2 new wireless storage devices unveiled

The Seagate Wireless Plus is a battery-powered wireless external hard drive that allows up to eight devices to connect to it via Wi-Fi without the need for an internet connection.

MANILA, Philippines – Going crazy organizing the photos, music, videos and movies from your tablet, smartphone, laptop, and desktop computers? These two new storage devices can keep all media files easily accessible in one place through any computer gadget.

International storage technology company Seagate unveiled Thursday two new wireless storage devices that can keep files neatly organized in one’s pocket to take with him wherever he goes or safe and sound at home accessible via the internet.

The Seagate Wireless Plus is a mobile hard drive that can be accessed by up to eight computer devices through its own Wi-Fi network. It is about the size of a small notebook and weighs just a quarter of a kilogram.

“This new wireless hard drive will extend the limits of today’s mobile lifestyle,” Seagate said in a statement during the launch.

The one terabyte capacity Wireless Plus has a 10-hour battery life and is accessible by Apple devices that run on iOS as well as all Android-powered devices through an app, it said. Other computers can access the storage by connecting to its Wi-Fi network and opening the web browser.

Seagate Central is a home storage solution that can automatically back up photos, videos, and documents, across many types of devices. All content inside the storage can be accessed even from outside of the home through the internet.

Movies or music can be streamed straight from the drive to a tablet, smartphone, or laptop without the need for an internet connection. Files, photos, and videos can also be saved or backed-up onto the drive anytime and anywhere.

“Seagate developed the concept of wireless storage to consumers with the freedom to enjoy their documents, movies, photos, and music anywhere in the world, especially when they can’t connect to the internet,” according to Ban Seng Teh, Seagate Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific and Japan.

The Seagate Central is an external hard drive that is designed to store any and all types of files to be kept safe at home.

“Focusing on the number one need for homes with more than one computer, Seagate designed an easy, centralized backup for each computer in the home, regardless of operating system,” Seagate said.

Central is available in 2, 3, and 4 terabytes and all content stored in it are automatically organized by media type such as photos, videos, and documents.

Content inside Central can be accessed even outside of the home via the internet. Users simply have to set up their Central drive on the Seagate website and then enter their username and password to connect.

It can also be configured to automatically back up all photos and videos that are uploaded to social networking site Facebook so that in case the smartphone or tablet that took the picture was lost, there is already a backup in the drive.

Any device can easily store and access the content within Central from desktops computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, regardless of their operating system, Seagate said.

“Consumers are looking for storage solutions that help them consolidate and safeguard the content they’ve got scattered across a growing number of places,” according to John Barrett, Parks Associates director of Consumer Analytics.

Vermount Hoh, Seagate’s Senior Product Marketing Manager, demonstrates how Samsung Smart TVs can access the Seagate Central storage device and play videos or movies on the bigger screen.

“Young consumers in particular do not have central repositories of content but rather many places where content naturally end up as a result of their media habits,” he said.

Samsung Smart TVs can even connect to Central and stream movies or videos so they can be watched on a bigger screen.

A Seagate Media app for Android, Kindle Fire HD, and Apple iOS is available free for download to give mobile devices a more seamless and convenient way to access Central.

Central will be available in the Philippines by May 2013 through Seagate Concept Stores in SM Megamall and authorized resellers. The two terabyte is priced at P7,350, three terabyte at P9,300, and four terabyte at P11,050.

Wireless Plus, available in one terabyte, is sold for a retail price of P9,950.