Western Digital has rolled out a new version of the My Book Studio external hard drive, aimed towards users wanting more speed without switching to Thunderbolt. The update adds USB 3.0 connectivity, which provides data transfer speeds claimed to be three times faster than the USB 2.0 version, while also allowing for legacy connections through USB 2.0 and FireWire 800.
Shying away from the dual-drive system of the My Book Studio Edition II and using a single drive in 1TB, 2TB, 3TB and 4TB capacities, the aluminum-clad My Book Studio is said to work seamlessly with Apple Time Machine and other back-up systems. Included WD Security software allows users to password-protect their drive with 256-bit hardware-based encryption, protecting stored data from unauthorized access.
The My Book Studio is on sale now and starts from $160 for the 1TB drive, going up to $300 for the 4TB version.
