Mac® Computer Users, Creative Professionals Benefit from Large Storage, Fast Transfers

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WD® (NYSE: WDC) today added a high-speed FireWire® 800 interface to its popular My Passport™ Studio™ portable drive to give Mac® computer users and creative professionals the fast performance they need.  The new interface also makes this drive a perfect storage companion for the newly introduced Apple® MacBook® Pro computer. With FireWire 800/400 and USB interfaces, the new My Passport Studio portable drives offer up to 500 GB of storage capacity, are formatted for Mac computers and weigh less than 7 ounces.

"Photographers and videographers, be they creative pros or Mac computer enthusiasts, have a genuine need for large amounts of fast, portable storage for their high-definition files," said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of WD's Branded Products and Consumer Electronics Groups. "With a new FireWire 800 interface, My Passport Studio speeds up editing and transferring of big media files making it perfect for performance-minded Mac computer users on the go."

A built-in, illuminated capacity gauge tells users how much space is available in the drive and because it is powered by the FireWire or USB connection, it is truly portable.  In addition, My Passport Studio can be used to backup Mac laptops using Apple's Time Machine™ application.

Availability and Price
Available now at select retailers and at WD's online store (http://www.shopwd.com), MSRP for My Passport Studio with FireWire 800/400 interfaces and 500 GB capacity is $249.99 USD; MSRP for 400 GB capacity is $229.99 USD. Apple Retail Stores will feature My Passport Studio drives with the new FireWire 800 interface this holiday season.

Ultra-fast and Mac computer-ready, the My Passport Studio portable drive includes the following features:

• High-performance FireWire 800 interface, plus FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces for maximum flexibility;

• Turbo-powered with high-speed turbo drivers for maximum performance (Mac computer only);

• Illuminated capacity gauge lets users see at a glance how much space is available on the drive;

• Compatible with Apple's Time Machine application  so users can back up with Apple's Time Machine, or their favorite back up software;

• Industry-leading 5-year limited warranty;

• FireWire or USB powered so no separate power supply is needed⁽¹⁾; and,

• Formatted HFS+, Journaled for use with Mac⁽²⁾ computers can be easily reformatted for use with Windows PCs.

About WD

WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company produces reliable, high-performance hard drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications.

WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Web site (http://www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologics, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries; My Passport and Studio Edition are trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other brand and product names that may be mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies. One gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. One terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.

1. A special cable is available for the few computers that limit USB power.

2. Can easily be reformatted for Windows® 2000/XP/Vista.