Seagate certifies GoFlex for third-party

MUMBAI, INDIA: External storage device manufacturer Seagate announced a new programme to allow third-party companies to incorporate slots on their products to support removable GoFlex external hard drives, which was introduced in May 2010.

The Certified GoFlex Storage System concept products ranging from media players and set-top boxes to computers and televisions, and each will incorporate a slot to accept an ultra-portable drive compatible with the Certified GoFlex Storage System.

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The Certified GoFlex Storage System initiative is a certification process where by Seagate will qualify products from participating companies to incorporate slots that meet the specifications of accepting ultra-portable drives that meet the Certified GoFlex Storage System standard.

The Certified GoFlex Storage System will establish placement of both slot-based consumer electronics devices as well as certification of third-party external storage modules.

Seagate’s certification also endorses the soon to be established SATA — IO Universal Storage Module (USM) specification.

Patrick Connolly, vice president and general manager for Seagate Retail, said: “When Seagate first introduced the GoFlex storage family last year, our objective was two pronged: first, address the three major hurdles of storage adoption -- interface flexibility, operating system freedom and enjoyment of content beyond the compute environment."

"Secondly, Seagate wishes to expand the use of storage beyond the typical use-case scenario of back-up and migration of files for the computer. The Certified GoFlex Storage System is the next step in realizing this vision and establishing GoFlex drives as the next generation of recordable media,” he added.