Hardware and software share the backup spotlight this Tuesday with Seagate and Amazon both releasing new products for the cloud and backup enthusiasts among us.
Seagate Unveils New Backup Plus HDD’s
Contrary to what you might think, we don’t have anything against backing your information up to a hard drive; in fact we suggest you set up a local backup and I’m pretty certain every one of the writers on this website has one. We simply suggest that you should also have a cloud backup solution somewhere offsite where the elements and your best friend’s annoying son that breaks everything can’t get to it.
But if you’re still looking for an on-site backup, Seagate’s new Backup Plus hard drives are definitely worth considering. As cheap as memory has gotten, the storage companies have had to expand their creativity and do something other than offer oodles worth of space — even in our day and age few people need to back up more than a couple of terabytes. So in order to reach out to their market in a different way, Seagate has integrating their Backup Plus HDD’s with your social networks and photo sharing sites.
The new drives and the software that comes with them can not only backup your entire computer (disk image or individual files per your choosing), but they also pull the photos and files you store on services like Facebook and Flickr. Currently these are the only two supported services but Seagate hopes to add more in the near future.
The drives are available today and retail for $119.99 for 500GB of storage all the way up to $249.99 for 4TB.
Amazon Announces Cloud Player for iOS Devices
On the software end of things, Amazon is further stepping on Apple’s toes by releasing their new Cloud Player app for iOS devices. The app is in direct competition not only with the iCloud functionality built into iTunes now, but with the iPod player app itself.
Announced earlier today, the app allows Amazon Cloud Drive subscribers to play any and all of the music stored in that service through their own dedicated player. In addition to this, the app also integrates all of the music you already have on your device, so Cloud Drive users really have no reason to ever open the iPod player app again.
If this is tempting you to give Cloud Drive a try, check out our review of the service here, and assuming you like it don’t hold off. All Cloud Drive subscribers get 5GB of MP3 and AAC storage for free when they sign up, but for a limited time Amazon is offering unlimited storage of those music file types to everyone who signs up for one of their paid storage plans.
And that’s Tuesday. Head over to Engadget for the full press release on Seagate’s Backup Plus drives or stop by Amazon’s Media Room for more information on the App release. And as always, if you don’t have a backup solution in place, no excuses. Check out our reviews or read through one of the many articles we put up on a weekly basis to find the solution that will work best for you.
Like what you read?
If so, please join over 2,000 people who receive exclusive online backup and cloud storage tips & coupons. Also, get a FREE COPY of my eBook, Online Backup 101 (PDF, Kindle and MP3)! Just enter your name and email below:
This post was written by...
A tech writer with a vested interest in Cloud Backup and Storage, Dragos loves to keep a close eye on this ever changing industry, and pass the sights on to you.
{ 0 comments… add one now }