Western Digital Delivers My Book Live Network Storage Drive

Is Western Digital's "My Book" line the most easily recognized out there in the external storage market? That's probably up for debate, but the range is still going strong years after it got its start. Today, WD is introduced a new connected My Book, the My Book Live. It's marketed at at-home, casual users who simply need a basic NAS solution that can also stream media to DLNA-compatible streaming devices. Devices like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and many connected Blu-ray players.


It has a single Gigabit Ethernet port on the rear, and WD claims that it can deliver transfer rates as high as 100Mbps, or over 3x faster than USB 2.0. It also has a built-in media server that can move media to other servers, and users can use it as an iTunes jukebox as well. Customers can also securely access and share all the content and files stored on the My Book Live from any Internet-connected PC or Mac using WD's free remote access service, and the photos can be viewed remotely on the company's new iPhone 4/iPad-compatible "My Photos" app.

The device will ship this month in 1TB and 2TB sizes for $169.99 and $229.99, respectively.

WD® PROVIDES CONSUMERS FASTEST ACCESS TO THEIR CONTENT WITH NEW HOME NETWORK DRIVE
The My Book® Live™ Home Network Drive Enables Users to Easily and Securely Centralize, Share and Stream Digital Content at Home...or When Away

LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Oct. 7, 2010 - WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its My Book® Live™ home network drive (photo), which gives consumers the fastest storage of and access to their content among consumer-grade network drives and provides a seamless set-up for centralizing a home's digital media. The drives present an easy and secure way to consolidate movies, music, and photos in one location while providing convenient access to digital content from multimedia devices in the connected home.

WD has leveraged the latest processor technology to deliver transfer speeds up to 100 MBps, more than triple the speed of traditional USB 2.0 drives and at least double the speeds of other network drives in its class.

My Book Live home network drive's built-in media server makes it a fast, simple solution for users who wish to view videos, music and images on any Mac® or PC connected to the home network and stream digital media to a television set through a DLNA®-certified multimedia device such as WD TV® Live Plus HD media player, Blu-ray Disc™ player, Xbox 360® or PlayStation® 3 game console. Users can also play music and videos stored on their drive in iTunes®, as well as view their digital photos on their iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™ with the swipe of a finger through the included WD Photos™ application. Users can also securely access and share all the content and files stored on the My Book Live from any Internet-connected PC or Mac using WD's free remote access service.

"Network attached storage presents tremendous opportunity for families wishing to centralize all of their digital content and enjoy it on computers, TVs and smartphones around their home and beyond," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "Our consumer research tells us that consumers need a simple way to set up a one-stop shop for their digital media. WD's My Book Live home network drive makes it easy for anyone to enjoy the benefits of network storage and delivers blazing read speeds to boot."

My Book Live Home Network Drive
My Book Live home network drive features:

    * Simple set-up - ready in minutes;
    * Seamless video streaming with a built-in DLNA media server;
    * Automatic backup with WD SmartWare™ software for Windows;
    * Apple® Time Machine® compatibility;
    * Gigabit Ethernet technology for speeds faster than USB 2.0 drives; and,
    * A 3-year limited warranty.


Capacity and Compatibility
My Book Live home network drive is available in capacities of 1 TB and 2 TB and is compatible with Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Mac OS® X Leopard® and Snow Leopard®, as well as DLNA/UPnP® enabled devices.

Price and Availability
My Book Live home network drive has a 3-year limited warranty and is now available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. MSRP is $169.99 USD for 1 TB and $229.99 USD for 2 TB.