backup and protection of data giving consumers the peace of mind that their data is backed up, while leaving capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer. MSRP $29.99.
• GoFlex™ Desk Desktop adapter—USB 3.0 —Allows the GoFlex™ Desk to deliver up to 10x faster transfer speed over USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $39.00.
• GoFlex™ Desk Desktop adapter kit—USB 3.0 —Includes PCI Express adapter to upgrade a desktop PC and GoFlex™ Desk external drive for USB 3.0 performance, MSRP $79.00.
• GoFlex™ Desk Desktop adapter —FireWire® 800/USB 2.0—Upgrades your GoFlex™ Desk external drive to deliver 2x faster performance over USB 2.0 with FireWire® 800/USB 2.0 for your desktop PC. MSRP $49.99.

GoFlex Storage System Devices:

• GoFlex™ TV HD media player —Allows for enjoyment of digital content on a TV. MSRP $129.99 for media player only.
• GoFlex™ Net media sharing device —Enables instant, easy access and sharing of content over a network. MSRP $99.99.
• GoFlex™ Intelligent dock —Transforms the GoFlex ultra portable drive into the perfect desktop solution that delivers convenient file access and backup with an easy-to-view capacity gauge. MSRP $29.99.