A round up of the latest and greatest – the best WD products of 2013

By Farhad Alli, WD Product Specialist at DCC

The year 2013 has seen the release of many great products, and world-leading hard drive brand WD is no different. From more storage than ever and the world’s first 2.5-inch purpose-built Network Attached Storage (NAS) drives, to the thinnest portable drive on the market, and even the continuation of one of the best media players on the market, WD’s best and brightest list includes something for everyone. Three great WD products represent some of the best buys for 2013 and make festive season gifting easier than ever.

WD Red gets a makeover

In 2013 WD launched its largest capacity purpose-designed NAS drive ever – the 4TB WD Red drive. This internal drive allows home and small office users with a one- to five-drive bay NAS system to include up to 20 Terabytes (TB) of storage, and to use RAID arrays for mirroring and redundancy to protect critical data. The new WD Red launch also saw a world first – the first ever 2.5-inch NAS drive built specifically for small form factor and compact NAS enclosures, which is available in sizes of 750 Gigabytes (GB) and 1TB.

Powered by NASware 2.0 technology, which further improves drive reliability and protects customer data in the event of a power loss or disruption, WD Red is compatibility-tested with top NAS system manufacturers and optimised for performance and reduced power consumption. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves overall drive performance and reliability. WD Red drives feature a three-year limited warranty and dedicated 24×7 support through WD’s international Red helpline.

The slimmest on the market – My Passport Ultra

WD also released the slimmest external hard drive on the market this year, helping users to protect their memories, photos, videos and other important files with ease. The slim and compact portable drive My Passport Ultra combines additional layers of data protection with super-fast USB 3.0 connectivity, and four colour choices to offer mobile consumers the safest and easiest way to protect their digital content while travelling.

Available in 500GB, 1TB and new 2TB capacities, My Passport Ultra portable hard drives have built-in WD SmartWare Pro backup software with Dropbox integration, hardware encryption and password protection to safeguard against unauthorised drive access.

Still the best – WD TV Media Players

A media player from WD makes a great gift for anyone, even you. With two models to choose from: the WD Elements Play and the WD TV Live, there’s sure to be the perfect media player for any needs. Get instant entertainment on your TV with the WD Elements Play, which allows you to stream the latest movies, videos or music while using your Smartphone as your personal remote. Play any file type and enjoy your photos and videos using your USB or network drive with the WD TV Live.

A media player is a must-have device for any connected home, delivering a centralised place to bring all of your content from any connected device together, wherever it is stored, and stream it to any connected television in the home. From PCs and notebooks to tablets, Smartphones and even Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, you can easily share your digital content, including movies, music, games and photographs, in HD.

Gifts that keep on giving

In today’s digital world the ability to store, transport and share your content is invaluable, and keeping your precious memories safe demands only the best. With a range of storage, sharing and streaming options from WD to suit any needs, what could be more perfect than a gift that keeps on giving, from the world-leading hard drive and storage brand.

The WD Red 4TB drive is available from selected resellers for a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of R2 800.00 inclusive of VAT.

The My Passport Ultra is available from resellers and select retail outlets in capacities of 1TB and 2TB for a RRP of R1250.00 and R2 000.00 respectively. Prices are inclusive of VAT.
The WD Elements Play and the WD TV Live is available from resellers and select retail outlets for a RRP of R1 799.00 and R1 325.00 respectively. Prices are inclusive of VAT.