charter amen: Seagate crams Verizon 4G LTE into a battery-powered portable HDD; Thunderbolt GoFlex Adapter launches

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Seagate crams Verizon 4G LTE into a battery-powered portable HDD; Thunderbolt GoFlex Adapter launches

So, here's the good news -- Seagate has managed to convince Verizon Wireless to stuff a 4G LTE module into a portable hard drive as part of its newly-launched Innovation Program. The bad news? Heaven only knows when it'll ship, and how much it'll cost. Ever since Google managed to squeeze Big Red for gratis data in Samsung's Chromebook line, we've longed for similar solutions in other products. Now, it seems as if Seagate's getting the message; the company just revealed a wild device here at CES that mimics the GoFlex Satellite in a myriad ways, but the prototype we were shown is obviously far thicker (fret not; it'll be slimmer when it ships).

The primary difference, however, is the built-in WWAN. It's so early on that the thing doesn't even have a proper name, with Seagate dubbing it the "4G LTE Mobile Wireless Storage" for the purposes of the show. Reportedly, there's a battery within that'll keep it streaming for up to five hours, with 802.11b/g/n devices capable of being served. We're told that the product can tap into VZW's 4G LTE network to connect with a library of entertainment (vague enough for you?), and it's also capable of downloading music, movies and photos before streaming over WiFi to up to three devices. There's nary a word on potential capacities, but it'll supposedly handle "over 300 HD movies." Now, if only we knew how much it'll cost to keep it connected from month to month...

Finally, the outfit is introducing its new GoFlex Thunderbolt Adapter and the GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt Adapter, which we first caught wind up at last year's IDF. The former will be available during the first quarter of this year, while the latter is expected to be available before the second half of 2012.

Dante Cesa and Billy Steele contributed to this report.

Gallery: Seagate Thunderbolt Adapter at CES 2012