Catering to consumers on-the-go with the world’s most popular portable storage offerings, WD® today introduced its new 500 GB capacity My Passport™ Portable USB Drives which are designed to make it easy to store a half a terabyte of music, videos or photos and carry them in the palm of your hand. The new 500 GB capacity is offered on the My Passport Elite™ and My Passport Essential™ portable drive models.

A recent consumer study conducted by WD of 1,559 external hard drive users revealed that 54 percent of survey respondents wished that there was an automatic way to back up their computer without having to think about it. My Passport Elite portable drives are equipped with software to automatically back up consumers’ ever-growing collection of personal media and digital files.

Weighing in at less than 7 ounces and designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use, the new 500 GB My Passport portable drives are small enough to fit in a pocket or backpack for easy portability. My Passport users benefit from WD’s leadership in hard drive manufacturing. WD has the in-depth expertise to build enclosures that are designed to protect users’ data.

“In our mobile society, there is an increasing desire to have your data collection at your finger tips at all times,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups. “The new My Passport 500 GB portable drives provide the convenience of a compact USB-powered drive with the high capacity previously only available in larger desktop drives.”

WD’s My Passport Portable USB Drives with 500 GB capacity are available now WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com). MSRP for the My Passport family of portable drives with 400 GB and 500 GB capacities ranges from $179.99 USD to $219.99 USD depending on model. The My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drives are offered in the following capacities: 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB, 400 GB and 500 GB.

Unique features of the My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drives include: USB-bus powered, which eliminates the need for an external power adapter1; synchronization software that lets users sync their changes and protect their information with 128-bit encryption; plug-and-play capability with gaming consoles 2; to make it easy to play music and view photos and video files on a TV. My Passport Essential portable drives are available in 11 fashionable colors.

Additional features of the My Passport Elite portable drives include:
Capacity gauge that enables users to know at-a-glance how much space is available;
Powerful automatic backup software lets users designate files and folders for automatic and continuous backup;
Retrieve forgotten files from the road from any MioNet®-enabled PC (compatible with Windows® only) and copy them to My Passport portable drive using the unique MioNet Key™ software;
Available now in four elegant, soft-touch colors: bronze, titanium, westminster blue and cherry red; and, Industry-leading 5-year limited warranty.

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