Seagate (NASDAQ:STX), the world leader in storage solutions, today unveiled its 2008 lineup of the company’s award-winning FreeAgent™ external hard drives. This new generation of the Seagate® FreeAgent™ family includes attractive desktop and mobile options, for both Mac® and Windows® operated computers, that make it a breeze to back up, share and protect valuable digital content like photos, videos and music.

The easy-to-use, colourful and sophisticated FreeAgent family of storage solutions helps simplify the digital lives of today’s professional and personal users, whether they are students and researchers, designers and photographers, music aficionados, business or home users. With Seagate’s FreeAgent solutions, users can now enjoy up to 1.5 TB of storage capacity as they create, store, share and backup their professional and personal data in a convenient and secure manner.

Seagate FreeAgent is available in three sizes – the flagship pocket-sized offering, the FreeAgent Go, is the slimmest external drive available today. At a height of only 12.5 mm, the new FreeAgent Go includes advanced shock and vibration protection and is the first external hard drive to offer a docking option, providing a practical way to move from the desk to the road, while leaving the hassle of fumbling with cables and locating USB ports to the history books. With up to 500GB of capacity, the FreeAgent Go bridges the gap between standard portable solutions and desktop solutions with enough storage to carry entire libraries of movies, pictures and music. No longer does one need to sacrifice capacity for portability, Seagate FreeAgent Go provides the benefits and convenience of both in a truly seamless on-the-go package.

The FreeAgent Go desktop docking station is sold separately and comes paired with a black leatherette carrying case to add style while protecting the drive from the bumps and scratches encountered while traveling in hand bags and during other on-the-road adventures. The FreeAgent Go is now available in a variety of popular colors, including silver, black, red, and blue. The drive also ships with a flexible, thin USB 2.0 travel cable.

The FreeAgent Desk drive and FreeAgent XTreme™ drive are the family’s two 3.5-inch high-capacity desktop offerings, and provide up to 1.5 Terabytes of storage. The sleek and modern design of these drives provides the flexibility to sit horizontally or stand vertically to maximize your workspace. The FreeAgent Desk drive is comes with a brushed aluminum finish, with a USB 2.0 interface. The FreeAgent XTreme drive is a black, brushed aluminum high-capacity storage solution incorporating a triple interface of eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire 400.

“Seagate has been always ahead, recognizing consumer needs and providing reliable solutions. The first FreeAgent storage solution offering introduced in 2007 unquestionably demonstrated that hard drives can be designed to provide a stylish complement to a computing environment,” says Rajesh Khurana, Country Manager – India and SAARC, Seagate Technology. “The second-generation of FreeAgent storage solutions mark the next step of providing easy-to-use technology in a consumer-friendly package.”

As part of this product introduction, Seagate also unveiled external storage solutions designed specifically for the Mac community. The Mac community has spoken and Seagate is listening. The FreeAgent Go for Mac and FreeAgent Desk for Mac are both formatted for use with Mac OS X out of the box and are Time Machine ready with FireWire800/400 or USB 2.0 connectivity. Seagate understands that Mac customers have specific needs and performance requirements and these demands are being met with the FreeAgent external hard drive for Mac offering.

Users worldwide, including India, rely on Seagate FreeAgent to access their data ‘on-the-go’. Ashish Soni, an internationally renowned fashion designer and the former president of FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India) said, “With the Seagate FreeAgent Go, I don’t need to carry my laptop with me anymore. I can access my content wherever I am, share it with whoever I need to and, at the same time, am assured that my work is safe and secure as I leave no traces of my designs behind.”

For Manish Tipu, a new age music arranger working in Bollywood, the Seagate FreeAgent addresses his concerns of housing his music compositions in a high capacity, stable and safe environment. It also allows him to conveniently walk around with his compositions in order for him to work at different studios without leaving any footprint or copy of his work on any systems. “What I love about Seagate FreeAgent is that it’s as rugged as a truck, but looks as sleek as a sports car,” said Tipu. “It has a great style and presence and also does a fantastic job of helping me manage my data,” he adds.

Seagate FreeAgent 2008 Lineup

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive

A pocket-sized storage drive that packs a punch, the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive is slim, compact and shipping in four color options available as of September 2008 in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of Rs. 5500/- for 250GB, Rs. 7000/- for 320GB and Rs. 12000/- for 500GB.

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive for Mac

With a FireWire 800/400 interface, docking station and carrying case the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive for Mac is equipped to move seamlessly between the desktop and road. Formatted for use with Mac OS X and Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Go for Mac is the perfect back up companion for any Apple® computer. Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac is available this month for a MSRP of Rs, 9000/- for 250GB and Rs. 10000/- for 320GB.

FreeAgent™ | Dock and Case

Protection for those on the go and a docking station for convenient and quick access to your files, these accessories for the FreeAgent Go drive are sold separately. The dock and case will be available in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a MSRP of Rs. 1600/-.

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive

This convenient desktop storage solution, Seagate FreeAgent Desk drive, is the perfect desktop companion for basic back up and security for all your digital files. The high-capacity USB 2.0 interfaced drive provides enough room to hold libraries of images, music and video. The FreeAgent Desk drive is available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, for a MSRP of Rs. 7500/- for 500GB, Rs. 8000/-for 640GB, Rs. 13000/- for 1TB and Rs. 17000/- for 1.5TB (available in October 2008).

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive for Mac

The high-capacity FreeAgent Desk drive for Mac features a brushed aluminum arctic silver finish that is a perfect match for the current iMac Desktop. With a FireWire 800/400 connection and tuned to be Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Desk for Mac is available this month for a MSRP of Rs. 9000/- for 500GB, Rs. 14500/- for 1TB and Rs. 19000/- for 1.5TB (available in October 2008).

FreeAgent™ | XTreme™ Drive

Designed for performance, especially for those who work with high-definition video and graphic files, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme drive is the perfect fit. The FreeAgent XTreme delivers a 3GB per second transfer rate with the eSATA connection. This drive also includes FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connection options. The FreeAgent XTreme is available worldwide for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of Rs. 9500/- for 500GB, Rs. 10000/- for 640GB, Rs. 14500/-for 1TB and Rs. 17000/- for 1.5TB (available in October 2008).