F irewireDirect has announced a new FireWire 800 3.5" external hard drive called the StingRay 800. The unit is available in sizes from 80 GB to 320 GB, as well as an enclosure kit. FirewireDirect has also announced that the unit is shipping today. From FirewireDirect:
FirewireDirect.com, Inc. today announces the introduction of the first in a series of bold new 800Mbps external hard drives and enclosures with the debut the StingRay 800, a powerful dual interface USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 3.5” desktop hard drive storage system.
FireWire 800, or 1394b, is a new, faster FireWire standard rolling out in highly anticipated new products from FirewireDirect. The improved standard offers dramatically increased speeds and enhancements that will be immediately attractive to digital video and audio producers, multimedia creators and every personal computer user demanding cost effective and speedy storage for the digital life style.
The StingRay 800 is available in up to 320 GigaBytes in a single volume. Most users will see sustained reads of over 50MB/s and writes of over 40MB/s, about double the possibilities of traditional FireWire.
Like all FirewireDirect products, the drive plugs and plays without special drivers. The dual USB 2.0 FireWire 800 interface enables it to connect to virtually any computer. The drive separates itself from the pack with a whisper quiet fan for efficient and noiseless cooling, and a built-in power supply – no bulky power brick cords. These and other attributes make the StingRay a powerful 800Mbps FireWire solution thatis especially attractive for mobile personal computer users.
The drive is available and shipping now, in sizes ranging from an Enclosure Kit for users building their own, to the huge 320GB HDD, the only single volume FireWire 800 external drive of this size available to consumers.
The StingRay 800 is a truly cross platform solution, complete with software for both Mac and Windows users.
The StingRay 800 is priced starting at US$235 for an 80 GB model, and the enclosure kit is priced at US$139. You can find more information on the product at FirewireDirectis Web site.