Western Digital Announces My Passport SSD

[btarunr]

For consumers who need to accelerate their productivity and protect their valuable content without compromising style, Western Digital Corp. today introduced the new WD brand My Passport SSD in capacities up to 2 TB. With a sleek, compact metal design and blazing fast speeds powered by NVMe technology, the new palm-sized drive allows home and business users to save, access and protect the content that matters.

"The new My Passport SSD delivers the speed, reliability and functionality consumers have come to expect from us," said Susan Park, vice president, Consumer Solutions, Western Digital. "It is a powerful and sophisticated solution for the everyday content creators, curators and hobbyists who need to move files quickly. The rounded corners, waving ridges and soft edges enhance the My Passport SSD's portability and make it easy to carry, yet also distinctly recognizable as a member within WD's award-winning My Passport product line-up."



Built for Everyday Creators
Now more than ever, consumers are looking to empower their productivity by keeping their files and increasingly large content libraries with them. Creators can move and edit high-quality content nearly twice as fast with the new My Passport SSD compared to the previous version of the drive, saving time to do more. Whether on a laptop or desktop while at home, in the office or on the go, professionals can reliably store their data on this drive.

The New Look of SSD Performance
WD's My Passport SSD is designed from the ground up to provide reliable performance and a touch of luxury, inside and out. The bold metal design is both stylish and durable. It feels great in the hand and fits comfortably in a bag or pocket, enabling consumers to bring their content wherever life takes them and keep productivity flowing. Available in a range of modern colors, including Gray, Blue, Red and Gold, consumers can choose the drive that best fits their style.

The new My Passport SSD offers the technical features users need and want, including:

• Blazing fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000 MB/s.
• Password enabled 256-bit AES hardware encryption to help protect valuable content simply.
• Featuring shock and vibration resistance and drop resistant up to 6.5 feet (1.98 m).
• Included software to make it easy to back up large files to your drive or a cloud service account.
• USB 3.2 Gen-2 technology with a USB-C cable and a USB-A adapter.
• Ready to use out of the box and compatible with Mac and PC.

Pricing and Availability
The My Passport SSD is backed by a five-year limited warranty and is now available in the 500 GB and 1 TB capacities in Gray worldwide at select e-tailers and retailers, with additional colors and capacities available later this year. The new drive has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP in USD) in the U.S. of $119.99/500 GB and $189.99/1 TB, respectively.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[bonehead123]

Blazing fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1050 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000 MB/s.

Nice looking drives, but 1050/1000 is hardly "blazing" IMHO... faster than SATA or USB flash drives, sure, but just sayin

And @only 2TB, I doubt that very many "creators" will be that interested, especially for ~$375..

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Nice looking drives, but 1050/1000 is hardly "blazing" IMHO... faster than SATA or USB flash drives, sure, but just sayin

And @only 2TB, I doubt that very many "creators" will be that interested, especially for ~$375..

The cap on USB 3.2 gen 2 is 10Gbps, so it’s probably more a bus speed limit than anything else.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

I honestly don’t see the point of external SSD.

External HDD are cheaper, far larger in capacity and... what are you doing besides moving files and programs back and forth to a computer?

I’m sure someone else may see the need, but I cannot imagine running any programs off of it.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I honestly don’t see the point of external SSD.

Fast transfer speeds and high durability. This makes them very desirable for on-the-go & portable data transport.

External HDD are cheaper, far larger in capacity and... what are you doing besides moving files and programs back and forth to a computer?

In-shop and on-site tech support.

I’m sure someone else may see the need, but I cannot imagine running any programs off of it.

Why not? They'd run very quickly over USB 3.0/3.1/3.2.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I honestly don’t see the point of external SSD.

External HDD are cheaper, far larger in capacity and... what are you doing besides moving files and programs back and forth to a computer?

I’m sure someone else may see the need, but I cannot imagine running any programs off of it.

No moving parts is a big selling point on something portable. Drop a 2.5” hdd and then drop a 2.5” SSD. Which one do you think will handle it better? SSDs are also lighter, through it may not be that big of a factor.

 

[Anymal]

Why so big?

 

[_JP_]

Why so big?

Padding. Also so it's harder to shove-up rectums, considering there's a M.2 drive in there. *shrugs*

 

[kiriakost]

No moving parts is a big selling point on something portable. Drop a 2.5” hdd and then drop a 2.5” SSD. Which one do you think will handle it better? SSDs are also lighter, through it may not be that big of a factor.

I will play the Devil here, shorted USB interface has killed many motherboards made up to 2010, INTEL south bridge controler were permanently damaged, if the later produced MB they are immortal then my fears they do not have a solid base.
No moving parts = much more chances for electrically caused issues.

I have positive feelings for the WD of the past, Raptor HDD 10K rpm, with one million of hours of operation, this was a top selling point in the past decade.
But I have the feeling that someone CEO killed that quality series in purpose.

 

[QUANTUMPHYSICS]

I will play the Devil here, shorted USB interface has killed many motherboards made up to 2010, INTEL south bridge controler were permanently damaged, if the later produced MB they are immortal then my fears they do not have a solid base.
No moving parts = much more chances for electrically caused issues.

I have positive feelings for the WD of the past, Raptor HDD 10K rpm, with one million of hours of operation, this was a top selling point in the past decade.
But I have the feeling that someone CEO killed that quality series in purpose.

The belief that "no moving parts" means that a drop will not damage it severely is asinine.

A SMARTPHONE has no moving parts and a drop can be catastrophic.

What matters is the build quality. SSD and HDD typically aren't military-grade - but many are and those can handle falls far higher than the average consumer can subject them to.

HDD tech has pretty much reached the pinnacle of reliability while SSD hasn't.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The belief that "no moving parts" means that a drop will not damage it severely is asinine.

A SMARTPHONE has no moving parts and a drop can be catastrophic.

What matters is the build quality. SSD and HDD typically aren't military-grade - but many are and those can handle falls far higher than the average consumer can subject them to.

While all of that is true, HDD's are very susceptible to damage while in operation. A static jolt(a bump or bang on a desk) when the drive is not operating is not going to render the same kind of potential damage as the same situation with the drive running. SSD's do not suffer from the same risk of potential damage. In this aspect, SSD's are very useful as they are not subject to damage from momentary jolts.

 

[kiriakost]

While all of that is true, HDD's are very susceptible to damage while in operation. A static jolt(a bump or bang on a desk) when the drive is not operating is not going to render the same kind of potential damage as the same situation with the drive running. SSD's do not suffer from the same risk of potential damage. In this aspect, SSD's are very useful as they are not subject to damage from momentary jolts.

Yes and no, if crucial data are stored at HDD, even at the event of failure, there is a chance for data recovery due the platters.
There is no such an option for SSD's , they resemble more to a light bulb.

 

[Anymal]

Padding. Also so it's harder to shove-up rectums, considering there's a M.2 drive in there. *shrugs*

You misuse it. Read user manual before use.