The new MacBook Pro that has been bandied about in the press as of late (along with the iPad 2), and its rumors of having new, innovative technologies onboard, were , made official today. Featuring state-of-the-art processors, all-new graphics, breakthrough high-speed I/O, MacBook Pro takes big leaps forward and is sure to have many Apple users salivating. On the other hand, anyone who just purchased a MacBook Pro in the last month or year may actually be feeling a little frustrated…or at least, no longer on the cutting edge.
As we all know and have seen, technology changes quickly and it’s sometimes just downright exhausting (and expensive) to try and keep up. Thankfully, there are some technology investments out there—such as the GoFlex family of hard drives and adapters—that make it easier on the consumer to keep pace with changing needs and technology requirements without continually investing big chunks of change.
When Seagate first introduced the GoFlex line of external hard drives in 2010, it was with the foresight and understanding that technology changes are rapid, including those associated with data transfer interfaces and external hard drives. To address this growing and evolving need for more data and faster performance, Seagate GoFlex storage devices were purpose-built to enable consumers to adapt to the introduction of new technologies such as Apple/Intel’s new LightPeak/Thunderbolt technology announced today.
By virtue of an interchangeable interface and support for the new Universal Storage Module (USM) standard, GoFlex owners can obtain the “latest and greatest”, faster interfaces by simply swapping the cable or adapter of their existing GoFlex drive for as little as $20.
And Mac enthusiasts can take full advantage of Thunderbolt’s ability to connect high-performance peripherals—such as a GoFlex Pro 7200RPM portable drive—to a single port and experience data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps by simply changing the adapter on their drive–vs purchasing an entire new drive–and avoid the hassle of copying or migrating their data from one drive to another.
So for those of you who currently own a GoFlex drive or are thinking about getting one and are wondering if it will support Thunderbolt—the good news is YES!! You can still use your GoFlex drive with the new MacBook Pro using either the Firewire or USB port—since GoFlex drives allow you to use both—AND Seagate will support LightPeak/Thunderbolt ports with new products within the calendar year.
You heard it here first. Now let us know what you think….
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Sounds great! Glad I purchased a Go-Flex drive and hope the Thunderbolt adapter will be sooner than the end of the year!
I was considering whether or not to purchase the GoFlex Desk and your post about support for the MacBook Pro’s new Thunderbolt port made the sale! I love the flexibility that you have built into the the GoFlex product line.
Great to hear, Adrian! Thank you for your feedback and kudos. We’ll keep you posted on availability of our Thunderbolt adapter.
I am really looking forward to your Thunderbolt adapter… and I can’t wait to see how much faster it will be. I have a MacBook Pro and use the drive for music storage and it works very well with fire-wire 800, but the speed of Thunderbolt on is mind boggling!
Awesome! I can’t wait to have this great standard. How great will it be to have an easy connection to an external drive that’s even faster than your internal drive!? Hopefully it’ll be more around mid-year that the adapter will be out.
I usually don’t leave comments for these things. BUT, I just exchanged my WD USB 3.0 Portable drive that failed today for one of the 1.5 TB Ultra Portable! So far, I’m very happy with it, but was a little hesitant of the Go-Flex adapter. Being a MAC & PC user, reading about this made me very happy!! 2 Thumbs up from me and as said above, hopefully sooner, rather than later!
As for the (thicker) 1.5TB Ultra-Portable is there any type of dock available (Now or even in the future) for it and will it be able to make use of either USB 3.0 or thunderbolt port just by changing out a cable!? I only ask as my MBP used Thunderbolt obviously, but my PC used USB 3.0. I’d like to have it docked to my PC mostly, but if it could dock the MBP also, that would just be the icing on the cake.
Daniel
When will the GoFlex adaptor for Thunderbolt be available? It is already June and some of the other vendors are starting to ship. We have purchased a few Flex drive and would love to use them over ThunderBolt
@Dan All I can say is by the end of the year. Sorry I don’t have a more concrete date. Stay tuned – Mark
I actually ended up getting the GoFlex ext HD because they ran out of the one that was on sale. Not only did I get it even cheaper than the other one and with the same amount of GB’s, but it will allow me to use it with the new MacBook Pro Thunderbolt connection.
I hope to be able to purchase the adapter soon.
Mark,
I think the GoFlex product has convinced me to purchase it as I have a new MacBook Air with a Thunderbolt port. Can you provide an updated delivery of the Thunderbolt adapter?
Bob
Is there any backup software for FreeAgent GoFlex ultra-portable drive that works on a Macintosh?
We’re all still patiently waiting for the Thunderbolt Adapter… Where is it?
Hi!
It’s the end of the year… Thunderbolt adapter???
Thanks,
Dan
The Seagate Goflex Thunderbolt adapter is not yet available.
But this will probably be Seagate’s part # for it: STAE121.
Google this part number to find more information.
The Seagate Goflex Thunderbolt adapter is not yet available.
But this will probably be Seagate’s part # for it: STAE121.
Google this part number to find more information.