MUMBAI: Seagate, which offers hard drives and storage solutions, has introduced what it says is the next evolution of its FreeAgent external hard drives—its new GoFlex storage solutions.

This new family of external drives and accessories introduces a new level of flexibility to traditional USB 2.0 storage that will change the way people store, access, enjoy and share their digital content.

The FreeAgent GoFlex storage family includes plug-and-play portable and desktop drives, with interchangeable cables and desktop adapters that allow each drive to adapt to the interface or device being used.

GoFlex hard disk drives are also specially designed to provide interoperability between operating systems in order to work with both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X computers.
 
The company says that the external hard drives introduce a new level of flexibility for external hard drive storage that will change the way people store, access, enjoy and share their digital content.

Seagate executive VP, sales, marketing and product line management Dave Mosley says, “GoFlex interface cables are about providing the speed, performance and connectivity people need to support their interaction with their digital content. The explosive growth of video capture and multimedia collecting is expanding personal digital libraries to terabytes worth of content within the home.

“These trends are driving demand for high-capacity, high-performance storage. The GoFlex family of storage products meets this need by delivering simple, USB 2.0 storage and backup devices, with the flexibility to adapt as interface technology advances by using the various GoFlex cables and accessories to access content stored on the same drive.”

Protect, store and access files through the interface of choice : Recent survey results by the Yankee Group indicate that more than half of people planning to purchase a new hard drive consider the interface connection an important factor in their selection. GoFlex drives address this concern by providing a flexible, plug-and-play way to adapt to the most popular available interfaces or devices. The GoFlex cable system enables the GoFlex and GoFlex Pro ultra-portable USB 2.0 drives to be upgraded to USB 3.0, eSATA or FireWire 800 connections simply by switching out the cable adapter.

Additionally, specially-designed GoFlex upgrade cables provide even more applications of how each drive can be used. For example, the GoFlex Upgrade cable – Auto Backup transforms the drive into acontinuous full-system backup, giving consumers the peace of mind that their files and system settings are backed up, while leaving the remaining capacity for basic drag-and-drop file transfer. 
 
Yankee Group director, Anywhere Consumer Research Carl Howe says, “As consumer’s lives become increasingly connected, people will demand capabilities beyond the traditional hard drive. Consumers are looking not only for storage, but for new ways to use their digital content. Connecting, sharing, and repurposing content is part of the purchasing decision process for today’s ‘Anywhere Consumer’.”
Within the GoFlex family, Seagate has created an ecosystem wherein people experience easy backup and enhanced protection of all their data—the same way they would expect a traditional hard drive to perform—only now their interaction with that content is not wholly dependent on the drive. In addition to several cable options, people can pair a GoFlex or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive with a GoFlex™ TV HD media player or the GoFlex™ Net media sharing device to enhance their experience of the drive’s content.

Using the GoFlex TV HD media player consumers can enjoy their personal digital media library on their television screen by inserting a GoFlex ultra-portable drive or GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive directly into the media dock, or connecting another storage device, digital or Flip camera to the two additional USB ports on the back of the device. Using the intuitive remote, owners of GoFlex TV HD media players can view movies, photos, and music from the comfort of their couch in 1080p high-definition and surround sound.

The GoFlex Net media sharing device transforms a GoFlex ultra-portable drive, GoFlex Pro ultra-portable drive, or any USB mass storage, into a media sharing device, allowing consumers to enjoy their digital content outside their home using a PC, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry or any other internet-connected computer.

The GoFlex Net media sharing device also integrates with social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and publishes RSS feeds allowing people to keep friends and family updated GoFlex media sharing device owners can also stream content to other devices on a home network, including the GoFlex TV HD media player, to enjoy movies, photos and music on their TV.