[CES 2014] Seagate is introducing a new line of external backup hard drives with Seagate Backup Plus Slim, a new series that follows the previous “Backup Plus” drives launched in June 2012. As you have guessed, the new ones are smaller, thanks to the natural size reduction of drives but the more important update in 2014 is the capability to (partially) backup Android and iOS devices in addition to PC and Mac computers.In terms of capacity, Seagate’s backup Plus Slim can go as high as 2TB, and Seagate claims that they are providing the thinnest 2TB external drive on the market. In addition on the low profile, this drive will feature a metal top, which is both nice to look at, and more protective than a plastic version, especially for shocks with hard objects. All drives come with USB 3.0 connectivity and there are PC and Mac versions that will be ready to work out of the box. It is of course possible to reformat the drives if needed. Note that Backup Plus Sim does not use a Seagate universal connector (to keep cost under control), but other products from Seagate will still have that option for the time being.
The backup software is similar to what Seagate currently has, so you can refer to our June 2012 article to get the big picture. On the other hand, the mobile backup is new but to set your expectations right, you the apps will only backup data, which means “camera roll” for iOS, while Android gets a little fancier, a photos, videos, SMS, call logs and contacts can be backed up by Seagate.
Backup Plus Fast takes things to 4TB
Finally, the hero product for Seagate at CES 2014 is the Backup Plus Fast external drive that offers 4TB of external storage WITHOUT the need for an external power source. Inside, you will find two drives in a RAID0 configuration, which can potentially double the performance when compared to single drive configurations. It too connects via USB 3.0, and design aside. The mix of extremely high capacity, small footprint and the lack of external power source makes this a very desirable product for anyone who needs to carry a lot of data.
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