Seagate announced Wednesday that it is shipping its first 4 TB external hard-disk drive (HDD), which it claims is a first for any disk manufacturer.
The latest in Seagate’s (NASDAQ: STX) GoFlex Desk external hard drive series, the new drive provides 4 TB of usable capacity in a 3.5-inch form factor, according to company statements. For comparison, Seagate said the 4 TB drive will hold the equivalent of 2,000 high-definition movies.
The drive is the latest in Seagate’s GoFlex Desk product line, which it debuted in 2010, that provides a flexible input/output interface adapter that lets users adapt the drives for their unique requirements.
Like the company’s other GoFlex Desk series drives, the new HDD is available paired with either USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 interfaces — FireWire 800 is also supported. A Mac version of the drive will support either FireWire 800 or USB 2.0.
“This latest GoFlex Desk drive offering, with its new industry-leading capacity point, is a statement of our continued commitment to meet consumer needs,” Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager of retail products for Seagate, said in a statement.
Additionally, the drive features a smaller footprint design, which the company’s other GoFlex Desk drives will also adopt over coming weeks, Seagate said.
In May, Seagate announced that the GoFlex Desk line would be the first to implement a new high-density 3.5-inch drive, which would provide 1 TB of data storage per platter, and support storage capacities of as much as 3 TB and an “areal density” of 625 GB per square inch.
The 4 TB GoFlex Desk drive is currently available directly from Seagate and will be available from online retailers, such as Best Buy, NewEgg, and Amazon.com, within a month. The Mac OSX-compatible version is also due out by the end of the month
Seagate’s recommended price for the 4 TB GoFlex drive is $249.99.