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WD, formerly known as Western Digital, introduced My Passport Pro, a portable, Thunderbolt-powered dual-drive solution, aimed at creative professionals and enthusiasts who seek high performance and capacity in a mobile form.
For Mac systems, My Passport Pro has user-selectable RAID functionality to deliver needed performance for demanding applications without the need for power adapters or extra cables.
Directly powered through the integrated Thunderbolt cable, the devices boast performance rates at speeds up to 233 MB per second, offering speedy transfer, edit and backup capabilities.
Thunderbolt combines PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort (DP) into one serial signal alongside a DC connection for electric power, transmitted over one cable. Up to six peripherals may be supported by one connector through various topologies.
Developed by Intel, Thunderbolt was commercially introduced on Apple’s 2011 MacBook Pro, using the same Apple-developed connector as Mini DisplayPort, which is electrically identical to DisplayPort, but uses a smaller, non-locking connector.
My Passport Pro is available in 2- and 4-terabyte capacities, and will be sold at Apple and major consumer electronics retailers and e-tailers, as well as online on WD’s site. Pricing for the 2TB My Passport Pro is $299.99, and the 4TB model is $429.99.
Consisting of two 2.5-inch hard drives housed in an aluminum enclosure, the storage drives have been shock-tested for extra durability to perform reliably when working on the go.
“Thunderbolt technology makes new approaches possible for high-performance workflows,” Jason Ziller, Intel’s director of Thunderbolt marketing, said in a statement. “By combining dual storage drives on a portable, bus-powered device, the My Passport Pro from WD is a uniquely powerful storage solution with high capacity for today’s demanding users.”
Another key feature of the dual-drive My Passport Pro is its user-selectable RAID function, which lets users choose data striping (RAID 0) for high performance or mirroring (RAID 1) for data redundancy, depending on the user’s needs.
“The only Thunderbolt dual-drive solution that’s bus-powered, My Passport Pro enhances the workflow of mobile creative professionals by providing fast transfers and data protection for the large amounts of digital content they generate outside the studio,” Jim Welsh, WD’s executive vice president of branded products and worldwide sales, said in a statement. “From photographers, videographers and musicians to graphic designers and architects, people who depend on portable storage for their livelihood will find My Passport Pro defines a new level of performance, reliability and especially portability.”
Earlier this month WD expanded its personal cloud solutions for consumers with the release of the My Cloud EX2, a two-bay network-attached storage (NAS) system.
The storage platform provides several capacity options for customers to choose from, including a diskless enclosure allowing users to build their own NAS with the drives of their choice, as well as populated systems in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB capacities.
Additionally, users can attach compatible USB 3.0 hard drives to the USB expansion ports on the My Cloud EX2 to expand their storage capacity.