Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
Summary: Seagate is reaching out to smartphone and tablet owners who might want to expand their portable multimedia storage space with the debut of the GoFlex Satellite.
Seagate is reaching out to smartphone and tablet owners who might want to expand their portable multimedia storage space with the debut of the GoFlex Satellite.
Touted as the first battery-powered external hard drive to expand the storage capacity of "any Wi-Fi enabled mobile device" using only Wi-Fi, the GoFlex Satellite is really being targeted at iOS device owners at the moment as the easiest way to manage and even view some of the multimedia (i.e. videos, photos and music) using the free GoFlex Media app on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. An Android app is expected to drop at some point this summer.
Nevertheless, anyone with a PC or Mac can use the included software to sync up files from the computer to the GoFlex Satellite. The "Flex" part of the name comes in as users can choose to use a cord for faster transfers, namely with the included USB 3.0 cord. (The drive is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 technology.)
The HDD can then broadcast content to up to three Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously. Battery life ranges from up to five hours of continuous HD video playback, and then it can last up to 25 hours when on standby mode.
So far, there is only one capacity option (500GB), which is priced at $199.99. That's certainly steep for an external drive with less than 1TB of space (and which feels and looks about the same size as Western Digital's My Passport SE for Mac), but you're really paying for cord-freedom here. Additionally, it is cheaper if you're looking in terms to buy an iPad with 32GB or 64GB SSDs. In this case, it would be a better deal to pay $200 for 500GB of space along with a $499 iPad (if you're only interested in Wi-Fi connectivity) with 16GB of space. If you travel often for long periods of time and you want a larger amount of entertainment to tote along with you, then the GoFlex Satellite might fill a void.
The GoFlex Satellite is available for pre-order now from Seagate.com, Amazon and BestBuy.com. The portable HDD should arrive in at least Best Buy stores this July, and an eventual global roll out is planned for later this summer.
Related coverage on ZDNet:
- Seagate lands Samsung's hard drive unit for $1.37 billion: It's duopoly time
- Amazon rumored to release Samsung-built tablet this summer
- Hitachi rolls out Touro Pro external hard drives with free cloud storage
- Samsung's hard-drive unit sale could lead to massive market consolidation
- Seagate GoFlex Slim 320GB external HDD is as thin as a pencil
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Talkback
The portable cloud. Cool.
Cool.. more wireless to barbeque our DNA
The undeniable fact is that this exposes people to (yet) more wifi radiation. It has a lithium ion battery that will inevitably end up in the landfill. Best of all, the product only exists because Apple couldn't put a standard SD card slot into the iPad. I wonder if stuff like that gets factored into a company's environmental footprint?
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
Or maybe the product is being marketed as an iPad external storage device because the advertisers thought by using Apple's name they could sell more of these.
Imagine if they marketed it as 'A Xoom storage expansion device.'
One may be able to accuse Apple of many non green practices, but to blame them for this device is going a bit far.
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
Cool.. more wireless to barbeque our DNA[/b]
Because there is conclusive and irrefutable evidence that wireless signals do indeed rewire our DNA - some of the luckier ones get wings or can run really fast or all sorts of things. The unlucky ones just spontaneously combust. /sarcasm.[b]
People don't have a clue about what they want and what they need. [/b]
Lemme stop you right there - and I'm gonna let you finish but who the hell are YOU to sit there and pontificate about what people "need"? YOU are not me, Joe Average, or anyone other than yourself and while you are likely eminently qualified to decide what you need and do not need do not even try to tell me or anyone else what we do and do not need and don't tell us that we don't have a clue as to what we need. That makes you sound like an arrogant and presumptuous ass... I'm just saying. [b]
The undeniable fact is that this exposes people to (yet) more wifi radiation. It has a lithium ion battery that will inevitably end up in the landfill. Best of all, the product only exists because Apple couldn't put a standard SD card slot into the iPad. I wonder if stuff like that gets factored into a company's environmental footprint?[/b]
So you are saying that people who own other tablets and smartphones would not get this product, that this is going to be purchased by those who own iOS devices and no one else? Wow, Nostradamus... go ahead with your bad-ass predictions... So it has not been proven that wifi causes any adverse effects so there is one part of your argument shot down, you say that the battery will end up in a landfill - perhaps due to irresponsible people but you have those anyhow no matter what kind of tech - if any - they own or use and you say this "[b]...exists because Apple couldn't put a standard SD card slot into the iPad...[/b]". Yup, those Apple Hater goggles are definitely surgically implanted.
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space
RE: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite attempts to expand iPad storage space