Seagate is the first vendor to offer 3TB hard drives. This first drive is only available as an external USB 2.0 drive for now; for $249.99 you can buy a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk External Drive (try saying that a couple of times in a row!). The drive is currently on back order, but should be available soon. The $249.99 package includes a USB 2.0 host interface, but can be upgraded by switching the base of the unit. Other interface options available are USB 3.0 and FireWire 800.
Seagate doesn’t specify any details about the drive inside this enclosure, but rumor has it that they are using five disk platters; the current standard for 2TB drives is four platters. That means this drive doesn’t represent a major increase in storage density; but we’ll have to wait for a formal announcement to be sure. If they are using four platters that would mean Seagate is a step ahead of their main competitors in terms of density.
Meanwhile, Isilon’s head of marketing suggests that we’ll be seeing 4TB drives halfway through next year. If that’s true, there’s quite a lot of work to be done for drive manufacturers; but it would also mean good news for heavy storage users.
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