Fabrik division SimpleTech on Monday unveiled its new Pro Drive systems, most of which come equipped with both USB 2.0 and external Serial ATA (eSATA) interfaces. The systems include backup software and optional online archival (coming to Mac OS X soon).
The Pro Drives come in three variations: “Simple Drive” models that features USB 2.0 connectivity, “Pro Drive” models that combine USB 2.0 and eSATA (which can be added to a Power Mac or Mac Pro system using a host controller adapter card), and a “Duo Pro Drive” line that combines USB 2.0 and eSATA with two drive mechanisms configured using hardware-based RAID Level 0 or Level 1 protection.
Inside each of the drives are 7200RPM hard disk drive mechanisms. The drives sport Kensington-compatible security lock slots.
The Simple Drive is available in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB configurations for $99.99, $129.99 and $169.99 respectively. the Pro Drive comes in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB configurations for $229.99, $329.99 and $529.99 respectively. The Duo Pro Drive comes in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB configurations for $399.99, $599.99 and $799.99 respectively.
Each of the drives work with the Mac, and each comes with Fabrik Local Backup, Mac OS X and Windows-compatible backup software that makes it possible for you to use the drive as a persistent backup system for your boot drive.
But SimpleTech has extended backup one step further: The company is also offering Fabrik Ultimate Backup, an online backup service that provides users with online archival capabilities. The service is debuting for Windows, but will be available for Mac OS X, according to Fabrik executives who spoke with Macworld .
The service enables users to schedule automatic backups, and provides block-level incremental backups, so once the first archive is completed, only new or changed items will be backed up again. You can throttle Fabrik Ultimate Backup’s bandwidth usage, and reduce backup speed to reduce the performance impact on your computer. Fabrik Ultimate Backup also offers 128-bit SSL encryption, and optionally uses 448-bit Blowfish encryption.
Fabrik Ultimate Backup is provided as a free service for users to try out with 2GB or less data. For more than that, Fabrik charges $4.95 per month. That fee enables users to upgrade to unlimited capacity.