Storage Takes Center Stage at New York Pepcom Event

Storage Takes Center Stage at New York Pepcom Event

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Perhaps the least talked about link on the consumer digital imaging chain is storage. While everyone in the industry talks about capture, output and the latest mobile technology, storage has always been the industry’s red headed step child.

“A hard drive or optical disc just isn’t very sexy,” began retail analyst Lauren Sosik. “But if consumers don't have viable and easy to use storage solutions it kind of breaks down the rest of the equation.”

For those attending the recent Digital Experience Pepcom event in Manhattan storage solutions seem to finally be getting their due.

“The manufacturers are stepping up to the plate in the storage space as we are seeing some very cool portable drive with capacities that are soaring and price points that are dropping,” Sosik added. “Now retailers, particularly imaging retailers, have to follow suit and start talking this stuff up.”

Backing up files and conveniently and effectively organizing image and video collections has never been easier as from around the Pepcom show floor we give you the following:

Verbatim introduced MediaShare, a home network storage solution designed to efficiently help consumers consolidate, preserve and share all their content on one dependable, high-performance device. Whether transferring documents directly onto the unit or uploading vacation photos from a remote location, Verbatim demonstrated that  MediaShare can bring file storage and media sharing to the next level for consumers.

“Many homes today have more than one computer, creating the need for consumers to share or access their digital content from either the comfort of a living room or sitting in a café or classroom,” said Ron Hanafin, Verbatim Product Manager. “With a user interface and design that creates a more enjoyable experience, MediaShare is straightforward for anyone to set up and start saving their important data quickly and easily. From here it only takes a couple of clicks to easily access files, listen to music or share photos with friends and family.” 

Western Digital  rolled out their My Book Sudio LX external hard drive, which offers a high-speed FireWire 800 interface and features a sleek new, “cool-to-the-touch” aluminum case built to complement iMacs, G5 or MacBook Pro units. The book-like design, with its customizable, always-on digital e-label, allows the user to easily archive and find photos and videos from different projects and time periods, even when the drives are unplugged, a key element for frustrated consumers.

Key features include a FireWire 800 interface to give users the speed they need for tasks like photo and video editing and graphic design, as well as a customizable e-label that enables users to personalize their media collection and identify information about the drive, such as the contents and remaining capacity, without having to boot up their computer and plug in the drive..

My Book Studio LX drives also offer automatic, continuous backup through WD SmartWare software and also sync seamlessly with Apple Time Machine software, so consumers can choose the backup method that suits their needs. The My Book Studio LX drives are formatted for Mac and come in capacities of 1 TB and 2 TB. www.

We’ll move to memory cards for a minute and tell you that Kingston Digital introduced the 64GB SDXC UHS-1 Class 10 memory . The company explains that  SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) is the next  standard from the Secure Digital Association (SDA) for SD cards with storage ranging from more  than 32GB up to 2TB.

SDXC cards, in addition to larger capacities allow for exponentially faster data transfer rates while maintaining what has become the very popular SD form factor. The Kingston SDXC card is compliant with the SDA Memory Card Standard Version 3.01, UHS-1. UHS-1 stands for Ultra-High Speed Bus 1 which is the new architecture of SDXC cards designed to reach speeds up to a maximum  transfer rate of 104MB/sec., and 300MB/sec. in the future. SDXC cards utilize the exFAT file system and are not backwards compatible with SDHC or SD cards.

Kingston’s offering has read speeds up to 60MB/sec. and write speeds of up to 35MB/sec., placing it among the fastest  available on the market today.

Iomega has aggressively jumped into the portable storage race over the last few years and used Pepcom to announce  a new generation of single-drive Iomega eGo portable and desktop hard drives, including a new smaller compact model with up to 1TB in capacity, new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 portable and desktop models, and new high capacity FireWire 800 Mac edition portable and desktop HDDs with up to 2TB of capacity.  Bundled free of charge with all of Iomega’s new eGo drives is the Iomega Protection Suite, the company’s data protection software.

“The new Iomega eGo desktop and portable hard drives are the embodiment of style and function as well as perfect companions for home users and professionals who demand fast, dependable storage in a classy desktop HDD or a superior rugged portable drive that has style to spare and the best drop spec in the industry,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega Corporation and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. 

“At Iomega, we believe in total solutions, which is why all of our new eGo models come complete out of the box with arguably the best suite of backup and anti-virus software to protect your data and your laptop, netbook or personal computer.  Put it all together and Iomega takes direct-attached storage to another level of flair and functionality.” The company’s new Skin Drives simply bring a little funk into the equation with some unique and interesting designs to the outer shells.

Buffalo Technology, a company that is forever introducing myriad wired and wireless networking storage solutions, announced its new MediaStation 12x External USB 3.0 Blu-ray Writer. Offering 12x Blu-ray write speeds in an external form factor, the MediaStation drive specializes in speed. 

Buffalo Tech demo’d how the device conveniently connects via USB 3.0 or USB 2.0, and includes the CyberLink Blu-ray 3D Ready Media Suite. Cyberlink enables full HD and Blu-ray 3D playback and upgrades consumers’ in-home movie experience with 3D movie playback or HD upscaling for standard DVD discs and video files.

Additionally, the CyberLink Media Suite provides a complete and premium Blu-ray burning and playback solution. MediaStation BR3D-12U3 is also a great solution for periodic data backups and archives, preventing content loss in the event of a system attack by a virus or other malware.

Good to see the often ignored storage category get it’s due or, as Sosik concluded, “If you can’t find, or worse yet, it you lose all your precious image and video files  you’ll understand why this category should be getting more attention.”

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