Photo: Intel

Microchip giant Intel has been working on a new high-speed connection technology called Lightpeak, and it’s just been revealed that the company will start rolling it out on Thursday.

All about speed

Intel released a statement saying that this Thursday in San Francisco that they would be holding a ‘press briefing to discuss a new technology that is about to appear on the market’. On the same day at Intel’s campus, the company will be conducting technology and product demonstrations. In short, it’s definitely Lightpeak, and perhaps one or two other announcements.

What exactly is Lightpeak?

Development on Intel Lightpeak has been ongoing for years now. The technology is considerably faster than USB 3.0, with the ability to carry data at 10 gigabits per second. That’s right – 10GB/s in both direction at the same time. It’s absurdly quick. What’s more, Intel believes that they can scale the tech in future to an incredible 100GB/s transfer speed.

Intel isn’t shy to beat its chest about Lightpeak’s capability, with the tech’s webpage reading: ‘Light Peak also has the ability to run multiple protocols simultaneously over a single cable, enabling the technology to connect devices such as peripherals, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more.’

The Apple factor – and good timing

If you’ve been keeping your ears to the ground, you’ll also note that Apple is expected to make a major announcement of its own soon. The company is thought to be rolling out new Macbook Pros on Thursday, and various reports have suggested that Intel Lightpeak tech will be coming to Apple’s premiere laptops. So it seems fairly safe to say the reveal date is no coincidence, right?

Oh, and as some have pointed out, the first time Intel Lightpeak tech was demonstrated at a dev conference, it was using a computer that had Mac OS X as its software.

Everything is getting super quick

New Macbook Pros aside, it’s pretty exciting to see major computer manufacturers continue to focus efforts on technological improvements that may not earn that plaudits in consumer magazines and sites around the world, but are very necessary for the continued development of computing.

Photo: RambergMediaImages / Flickr

Following in the trails of iOmega, Western Digital and other portable hard drive vendors, Verbatim has unveiled its own USB 3.0 external drive. It’s called the Verbatim Store ‘n Go and will begin shipping soon.

Capacity and specs

The super slick, thin piano-black Verbatim USB 3.0 Store ‘n Go drives will be available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB (1,000 GB) when they begin shipping next month, November 2010. They’re backwards compatible with USB 2.0 buses, too, so you needn’t fear about not being able to plug it into your older computers.

Other bells and whistles

Vebatim Store ‘n Go will ship with ‘Nero BackItUp and Burn software for Windows’, as well as a 5GB trial of Norton Online Backup. More over, for those who want to be sure their hardware won’t be packing up on them shortly, Verbatim’s 7-year limited warranty applies to this drive, too – but to be fair, do you think 1TB will even be a great deal of space 7 years from now? I don’t. So while you may never use that warranty, it’s certainly nice to have.

The slow charge

As we’ve mentioned previously, every new piece of hardware, whether it is a USB 3.0 laptop, or a USB 3.0 external drive, pushes the updated USB platform forward, and improves its ubiquity. For platform historians, the reality is the universal serial bus platform was not that widespread when the transition was made from 1.0 to 2.0, but with the transition from USB 2.0 to 3.0, the custodians of the platform are finding themselves trying to replace a platform with billions of devices built around it.

Pricing

No simple task, no doubt, but the Verbatim Store ‘n Go USB 3.0 external drive is doing its part. Verbatim has yet to announce the pricing for their new drives, but as soon as we know anything, we’ll let you know.

Our previous experience with Verbatim Store ‘n Go USB 2.0 drives has been good, so we’re looking forward to giving these a whirl when they arrive next month.

Photo: Ahmad Nawawi / Flickr

Following in the footsteps of rivals like Iomega, Western Digital external drives are also upgrading to SuperSpeed USB 3.0. The news is greeted with the kind of excitement only geeks with a deep need for speed have, but it does do a lot to further cement the presence – and eventual dominance – of USB 3.0.

Upgraded lines

The lines of Western Digital external drives that will be getting the USB 3.0 upgrade are the My Book Essential range, the My Passport Essential line and the My Passport Essential SE range, too. This is a pretty wide gamut of what Western Digital offers, with each of the external hard drives available in different colours, sizes, and different levels of portability.

Capacity

From smallest capacity to largest, My Passport Essential has the least capacity of the three drives, tapping out at 500GB. My Passport Essential SE is available in 750GB and 1TB (1,000GB). The large, more suitable for desk-based use, My Book can be purchased at 1TB, 1.5TB, 2TB and the current industry maximum of 3TB.

The big USB 3.0 fuss

The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 upgrade has been applied to all three drive ranges, at no additional cost over what they were priced during their USB 2.0 days. Speaking of USB 2.0, the drives are also compatible with that standard, since most people have yet to upgrade.

The big hoopla about SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology is its transfer speed maxing out at about 150MB per second. That is super fast and a major step up compared to the 40mb/s transfer speed USB 2.0 capped out at.

Should you get it?

You’ll be hard pressed to find companies that are more recognised in this space than Western Digital external drives. Quality products, at an equally decent price, with nifty backup software and password protection bundled in, if you don’t already have a hard drive and you’re on the fence here, we recommend a hearty buy!

Photo: Iomega

Iomega has announced that its external USB 2.0 will soon get the USB 3.0 treatment! And, though you likely still don’t have a USB 3.0-enabled computer – you will eventually – it never killed to be future proof, right? Right!

It’s good for the eGo

Iomega will be replacing every single one of its current USB 2.1 external hard drives with models fitted for the whiz-fast USB 3.0 interface. This will start first with the company’s 500GB eGo drive and its 1TB eGo drive getting the treatment this October. Once the eGotisticals are sorted (sorry, I just can’t help it!) all the other Iomega external hard drives will start receiving attention in the first three months of next year.

Umm, so what will this cost you?

Here’s the unsettling part – Iomega has been non-committal on how it will price these hard drives because the tech firm is unsure how much hard drives will cost come October. Now that you’re a little unsettled, you may settle down once more, with the company promising that you will not be charged a premium for the speed boost. Whew!

What else you should know?

Photo: Iomega

If you’re sitting on the fence about getting any USB 3.0 external drive you may like, get off the fence. Buy it. Why? Well, because USB 2.1 drives support the new standard, only with reduced speeds, of course. Iomega drives are solid, in general, so from a manufacturer profile, they’re worth backing if the external drive has specs that catch your eye.

Iomega drives in general

We were fortunate enough to get a hands-on with the Iomega eGo 500GB USB 3.0 external hard drive. We liked the aesthetic and build quality of the device, but were somewhat surprised that the company opted for a 5400rpm drive in lieu of the faster 7200rpm drive. You can read the full review right here.

Photo: Iomega

The slow, steady rollout of USB 3.0 devices continues with the Iomega eGo 500GB USB 3.0 external drive and while we’re all but ready to embrace faster transfer feeds, Iomega makes a silly omission that limits the full acceleration capabilities of the drive.

Specs

As the name suggests, the Iomega eGo has a drive capacity of 500GB and is USB 3.0 compliant. The bizarre design decision is that the drive spins at a limiting 5400rpm, which reduces the maximum transfer of data.

Design

Photo: Iomega

This external USB drive has a high gloss attractive finish. In many ways, it looks like a slightly miniaturised contemporary notebook, with its glossy black finish and counters. We would have preferred it were a smidgen smaller, bringing it in line with the Samsung G2 500GB external drive, but that’s just us nitpicking. Four rubber studs are added to the base of the drive so as to stop it from slipping off slippery surfaces, which is a neat touch. From a design point of view, there’s little not to like here, though we worry the glossy finish is crying to be scratched up through extended use.

Performance

The Iomega eGo 500GB external drive has very good but limited transfer speeds. When plugged into USB 2.0 slots, transfer speeds hover just below 30mb/s. When plugged into USB 3.0 slots, the average transfer rate is between 64mb/s and 65mb/s due to the favouring of a 5400rpm drive over a 7200rpm drive. While that may sound great, it’s slow when compared to the transfer speed on the equivalent Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive, which averaged over 80mb/s transfer rate.

The final say

We won’t lie and say we don’t like this 500GB external drive. It’s well built, and looks very elegant. Where the Iomega eGo 500GB USB 3.0 drive starts dropping the ball is in its unusual opting for the 5400rpm drive, which puts a limiter on the potential transfer speed on the drive. But the price is agreeable and Iomega is reputable.

Photo: Lacie

While owning an external hard drive used to be a luxury, with massive file sizes accompanying all the HD content we consume nowadays, this is no longer so. We look at some of the 500GB USB external drives vying for your money.

Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0

It’s Lacie, so you can tick off reputable. It’s rugged, so you can tick off built to withstand bumps and wear and tear. And it supports USB 3.0 at 7200rpm so you can certainly tick off lightning quick transfer speeds. In fact, in our review, transfer speed tests revealed that on USB 3.0, we could transfer files at a rate of 80mb/sec! It isn’t the cheapest 500GB USB external drive around, but the Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 is definitely worth every penny spent.

Samsung G2 500GB

Photo: Samsung

Where the Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive goes one direction with price and build at the sacrifice of aesthetics, perhaps, the Samsung G2 500GB external drive pulls in the opposite direction. It’s a smidgen wider than an iPod Classic, with a LEGO-like surface area that refracts light beautifully. Our review revealed that it doesn’t transfer data as fast as the Lacie 500GB USB external drive, but where it sacrifices on speed, the Samsung G2 500GB external drive makes up for it a little in price and portability.

Iomega Prestige Portable Compact 500GB

Photo: Iomega

The very popular Iomega Prestige Portable Compact 500GB has very little over either the Lacie external USB 500GB drive, or the Samsung G2 500GB drive. It can’t withstand wear and tear like Lacie’s drive can, nor is it as aesthetically pristine as the Samsung is, though we quite like the metallic brush finish. But where it lacks the finishing touches of the other two external 500GB USD drives, it more than makes up for in price. At around £60 if you look around, for what you’re getting and from such a reputable manufacturer, the Iomega Prestige Portable Compact 500GB has a lot going for it.

Which do you gravitate towards? The Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive, the Samsung G2 500GB or the Iomega Prestige Portable Compact 500GB (quite a mouthful those official names are)? Let us know what you look for in a hard drive in the comments section.

Photo: Axel Bührmann / Flickr

We sent you off with a pre-World Cup coverage round up, so it’s only right we welcome you back with a post-World Cup coverage round up. Here we collect some of the high points you missed, ranging from tech review, tech stories to product guides, while you watched (and cried) at another disappointing showing by the Three Lions during the football. There’s a little bit of everything here, from Windows Phone 7 Series, to LCD monitors, burning laptops and the killing of one’s Kin.

Reviews

We’ve been playing around with a bunch of gadgets lately, meaning the volume of our tech reviews is rising steadily. We had a look at the Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive, which we quite liked. We also put the Acer 7745G notebook through its paces, which we have a love-hate relationship with. But the king of June’s tech reviews – and most surprising product – was the insanely gorgeous (and affordable) Samsung P2770h 27-inch 1080p LCD monitor. If you buy nothing else, buy that.

Guides

We love product guides and buying guides as much as the next tech site, but we find them too detailed – paralysis by choice, if you will. We’re often crippled by too much choice, and so we limit ourselves to the best three products in a category when we put together a guide. If you’re in the market for a new, well-priced netbook, have a look at our top three affordable netbooks guide. If a netbook isn’t quite your thing and you’re more into powerful laptops, don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. We put together a guide detailing three top-notch Intel Core i7 laptops released in 2010. It’s no fun not bringing up mobile phones, so we penned a potentially controversial post on what we think the top three mobile phones released this year.

Tech Stories

There were several notable tech stories this month, but the biggest tech story of the month has to undoubtedly go to Microsoft killing its Kin. The line of social phones aimed at teenagers didn’t cut it on the market and Microsoft prays this is not a sign of what is to come with Windows Phone 7 Series. To rub salt into the Kin killing, other mobile phones companies like Apple and HTC saw unbelievable sales statistics. To round off a month contrasted with problems for some, and major victories for others, Sony had to recall over 500,000 Vaios due to an overheating problem.

And that’s that. Between Windows Phone 7 Series concerns and Vaio blunders, the blow an entire nation felt when Germany hammered England 4-1 should be softened somewhat, no? Let us know what you would like to see more of in our future product guides, tech reviews, and tech stories in the comments below.

Photo: Samsung

As the lines between traditional consumer electronics manufacturers and specialist PC hardware manufacturers get more and more blurred, we’re seeing companies like Samsung encroaching in territory previously dominated by the likes of Lacie and Western Digital. We took the Samsung G2 500GB USB external hard drive for a spin to see how it compares, and you can read our thoughts below.

Stats attack

The Samsung G2 500GB USB external hard drive, as its name suggests, has a 500GB capacity. It runs at an okay 5400rpm and is whisper quiet. The disk is 2.5-inches in size, meaning it doesn’t need an external power source, so all you need is a sole USB cable for transferring data and plugging it in. Even when we tried very hard to listen out for it, we couldn’t hear so much as a fizz. To this effect, Samsung has included a clever blue LED light that remains solid when the drive is plugged in but inactive, and flashes on and off when data is being read off or written to it.

Aesthetics

The drives come in four colour varieties, namely cobalt black, silver white, cobalt blue and olive green. The top of the drive is studded – think almost of how lego blocks have those little connectors – that makes the drive shimmer when light bounces off of it. Sure, it makes no difference to performance, but it’s a pretty effect (and Twilight fans will certainly appreciate it).

Added features

Photo: Samsung

The hard drive comes with Windows only (sorry Mac fans) password protection and backup features. While Time Machine should suffice for backing up a Mac, the file hiding and password protection of sensitive files would have been nice to have. Samsung also has faith in its manufacturing quality, selling the external hard drive with a healthy three-year warranty, which is always a good sign.

Performance

These drives are aimed squarely at consumers, and perform competently when held to that mantle. Professional users who need high 7200rpm disk speeds, or Firewire 800 or USB 3.0, which bring significantly improved transfer speeds, this drive is not for you.

Verdict

The Samsung G2 500GB USB external hard drive has grown on us the more we’ve used in. Its tiny, almost pocket book size makes it great for carrying with you pretty much everywhere you go and with its clever diminutive design, it won’t look out of place with your slightly flashier electronics. The omission of 7200 rpm and USB 3.0 may be a big deal for some, and if that’s the case, look elsewhere. Also the lack of Mac love in this day and age is somewhat bemusing. Nonetheless, if these things don’t deter you and you like smart design, it’s very difficult to say no to a product that comes with a three-year warranty.



Photo: LaCie

As fast data transfer becomes a growing concern, coupled with the increasing demand for more storage space, data storage manufacturers have had to come to terms with an interesting conundrum or two. The Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 external drive aims to solve these problems, while tackling an additional one – heavy use.

USB 3.0 is nearly here

The standout feature of this 500GB USB external drive is its USB 3.0 support running at 7200rpm and its super fast transfer speeds. In controlled tests, the drive’s transfer speeds exceeded 80mb/s on USB 3.0 and 29mb/s on USB 2.0. That’s a 1GB of data transferred in under 13 seconds, which is simply remarkable. The truth is the vast majority of computers do not support USB 3.0, so this remarkable speed boost will go unnoticed by most, but this is sure to change in the coming months.

Design

From a design build, as its name indicates, this Lacie 500GB USB external drive is meant to withstand the odd bump here and there. Lacie deliberately pitches the drive as being able to withstand much more damage than most, with a supposed 2m drop not having any affect on the drive at all. Furthermore, an immediately noticeable feature of the Lacie Rugged is the orange rubber buffer around it, which absorbs some of the shock of high drops, while also reducing the effects of long-term wear and tear.

As with anything that’s built to withstand shock, tear, and even bullets, we ill-advise actually putting the Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive through its paces just to see how it holds up. We did, however, accidentally drop the Lacie drive and were pleasantly surprised to find it did, as is true to its advertising, keep humming along.

Other considerations

Noise levels on this 500GB USB external drive were good, with the drive’s humming going unnoticed unless you listened for it. The drive never heated up beyond lukewarm even after hours of use, and performance degradation as you approach maximum capacity is unnoticeable.

The Lacie Rugged 500GB USB 3.0 drive is well worth it if spacious capacity, fast transfer speeds and the ability to withstand a rough and tumble life cycle are what you’re looking for in a USB external drive. Sure, it’s more expensive than other drives of similar capacity, but you’re paying for design quality and features other comparable drives simply do not have.

Photo: Asus

Recently launched, the Asus O!Play media server is promised in the official press release to provide a ‘wealth of cloud infotainment’. Bizarre as that might sound, this server does have a lot going for it, and it looks to be a leader in its fast-developing field – the coveted USB 3.0 PC link is one of its features, and its HD2 technology is a must.

That’s right – ‘cloud infotainment’

‘Cloud computing’ is a term used to describe computing that’s based on the sharing of information between various technical aspects of computing – such as servers like this one – and the computing resources they support. This kind of computing places its emphasis on easy sharing of information, and that’s what a fast, high-powered device like the O!Play can provide. That way, information – or in this case, apparently, infotainment – can be moved rapidly and simply between computing resources and computer users, with minimal effort.

New Asus technology and the transition to USB 3.0

Photo: Asus

Sometimes know as ‘Superspeed USB’, this technology allows amazingly quick transfer speeds, and, usefully, is compatible with USB 2.0 technology. The major revamp undergone by this technology heralds the beginning of a transition from this older technology to newer, more capable products, although it may take a while for a full transition to happen as USB 3.0 is limited to higher-end products to begin with. As it begins to take place, the O!Play will make life a whole lot easier for those who invest in the video cameras and other devices which are the first to already be using the new technology.

What does the new Asus O!Play do?

The O!Play features a mind-blowing number of connectivity options. The prize feature, and the one that everyone’s talking about, is of course the USB 3.0 PC link, but this new Asus media server also boasts ports for CF, SD, and memory cards, and can be connected to ESATA and USB 2.0 output ports. It’s HDMI 3 compliant, and has component, composite and optical output ports. It sounds like it’ll be pretty difficult for even the fussiest technology lover to find fault with.

Tell us more!

The Asus O!Play was introduced at this year’s CeBIT, but many consumers are left in frustrated anticipation as Asus declines to offer any information on the product’s release date or how much it’ll cost. Here’s hoping that no news, in this case, means good news.

Future perfect?

The new Asus HD2 media server is a product that promises a lot, but it seems certain that its developers know that there’ll be a lot of people waiting to see whether it delivers. At this early stage, all current reports and reviews seem positive and eager to see what’s in store for the world of and USB 3.0 – only the future will tell, but it’s likely that the Asus O!Play will be a part of that future.