G-Technology announces R-Series rugged mobile SSD devices, its toughest drives yet

Faster, smaller, stronger, the new R-Series from G-Technology

G-Technology drives are some of the most popular amongst content producers. Whilst G-Technology itself has had a portable rugged SSD compatible drive system available for a while now, it has now introduced newer, faster variations in the form of the R-Series.

The G-Technology G-Drive, with its interchangeable storage, was well received. It offered a portable, rugged, system that could be customised to contain either a traditional hard drive, or an SSD. In effect the G-Drive was a caddy that you could tailor to your own requirements. The new R-Series, while not offering interchangeable drives, offers an all new ruggedised SSD lineup that would appear to require the deft use of a tank to destroy.

The R-Series utilises the latest USB 3.1 gen 2 interface, and can reach a claimed transfer speed of 560MB/s dependent on your hardware. Of course the main selling point of the new drives is their toughness. The new SSDs are IP67 rated for dust and water ingress, can cope with a 3m drop onto concrete based carpet, and feature a 1000lb crushproof rating. The new drives are therefore going to be of interest to those who take their work into some of the more extreme environments around. All we need now is for laptops to be made to a similar touch specification!

The R-Series will be available in 500GB ($199.95), 1TB ($379.95), and 2TB ($699.95) capacities. This makes the drives competitively priced, although compared with traditional drives, the price for solid state still remains stubbornly high. 

That said, the future most definitely resides in SSD technology. And with many more options such as this coming onto the market, we can only hope that the price will eventually start to drop. The fact that we can now have such fast, yet physically small storage to allow us to work in all sorts of environments on the move is progress in itself. G-Techniology clearly has confidence in the new drives since it is offering a five year limited warranty. Far in excess of some of its closest competitors who offer three years.

For more information visit the G-Technology website. The official press release follows on the next page.

In additional news, G-Technology has also announced a new SDK for its G-Rack 12 NAS system to allow customers to develop their own custom applications, for instance to assist the workflow for disaster recovery, archive, and media management.

G-Technology R-Series press release

SAN JOSE, CA – Sept. 14, 2017 – Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC), a global data storage technology and solutions leader, today announces the new G-Technology® brand G-DRIVE® mobile SSD R-Series device, the fastest G-Technology portable SSD. With the latest-generation USB-C™ connectivity and transfer speeds up to 560MB/s, digital content creators will be able to unleash their creativity in new places and work with large creative files like videos, photos and music faster.

"Larger and more powerful cameras breed larger file sizes and that has brought about an important need for equally large and powerful storage solutions," says Brian Matiash, G-Technology G-Team ambassador. "I need to know that my drives will not only keep up with the growing demands of my photo and video workflows, but also ensure that they can endure the environmental rigors of wherever my work takes me." With G-Technology's G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series, not only do I get an additional 2TB of capacity beyond what my laptop is limited to with blazing fast file read and write speeds, I also get peace of mind knowing that these drives will stand up to the unpredictable and inclement conditions.

Working with large 4K RAW video means large file sizes and is undoubtedly one of the largest pain points for content editors. Saving time means getting more done, which means booking more jobs over the course of a year. Featuring transfer speeds up to 560MB/s*, the G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device will enable editors to quickly save and edit large video, photo and audio files in real time with speeds fast enough to keep up with your content.

Rated R for Rugged

When the luxury of indoor production isn't an option, the G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device is built using hand-picked components to withstand tough conditions in the field and provides a rugged solution you can trust. In addition, it will have an International Protection Rating of 67 (IP67) for water and dust resistance and has been tested to withstand up to a 3-meter drop on a carpeted concrete floor and 1000 lbs of pressure (crush resistance).

Think Big. Travel Light.

When preparing for outdoor production, limiting the space and weight of gear is vital. The G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device is compact in size, and will give photographers high-capacity storage without sacrificing speed. With capacities up to 2TB, the G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device is a lightweight, pocket-sized solution that will enable photographers and editors to keep 4K footage, RAW photos, and more to edit and save, wherever, whenever.
Being an on-the-go photographer requires being confident and secure with tools to work with. The G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device is protected by an industry-leading five-year limited warranty and is designed to provide high-performance storage for years to come.

Pricing and Availability

The G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series device offers a 5-year limited warranty and will be available at select G-technology resellers around the world this year with up to 2TB capacities. Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) in the U.S. will be $699.95 for 2TB, $379.95 1TB, and $199.95 500GB, USD, respectively from g-technology.com and will be available this year through G-Technology resellers around the world. For more information on G-Technology offerings, please visit www.g-technology.com.