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http://www.macnn.com/articles/02/01/24/googie.drives/

Googie Drives ships tiny FireWire Hard Drives

updated 05:55 pm EST, Thu January 24, 2002

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Googie Drives has announced the release of their new line of Firewire hard drives, which will be shipping at the end of February. The drives, which are fan-less and only 3 1/2" wide (smallest on the market), come in 40Gb, 60Gb, and 80Gb, and run at speeds of 7200 RPM. Prices are estimated at $230, $270, and $300 respectively. [updated]

by MacNN Staff

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palegolas
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01/24, 06:31pm | report spam | close Reply |
nice

Looks smooth. Does it slip into your pocket? (I don't know inches well, I measure in cm)

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 06:52pm | report spam | close Reply |
conversion

3 1/2 in is about 9 cm. about the size of an index card.

but how much are they???

tumok

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01/24, 07:16pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
The Future is.. er.. soon

I like their website...

"The future is now"... "More information soon"

ughhh.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 07:20pm | report spam | close Reply |
odd

seems weird to announce a product, but not give any information on it..no specs, nothing..get's me all excited!

majinbutz

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01/24, 07:29pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Hmm

Is this the same size drive as contained in the iPod? If so, would it be possible to swap out the mechanism and have an 80 GB iPod?

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 07:39pm | report spam | close Reply |
to the guy above

the drives in the enclosure are 2.5 inch drives, so no you cannot put them into your iPod. The iPod drives are much smaller, made by Toshiba, and are currently at a maximum capacity of 20GB.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 07:43pm | report spam | close Reply |
wont it be rocking?

Rocking back and forth wirth the cable hanging out the back. Will that effect the drive from reading? Doesn't seem very stable design wise, it's cool, and seems fast but the prices will be the key. I like my VST smartdisk graphite.

kaner
Dedicated MacNNer

Joined: Jan 2002

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01/24, 08:05pm | report spam | close Reply |
No It wouldnt rock

I think the gyroscopic forces of the spinning plates would keep it from rocking, like a top!

That would be awsome....

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 08:18pm | report spam | close Reply |
flat bottom

I think it's more likely that the bottom is flat!

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 08:25pm | report spam | close Reply |
I want one!

I want one simply 'cause it doesn't have a fan. I've got a 60GB Firewire drive that's NOISY AS h***. Drives me insane. I'd much rather have one of these beauties.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 08:35pm | report spam | close Reply |
I know the inspiration.

A bar of soap. This, my friends, is a step towards wet computing.

mm2270
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01/24, 09:54pm | report spam | close Reply |
Cool!

It does look futuristic doesn't it. Pretty sweet, but I'll stop there since there are no specs on them yet, particularly price! If they're priced right, I'll definitely be getting one.

mm2270
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Joined: Aug 2001

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01/24, 09:59pm | report spam | close Reply |
Price

Oh, now I see estimated prices in this article. Didn't see that before. Weird. Anyway, price isn't TOO bad, considering prices of FW drives, but how did MacNN get that info? There ain't nothin' on their website, just a picture and a (mockup?) box. Hmmm...

fwdepot
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01/24, 10:06pm | report spam | close Reply |
others are available

check the Cutie enclosure at www.fwdepot.com - can't get much smaller than that...

also there are other enclosures for you 48G and 60G users since those are 12.5mm drives and will not fit inside the Cutie (only 9.5mm drives = max 40G)

tochocki

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01/24, 10:31pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Not yet there?

Interesting:

- That box on their web site was not there the first time I checked.

- The drive itself looks like a model rendering.

- And, like stated previously, MacNN did not orginally disclose the prices.

We know the features, so now it sounds like all they have to do is actually build one. I am curious to see how it performs.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 10:53pm | report spam | close Reply |
7200 RPM?

The MacNN item claims 7200 RPM - I've never seen that in a pocket-sized drive.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/24, 11:00pm | report spam | close Reply |
Cute! I want one!

I love the Googie hard drive and I love the "Clear 911" enclosure from Trans International:

http://www.transintl.com/store/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=61

It is a difficult choice - might come down to speed, price and noise. I'll be keen to see the specifications.

rob ART morgan provides an *excellent* small FireWire drive comparison on his web site (www.barefeats.com). He compares noise, price, speed and looks. I expect (hope) he will add the googie drive to a future report:

http://www.barefeats.com/fire24.html

Cheers, Sam
Melbourne, Australia

Eug
Clinically Insane

Joined: Dec 2000

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01/24, 11:36pm | report spam | close Reply |
Something's not right.

I don't get it. 3.5" case with a 7200 rpm drive??? Huh?

It sounds like a USB 2 or Firewire housing for a standard IDE drive. ie. IDE drives are 3.5" and 7200 rpm. If you go to notebook drives they're 2.5" and only up to 5400 rpm and I believe 60 GB, so it ain't them. And the tiny iBook drives don't go anywhere near 80 GB.

In other works, it seems like the case WON'T be 3.5", but will take 3.5" drives.

So if I'm right, they'll look better than the Lacie drives, but are spec'd and priced similar to them.

I hope I'm wrong.

Eug
Clinically Insane

Joined: Dec 2000

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01/24, 11:38pm | report spam | close Reply |
Oops iPod, not iBook

Typo in above message.

weakling
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Joined: Dec 2001

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01/24, 11:57pm | report spam | close Reply |
Space pod...

Looks like the space pod from "Galaxy Quest"

MacNN.com Reader
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01/25, 01:27am | report spam | close Reply |
Change is good.

Yep, the page has changed since I checked it out earlier.

But, it doesn't look stackable. That's a drawback to the enclosure.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/25, 02:33am | report spam | close Reply |
Maybe it's me.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't comprehend how someone "ships" something that at the same time isn't available until more than a month from now. Did I fail English?

MacNN.com Reader
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01/25, 03:47am | report spam | close Reply |
Good Price

Sounds good to me 80gigs for a portable (assuming it's portable) firewire drive for $300. Sounds like a steal. I think I only found one butt ugly looking portable firewire drive in that same price range. It would be nice to finally buy a firewire HD at 7200RPM that's portable. It would free up my clutter quite a bit here. Less wires the better. Now if only my Iomega Zip was able to go power cord free...

MarkusYamamoto
Forum Regular

Joined: Jan 2001

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01/25, 06:12am | report spam | close Reply |
3.5" Drives

I believe that these hard drives are the normal 3.5" 7200 RPM drives. Theres no way that they are 2.5" laptop drives at those specs. and prices.

MacNN.com Reader
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01/25, 10:32am | report spam | close Reply |
Size

Everyone who guessed that these are 3.5" HD's used in the Googie are apparently right. They have an FAQ on the site that lists the physical size of the drive (including enclosure) Turns out it's 7.4" x 4.6" x 2.2", so they are not "pocket-sized", or index card sized as an earlier post suggested. Still, they aren't TOO big, but not nearly as small as was suggested.

cfenger
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Joined: Aug 2000

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01/25, 11:51am | report spam | close Reply |
Size

7.4 x 4.6 x 2.2 is quite pretty damn big in my book. I happen to have an old external floppy drive for a 1985 512k Mac sitting on a bookshelf next to me and it's a "huge" 7.0 x 5.0 x 2.5. The Googie may have a nice rounded form factor, but it certainly shouldn't be considered "portable."

MacNN.com Reader
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01/25, 11:52am | report spam | close Reply |
re: size

The Googie site says that the cases are 4.6" wide, not 3.5". The 3.5" number probably came from the fact that they use 3.5" drives. Either MacNN got the story wrong or Googie gave them the wrong numbers.

The Googie cases are shorter and narrower than average, but thicker. The OWC case is only about 1.5" thick.

The prices aren't anything special. There are a number of ready-made 80 GB 7200 RPM FW drives available for $300 or less, from OWC, Maxtor, Western Digital, etc. Don't know what's special about the Googies other than stylish cases.

I'm assuming that the Googies use an Oxford 911-type chip.

MacNN.com Reader
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Joined: Jul 2001

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01/25, 12:41pm | report spam | close Reply |
Get real...

Yes, drive is a cool, new shape, but...

To get 80GB, you need to use a 3.5" mechansim. Largest capacity today for 2.5" mechanism is 60GB.

There are several truly portable drives on the market that have been shipping:
- LaCie PocketDrive with both FW and USB2 (much smaller than what is listed)
- VST
- Trans Intl
- etc.

For a 3.5" drive to be bus powered, you must carefully look at the specs - just how much power does a bus powered device require. and what is available from the computer.

For example, the new iMac G4 can only deliver 6watts shared between the two ports, and 8watts peak; this is about the same as the Powerbooks.

A 7200 or 5400 RPM 3.5" drive requires a lot more peak power than can be gained from the FireWire port.

So, just how big and cool looking is the Googie drives power brick?

I do like the name though!

Mike

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Googie Drives ships tiny FireWire Hard Drives

updated 05:55 pm EST, Thu January 24, 2002

nice

conversion

The Future is.. er.. soon

odd

Hmm

to the guy above

wont it be rocking?

No It wouldnt rock

flat bottom

I want one!

I know the inspiration.

Cool!

Price

others are available

Not yet there?

7200 RPM?

Cute! I want one!

Something's not right.

Oops iPod, not iBook

Space pod...

Change is good.

Maybe it's me.

Good Price

3.5" Drives

Size

Size

re: size

Get real...

Login Here

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Googie Drives ships tiny FireWire Hard Drives

updated 05:55 pm EST, Thu January 24, 2002

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nice

conversion

The Future is.. er.. soon

odd

Hmm

to the guy above

wont it be rocking?

No It wouldnt rock

flat bottom

I want one!

I know the inspiration.

Cool!

Price

others are available

Not yet there?

7200 RPM?

Cute! I want one!

Something's not right.

Oops iPod, not iBook

Space pod...

Change is good.

Maybe it's me.

Good Price

3.5" Drives

Size

Size

re: size

Get real...

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

to our RSS

Follow us

on Twitter

Most Read

10 Most Discussed

MacNN Marketplace