WD’s My Passport Essential portable USB hard drive is now available in 10 fresh new colours. My Passport Essential Drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter. “Our striking new color selection gives our customers an opportunity to express their unique style, while securely storing and carrying the massive amounts of rich content generated by higher resolution cameras, HD videos and music,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups.  The price of the WD Passport Essential USB Drive with 320 GB is $179.99 USD, 250 GB capacity is $149.99 USD, and 160 GB is $119.99 USD.

WD Press Release

WD® PERSONALIZES PORTABLE STORAGE WITH A RAINBOW OF FASHIONABLE COLORS FOR ITS BEST-SELLING MY PASSPORT™ HARD DRIVES

Small and Stylish, My Passport Essential TM USB Hard Drives Deliver 320 GB of Portable Storage in the Palm of Your Hand

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Apr. 9, 2008 – Just in time to make a perfect gift for Mother’s Day, WD® (NYSE: WDC) today introduced 10 fresh new colors for its My Passport™ Essential™ Portable USB Drives. Weighing in at less than 5 ounces, My Passport Essential USB Drives put almost a third of a terabyte of digital storage in the palm of your hand and are available now at select retailers.

My Passport Essential Drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter—they are powered directly through the USB cable[1]. Equipped with sync and encryption software[2] for easy file transfer, the mega-capacity of the My Passport Essential Portable USB Drive makes it simple to securely carry thousands[3] of songs, videos or photos.   

“Our striking new color selection gives our customers an opportunity to express their unique style, while securely storing and carrying the massive amounts of rich content generated by higher resolution cameras, HD videos and music,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups.

WD SyncÔ software allows consumers to easily synchronize essential personal files from their desktop PC to their My Passport drive. My Passport Portable USB Drives are great for file portability as well as keeping a backup copy of valuable content. Should owners misplace the drive, they know their data is protected with 128-bit encryption. Google™ software on the drive allows users to quickly locate files with the Google Desktop Search™ search tool, manage photos with Picasa™ photo organizer software and simplify Web searches with the Google Toolbar™ search bar.

The new colors include: brilliant orange, super sunny yellow, raindrop blue, arctic white, deep viola, cherry red, ultra mint, real red, intense blue, and vibrant pink.

A product specification sheet and photos of WD Passport Portable Drives are available on the company’s Web site at http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=391.

Price and Availability
WD’s My Passport Essential USB Drives are available now at select retail stores and from WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com). My Passport Essential USB Drives are offered in capacities of 160 GB, 250 GB and 320 GB. MSRP for the WD Passport Essential USB Drive with 320 GB is $179.99 USD, 250 GB capacity is $149.99 USD, 160 GB is $119.99 USD.

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry’s pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company produces reliable, high-performance hard drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications.

WD was founded in 1970. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

[1] An optional cable is available for the few computers that limit bus power.
[1] Windows®-compatible only
[1] Results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, software and other factors.

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