Gizmo Coded Name

WD introduced its My Passport Essential Portable USB Drives. Redesigned to complement WD’s popular My Book family of external drives, the drives introduce a sleek new form that feels good in your hand and fits neatly in a pocket or purse. Available now at select retailers and at WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com), the new My Passport Essential USB Drives feature a beautiful glossy black finish and put almost a third of a terabyte of digital storage in the palm of your hand.

Weighing in at less than 5 ounces, My Passport Essential Drives are light and compact to carry and because they are bus powered, they do not need an external power adapter1. Equipped with sync and encryption software (Windows-compatible only), this lightweight drive with mega-capacity, makes it easy to securely carry thousands of songs, or videos or photos.

WD Sync software allows consumers to take desktop content with them by simplifying the synchronization of essential personal files and Microsoft Outlook data on a PC. Should owners misplace the drive, they know their data is protected with 128-bit encryption. Google software on the drive allows users to quickly locate files with the Google Desktop Search search tool, manage photos with Picasa photo organizer software and simplify Web searches with the Google Toolbar search bar.

“The newly designed My Passport Essential drives are the perfect travel-friendly storage device to hold the rich media content generated by higher resolution photos and HD videos and music,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products group. “The desire to carry and keep their digital files close at hand continues to grow and this new drive offers a sleek and stylish solution with plenty of storage capacity for consumers on the move.”

Price and Availability
WD’s My Passport Essential USB Drives are available now at select retail stores and from WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com). MSRP for the WD Passport Essential USB Drive 320 GB is $199.99 USD.

Specifications

Performance Specifications
• Serial Bus Transfer Rate (USB 2.0)
  480 Mbits/s (Max)

Physical Specifications
• Capacity
  320 GB
• Interface
  USB 2.0

Physical Dimensions
• Height
  0.590 Inches
• Length
  4.967 Inches
• Width
  3.130 Inches
• Weight
  0.40 Pounds

Environmental Specifications
• Operating
  41° F to 104° F
• Non-operating
  -4° F to 149° F

These elegant portable drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter — they are powered directly through the USB cable. Works with Windows and Mac. Synchronize files between home and office and encrypt everything on the drive for added security.

Key Features
Sleek and colorful - This beautiful portable drive, available in eleven eye-catching colors, is light and easy to carry and fits smoothly in your hand or pocket.

USB powered - Powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed.

Synchronized and secure - Plug My Passport into any PC, edit files, read e-mail, and view photos. Then sync all of your changes back to your home or office computer. Your data is protected with 128-bit encryption. (Windows only)

Compatible - Use with Windows and Macintosh computers
Includes Google software - Search your drive, manage your photos, and simplify Web searches with included Google software. (Windows only)

• An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit power from the USB port.

Ideal For

• Storing or backing up your digital music, videos and photos.
• Carrying important files and e-mail between work and home or on the road and keeping them in sync.
• Sharing large files between office and home, between PC and Mac.
• Pick from multiple colors to express your unique style.

System Requirements

• Available USB port
• Windows 2000/XP/Vista
• Available USB port
• Mac OS X 10.4.11+

Package Contents

• My Passport Essential portable hard drive
• USB 2.0 cable
• Quick Install Guide

Personal Note :
I would like to thank Western Digital and Trademaker for sending me a test unit of 160GB Western Digital Passport.

Test Result :
I have done extensive test on this product for the past 4 month. All my other portable HDD has started giving me problem after 3 month, but Western Digital Passport is the best portable harddrive that I have ever owned. It is very light compared to other portable hdd but the performance is outstanding. You don’t need extra power cable.

Cons:
The USB cable is kinda short, (Since longer cable will have slow transfer rate) so if you have your CPU under the table, it is time to move it to the top.

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 (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.