4TB of storage space in a 3.5” consumer hard disk? It hadn’t been done before today. Now Seagate has pushed the envelope just a bit further with the introduction of its 4TB GoFlex Desk External Hard Drive ($250). The capacity isn’t the only big deal here; this drive is also capable of growing additional Thunderbolt connectivity. Is Apple and Intel’s new standard finally ready for average consumers?
Seagate uses adapter bases to allow this new drive to take advantage of different connectors, so while this 4TB model ships with a USB 3.0 adapter—backwards compatible with the USB 2.0 ports that Macs use, of course—you can choose to upgrade to FireWire 800 or eSATA right now, and Thunderbolt in the future. We don’t expect that adapter will be cheap, but it’ll certainly be fast. If you’re looking to spend a little less on the drive, 1TB models start at $110 and offer the same upgrade options.
