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Seagate Announces Duet: An Amazon Cloud-Syncing Portable HDD for $99.99
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Seagate Announces Duet: An Amazon Cloud-Syncing Portable HDD for $99.99

Seagate this week has continued to introduce special-purpose storage devices tailored for select applications: the company is launching its Duet external hard drive that automatically downloads and uploads content from (and to) Amazon Drive to enable instant and offline access to data stored in the cloud. The HDD will be useful for those,who store up to 1 TB of data in the cloud but prefer to have local copies as well.

The Seagate Duet is a re-badged Backup Plus Portable Drive with 1 TB capacity and special software that syncs it with the Amazon Drive service. The drive uses a USB 3.0 interface to connect to computers (running Windows or macOS) and has 5400 RPM spindle speed and two platters featuring PMR technology. The HDD needs to be plugged into a PC with internet access in order to connect to the Internet to upload or download data. Users who would like to use the drive like a normal external HDD will have to reformat it (it is doubtful that there will be a lot of such people as the drive costs considerably more than the regular external 1 TB HDDs without cloud-syncing technology).

During the initial setup, the Duet drive logins to a customer’s Amazon account and then automatically syncs photos, videos, files, documents, movies and music. After a file is added to the Duet drive, it will be uploaded to the cloud and then available from almost everywhere using any device, including smartphones and tablets that have special apps installed. Alternatively, every file uploaded from a mobile device to Amazon’s Drive eventually ends up on the Seagate Duet drive when the device is synchronized.

The Seagate Duet drive will be available exclusively from Amazon in the U.S. for $99.99, which is considerably more expensive than the actual retail price of Seagate’s Backup Plus Portable 1 TB model ($55 – $60). For new U.S. Amazon Drive customers the Duet will come with one free year of Amazon Drive Unlimited Storage (a $59.99 value), which makes the external storage device somewhat more attractive. Meanwhile, existing Amazon Drive customers will essentially pay $40 – $45 for cloud-syncing software. The HDD is covered by a two-year limited warranty from Seagate.

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Seagate Announces Duet: An Amazon Cloud-Syncing Portable HDD for $99.99
  • Comments are Closed

Seagate Announces Duet: An Amazon Cloud-Syncing Portable HDD for $99.99

Seagate this week has continued to introduce special-purpose storage devices tailored for select applications: the company is launching its Duet external hard drive that automatically downloads and uploads content from (and to) Amazon Drive to enable instant and offline access to data stored in the cloud. The HDD will be useful for those,who store up to 1 TB of data in the cloud but prefer to have local copies as well.

The Seagate Duet is a re-badged Backup Plus Portable Drive with 1 TB capacity and special software that syncs it with the Amazon Drive service. The drive uses a USB 3.0 interface to connect to computers (running Windows or macOS) and has 5400 RPM spindle speed and two platters featuring PMR technology. The HDD needs to be plugged into a PC with internet access in order to connect to the Internet to upload or download data. Users who would like to use the drive like a normal external HDD will have to reformat it (it is doubtful that there will be a lot of such people as the drive costs considerably more than the regular external 1 TB HDDs without cloud-syncing technology).

During the initial setup, the Duet drive logins to a customer’s Amazon account and then automatically syncs photos, videos, files, documents, movies and music. After a file is added to the Duet drive, it will be uploaded to the cloud and then available from almost everywhere using any device, including smartphones and tablets that have special apps installed. Alternatively, every file uploaded from a mobile device to Amazon’s Drive eventually ends up on the Seagate Duet drive when the device is synchronized.

The Seagate Duet drive will be available exclusively from Amazon in the U.S. for $99.99, which is considerably more expensive than the actual retail price of Seagate’s Backup Plus Portable 1 TB model ($55 – $60). For new U.S. Amazon Drive customers the Duet will come with one free year of Amazon Drive Unlimited Storage (a $59.99 value), which makes the external storage device somewhat more attractive. Meanwhile, existing Amazon Drive customers will essentially pay $40 – $45 for cloud-syncing software. The HDD is covered by a two-year limited warranty from Seagate.

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The Fnatic Rush G1 Mechanical Keyboard Review

In this review we are having a look at the Rush G1, the first keyboard from Fnatic, the professional eSports team who is making an attempt in entrepreneurialism. Their brand name, Fnatic Gear, supplies only apparel and peripherals designed specificall…

  • Comments are Closed

The Fnatic Rush G1 Mechanical Keyboard Review

In this review we are having a look at the Rush G1, the first keyboard from Fnatic, the professional eSports team who is making an attempt in entrepreneurialism. Their brand name, Fnatic Gear, supplies only apparel and peripherals designed specificall…

ASRock Upgrades Beebox-S SFF PCs with Kaby Lake CPUs
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ASRock Upgrades Beebox-S SFF PCs with Kaby Lake CPUs

ASRock has introduced updated versions of its Beebox-S small form-factor PCs. The new NUC-like systems are powered by Intel’s Core i5-7100U/i3-7200U CPUs featuring the Kaby Lake microarchitecture, but apart from that the computers are identical to their predecessors running the Skylake chips. ASRock positions its Beebox-S both for general-purpose computing as well as for multimedia playback.

Just like their predecessors, the Asrock Beebox-S comes in a small black enclosure (110×118.5×46 mm, 0.6 L) that is akin to other Intel NUC-like systems. Since the PC is based on Intel’s Kaby Lake processor, it has rather advanced video playback capabilities, which make it a good candidate for an HTPC. Moreover, ASRock specifically mentions HDMI 2.0 and support for 4Kp60 with 10-bit HDR output as one of the key features of the new Beebox systems. The manufacturer also installed an IR receiver compatible with a bundled remote controller, further emphasizing a possible positioning of the Beebox-S.

When it comes to connectivity, the SFF PC seems to be good for both office and the living room. The system is equipped with an HDMI 2.0 output (implemented using an LSPCon controller, most likely a MegaChips MCDP2000, and supporting 4096×2160 pixels at 60 Hz as well as HDR10) to connect to modern 4Kp60 UHDTVs (not sure about HDCP 2.2 support, but it should logically be there), an HDMI 1.4 as well as a DisplayPort 1.2. The Beebox-S also has one USB 3.0 Type-A and one USB 3.0 Type-C headers as well as a 3.5 mm TRRS connector for headsets on the front panel. Tthe back panel features two more USB 3.0 ports and one GbE connector.

The heart of the ASRock Beebox-S is either Intel’s Core i3-7100U or Core i5-7200U microprocessor in BGA packaging with integrated HD Graphics 620. The system can also be equipped with up to 32 GB of DDR4-2133 memory (two SO-DIMM slots), an M.2-2280 NVMe SSD and a 2.5” SSD/HDD depending on demands of exact customer. Meanwhile, Intel’s 802.11ac Wi-Fi + BT 4.0 wireless module is pre-installed.

ASRock Beebox-S SFF PCs Based on Intel’s Kaby Lake CPUs
  Beebox-S 7200U Beebox-S 7100U
CPU i5-7200U
2C/4T
2.5 GHz
3.1 GHz		 i3-7100U
2C/4T
2.4 GHz
GPU HD Graphics 620
24 EUs
up to 1050 MHz
RAM 2×DDR4-2133 SO-DIMMs (up to 32 GBs)
SSD Up to M.2-2280 SSDs
HDD 2.5″/9.5 mm
GbE Intel i219-V (?)
Wi-Fi Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 (?)
1×1 802.11ac + BT 4.0
(via M.2 2230 card)
I/O USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) via ASMedia ASM1142
1×USB 3.1 Type-C
3×USB 3.0 Type-A
Video 1×HDMI 2.0 (HDCP2.2) via LSPCon
1×DisplayPort 1.2
Audio Realtek ALC283
TRRS and HDMI connectors
Size H: 46 mm
W: 118.5 mm
L: 110 mm
Full
Specs		 Beebox-S 7200U Beebox-S 7100U

This week Newegg started to sell the Beebox-S 7100U and Beebox-S 7200U SFF PCs for $291 and $349, respectively. As it appears that retail pricing of the new Kaby Lake-based ASRock Beebox-S SFF PCs is higher that of the Skylake-powered Beebox-S, which are available for $264 to $320. One more thing to note about the new Beebox-S systems is that they only come in black enclosures, whereas their predecessors feature black, white, silver and golden finishes. We haven’t heard of other colors coming, although that may change in the future.

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