It’s notoriously difficult to write about a rectangular slab of metal and plastic which simply sits in your PC and only gets notice when it breaks down or otherwise does not work properly. Thus it was a pleasure to be able to be so enthused with a dozen such slabs of goodness during the recent Western Digital press event held at Tropezz in Greenbelt 2 Makati.

The event introduced three main products within the My Passport portable storage product line – the My Passport Elite, Studio, and Essentials. Of the major hard disk manufacturers, WD can claim to be the only one (locally at least) to hold a full-fledged launch event, and do so in such a way that the products generate a lot of excitement. The products themselves help a lot of course – WD’s Passport line have been the de facto standard for portable storage for years. They harbor a special connection with its customers absent from more utilitarian companies like Seagate due to its ubiquity and multiple specialist models that fit the widest array of customer’s needs and buying power.

                                             Mr. Noel Timbol (top) and Mr. Craig Davis, APAC Sales & Marketing Directorof WD's Branded Products Group, fielded questions and pointed out features and advantages of the My Passport line.

Thus when these products were introduced, not only were they in no need of further introduction, many a satisfied user stepped up to give testimonials on their time with their own Passports, including noted local photographer Jay Alonzo, who presented a short montage of his work along with a slick presentation for WD’s Passports, no doubt stored on the personal Passport he brought along. A product that is easy-to-use, easy to set up, and easy on the wallet will naturally attract a faithful following, especially given the specifications of the models.

Specifically, capacity ranges from 160 to 320GB, with different models differentiated by a select number of features – the My Passport Essential comes in many colors and a standard USB 2.0 connector plus WD Sync and Google Desktop, while the Elite series adds a capacity gauge to the mix, as well as the remote access software MioNet that enables the user to retrieve files from their desktop or network. The My Passport Studio is designed for the Mac user – it is pre-formatted with HFS+, and boasts of dual connectivity in the form of both USB 2.0 and FireWire 400. Other small but important details surfaced during the launch, with prime examples being the Apple Time Machine compatibility for the Studio, 128-bit encryption of files for all models, and the ability to serve as a “scratch disk” for caching work – a feature unavailable from most other competitors.

                                             Other product lines besides My Passport were also on display.

The models are differentiated from each other by their exterior finish, while colors are unique to each model line. The internal mechanism, weight, and dimension remain the same however, which means all of the models are slim, pocketable, and imminently easy to tote around. The hard drive used wasn’t specified, although it should be safe to say that it is based on WD’s Scorpio line of 2.5” notebook hard disks, which runs at 5400RPM and is easily powered by the USB bus. In certain cases when a single USB slot does not provide enough juice to run the drive, WD thoughtfully provides an additional power cable

                                             Mr. Ray Alonzo was one of the satisfied users to offer testimonial on the the My Passport's role as an important work tool.

What WD has done is taken the simple step of applying a traditionally “background” device like the hard disk to the growing trend of increasingly capacity-hungry activities of its customers. WD then connects with them by providing them with the largest set of choices, but most importantly, does it with panache and verve that belies the simple nature of “storage”. WD makes their drives easy to own by getting the basics down pat and adding well thought-out features to the successful equation, and it is because of this that a product launch of some boring rectangles of metal and plastic can elicit such excitement from the editors and reviewers here in Hardwarezone. More pictures to follow.