Audavi Corp. has added a US$399 80GB product to its HardTape family of storage devices that use 2.5-inch hard drive technology and “HardTape” cartridges that can purportedly survive a two-foot drop onto concrete.
HardTape cartridges sport an aluminum case, are pocket-sized (130mm x 80mm x 17mm), and weigh about eight ounces. They came in capacities of 20GB, 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, and now 80 GB. You insert them into a HardTape Bay, which can be connected to a computer via FireWire, USB, or PCMCIA. Audavi says the HardTape solutions are Mac compatible, although the company doesn’t list system requirements.
The storage solutions are designed as alternatives to tape for client data backup and disaster recovery, medical image storage, and security video recording, according to Steven L. Kaczeus, President and CTO of Audavi. . HardTape is faster than “burning” CD/DVD disks for digital photos, music, and video applications, he added.