Western Digital today has released its newest desktop external RAID drives. The new My Book Duo models feature options with up to 20TB of storage, include USB-C and USB-A ports, and have a 3-year warranty.
The lineup of new My Book Duo models offers the choice of 4TB to 20TB capacities and is marketed for home or small business use. Western Digital’s VP of product marketing shared that there is a growing need for products like the My Book Duo with hobbyists and professionals creating more and more photo and video content than ever before.
Pricing ranges from an affordable $260 for the 4TB model up to $800 for the 20TB version (strangely, pricing in the press release and on Amazon is lower than direct from WD for now).
These new drives will make a good companion with the 2016 and later MacBook Pro models and also the 2017 5K iMac with USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports. However, the My Book Duo also sports two USB-A ports as well making it easy to use with any machine.
A USB Type-C port with all cables included makes it universally compatible (supports USB 3.1 Gen 1/3.0/2.0). Two USB 3.0 Type-A hub ports deliver flexibility for additional accessories.
Configured in RAID-0 (default out of the box) these new drives will perform at up to 360 MB/s, while you can also opt for RAID-1 or to use the two drives independently.
My Book Duo also features its “RAID- optimized WD Red drives inside to deliver high-speed, quality storage to rely on. RAID-optimized firmware is perfect for two-disk array systems with auto management of drive operations to help ensure read/write cycle data integrity.”
You’ll also get included software to automatically back up your data and system, along with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and password protection. WD’s suite of other software is bundled and it is compatible with macOS’ Time Machine. It is formatted for Windows by default, so Mac users will need to reformat the My Book Duo.
The My Book Duo external drives are available now on WD’s website. There is a bit of discrepancy on pricing as the press release and the Amazon listings show pricing between $10-$50 lower than buying direct from WD.
For those that don’t mind skipping the USB-C connectivity, the previous generation can be had for at up to $100 off.
[9to5-press-release]
NEW MY BOOK DUO OFFERS 20TB TO KEEP UP WITH TODAY’S GROWING CONTENT LIBRARIES
Western Digital Corporation, (NASDAQ: WDC), a global data storage technology and solutions leader, today unveiled My Book® Duo storage system designed to give both consumers and professionals the capacity they need to keep up with their expanding digital content libraries and the performance to maintain pace with the speed of today’s small business landscape. With this extreme capacity and fast content transfer speeds, the new desktop RAID storage system has the capability to back up colossal amounts of photos, videos, music and important documents in one place while also providing users with complete control of their content.
“Both at home and in the office, people are creating and amassing huge volumes of data, and need high capacity, high speed solutions to easily and confidently move and store that data in a single location,” Sven Rathjen, vice president of product marketing, Client Solutions, Western Digital. “We see it within new content creation segments such as the drone market and with enthusiasts, as well as professionals, producing and editing massive, high-quality photo and video files. There has never been more of a need for a simple-to-use, massive capacity desktop storage solution such as My Book Duo for these content creators to keep pace with their growing storage demands.”
Whether set up as a home back up system, or for a small business, the My Book Duo storage system can quickly and reliably back up an enormous amount of data in any environment. It comes with RAID-optimized WD Red™ hard drives inside to deliver high-speeds of up to 360 MB/s sequential reads1, and RAID-optimized firmware which is perfect for two-disk array systems with auto management of drive operations to help ensure read/write cycle data integrity.
“As a creative professional, I constantly have several photo and video projects in the works. With the way files sizes are increasing and demand for higher-quality content is growing, I need a reliable, massive storage system that I can quickly and easily access while managing my business. The My Book Duo combines the speed, capacity and features I need to help keep my content in control and securely backed up,” said Trevor Traynor, Director, Photographer, and Producer.
The My Book Duo storage system also features a USB Type-C™ port with all cables included so it’s universally compatible (supports USB 3.1 Gen 1/3.0/2.0) right out of the box and offers high-speed connectivity. The storage system also has two additional USB Type-A hub ports to allow for additional accessories, including drones, action cameras, card readers, keyboards, mice, USB drives or phone syncing and charging.
The My Book Duo storage system delivers extreme capacity and file transfer speeds. Available in 20TB, 16TB, 12TB, 8TB, 6TB and 4TB capacities2, the storage system also comes with password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption with WD Security™ software built in to help keep private content secure.
Pricing and Availability
The My Book Duo storage system is protected by a three-year limited warranty and is available now from wd.com and at select retailers and distributors around the world. In the United States, the My Book Duo storage system has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $799.99 (20TB), $599.99 (16TB), $419.99 (12TB), $329.99 (8TB), $289.99 (6TB) and $259.99 (4TB).
About Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is an industry-leading provider of storage technologies and solutions that enable people to create, leverage, experience and preserve data. The company addresses ever-changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage solutions with customer-focused innovation, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed under the HGST, SanDisk and WD brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. For more information about the WD brand, please visit www.wd.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements, including the expected availability, pricing and performance of the My Book Duo storage system and its features and benefits to customers. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: the My Book Duo storage system may not be available when we expect; volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our most recently filed periodic report to which your attention is directed. We do not intend to update the information contained in this release.
[/9to5-press-release]
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