Limited Edition Designs from Western Digital

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.wdc.com/en/company/releases/PressRelease.asp?release=7a68404d-f631-4d40-bd8e-d5123a203ea2' target='_blank'>http://www.wdc.com/en/company/relea...8e-d5123a203ea2</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new 500 GB My Passport&reg; Essential&trade; limited edition designs (photo) portable hard drives, available exclusively at Best Buy&reg; and the WD Store. Consumers can choose from several unique designs that appeal to a wide variety of personal styles, ranging from outdoor enthusiasts to urban trendsetters. Designed by students at California State University, Long Beach's Industrial Design program, the drives are available in the following styles: Boom Box, Black Hole, Cityscape, Fuchsia Leaf and Wave. The decorative patterns are especially geared for students who want to express their individual style while choosing a reliable, ultra-portable place to store their media and back up their valuable work."</em></p><p><em><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1280020190.usr10.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></em></p><p>I personally don't find any of these designs more appealing than a basic solid color, but it doesn't appear that they are demanding any sort of premium for these on the MSRP. &nbsp;Of course, being limited edition designs only available directly through WD and from Best Buy, don't expect to see them discounted initially either.&nbsp;</p>

[Hooch Tan]

Being practical, they don't interest me, but I am glad that they do not command a premium. Otherwise, if I felt like I really needed to express myself, I'd try and find one of those vinyl skins that stores are selling and cut it down to side. Maybe even find a way to print my own choice.

[Jason Dunn]

The portable hard drive market - or, really, the whole hard drive market in general - is so stagnant that any advantage, however small, is important. However, I think Seagate's GoFlex cable solution is much more interesting than this...

[Hooch Tan]

The portable hard drive market - or, really, the whole hard drive market in general - is so stagnant that any advantage, however small, is important. However, I think Seagate's GoFlex cable solution is much more interesting than this...

Agreed. That seems to offer much more than what amounts to a skin. Sure, personalization is a big thing, but I don't think that it would translate into many additional sales. Then again, I am a practical guy, so maybe someone likes accessorizing.

[Reid Kistler]

Could live with the middle (black with circles) design - but certainly would not pay a premium for it. Would expect these (designs) to appeal more to kids / Young Adults.

Did, however, see them listed in the Best Buy ad this past weekend at "$20 off" - unfortunately, the 750GB WD My Passport - in plain silver or black - is also listed in the same ad, for only $10 above the price of the 500GB "stylized" version....

In either case, you are paying a premium for portability: a 1TB desktop unit costs the same as a 500GB portable.

My daughter - entering her senior year of college - does carry a 500GB portable HD: she is in the Fine Arts Program (Photography major), and is REQUIRED to present much of her work via the HD. It also permits students to work on the same files both at the school and at home.

[Jason Dunn]

My daughter - entering her senior year of college - does carry a 500GB portable HD: she is in the Fine Arts Program (Photography major), and is REQUIRED to present much of her work via the HD. It also permits students to work on the same files both at the school and at home.

I hope she has a good backup solution for that - having been a college student myself, I have vivid memories of students losing their storage devices (back then, 1.44 MB floppy discs...yikes, I'm old!) and how much havoc it causes. You're not likely to lose a portable hard drive, but it could get damaged, etc.

[Reid Kistler]

I hope she has a good backup solution for that - having been a college student myself, I have vivid memories of students losing their storage devices (back then, 1.44 MB floppy discs...yikes, I'm old!) and how much havoc it causes. You're not likely to lose a portable hard drive, but it could get damaged, etc.

In Theory, the portable HD gets backed up to her personal machine each night - and that, in turn, is automatically backed up to a Seagate desktop external drive. At least some of her files will also exist Somewhere within the university's system, although that apparently does NOT come with any sort of "Guarantee!"