Data Backup Digest

It was only a few decades ago when hard drives with gigabytes of storage became available at a consumer level. Capacity on data storage has increased rapidly over the years and it is set to continue. The next step comes from Kingston Digital with the upcoming launch of their DataTraveler HyperX Predator USB drive. What’s so special about the drive? It’s capable of storing one terabyte of data – that’s 1024 gigabytes. That’s a whole lot of information to be carrying around in your pocket. Imagine telling that to someone back in 1980!
Kingston Digital announced the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and said that the drive would be the largest USB stick in existence. At the moment there is a 512GB version available for a whopping price of $1750. The 1TB version is expected to launch within the first quarter of 2013.
The Predator supports USB 3.0 and has SuperSpeed certification. The drive boasts transfer rates of up to 240MB/s read and 160MB/s write when used on a USB 3.0 controller. When used on a USB 2.0 controller the speeds are 30MB/s for read and write. Every version of Windows from XP SP3 and above is supported, as is Mac (10.6+) and Linux (kernel 2.6+).
Ultimately, this drive is designed for computers with USB 3.0 ports and is optimized to run on them. With such a large amount of storage on offer (and a price tag to match), it is unlikely that the average consumer is going to need a Predator. However, Kingston hopes that the drive appeals to consumers who work with videos or graphics and need to take a lot of their work with them. A lot of raw video footage could be stored on a drive, for example. The drive is most likely going to help those who have extremely large files, rather than a lot of smaller files.
Kingston Digital has stated that the drive has a zinc alloy metal casing which offers good quality and shock resistance. The USB drive also comes with a custom Kingston key ring, a HyperX valet keychain, a five year warranty and free technical support. Although, considering the price tag, that is the least you could expect.
Also announced to be shipping was the DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Generation USB devices, with both USB 3.0 and 2.0 drives on offer. The model line-up includes 64GB and 32GB capacities. On the 3.0 devices read speeds reach up to 150MB/s and write speeds 70MB/s (that’s 30MB/s and 20MB/s for USB 2.0, respectively). These drives are going to be more suited for the consumer that needs to transport a few large files.
Although the new DataTraveler HyperX Predator USB drive is only going to appeal to a very specific audience (intense video editors, for example), it is interesting to see just how much data capacity can be stored on such a transportable device. The price tag is certainly a steep one, but it is likely to drop over the years as all data storage devices do.