Seagate chases retail upgrade market

Zardon · May 25, 2002, 11:51 AM

Seagate is coming to the upgrade market with a new line of "consumer friendly hard drives" which it will sell through retailers.

It claims the new HDDs are "easier to install and maintain than any other retail hard drive". They spin around at 7,200RPM and will be available in 40, 60 and 80GB flavours. They're bundled with installation and diagnostic software, Ultra ATA/100 interface cable, disc utility CD, quick installation guide and mounting screws.

Seagate is treading carefully with the public launch - the drives will be available from this weekend only through Fry's Electronics in Arizona, California, Oregon and Texas and at Outpost.com. According to readers, the drives have been on sale in Fry's for more than a month.

And in the UK, Centerprise the big white label system builder, has had an exclusive contract to distribute these drives as fully boxed retail units since October last year. Available in most PC World stores, the drives include a 20GB version which retails for £79.99 inc.VAT.

Presumably, the soft launch gives Seagate the chance to see if its disks are as easy to install and as maintenance-free as it claims - Fry's customers are always said to be a knowledgeable bunch. So upgrading their hard drives should be a piece of cake.

More US retailers will be added later this year; no And no, we haven't got US prices yet.

By Drew Cullen

May 25, 2002, 11:51 AM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	Seagate chases retail upgrade market Seagate is coming to the upgrade market with a new line of "consumer friendly hard drives" which it will sell through retailers. It claims the new HDDs are "easier to install and maintain than any other retail hard drive". They spin around at 7,200RPM and will be available in 40, 60 and 80GB flavours. They're bundled with installation and diagnostic software, Ultra ATA/100 interface cable, disc utility CD, quick installation guide and mounting screws. Seagate is treading carefully with the public launch - the drives will be available from this weekend only through Fry's Electronics in Arizona, California, Oregon and Texas and at Outpost.com. According to readers, the drives have been on sale in Fry's for more than a month. And in the UK, Centerprise the big white label system builder, has had an exclusive contract to distribute these drives as fully boxed retail units since October last year. Available in most PC World stores, the drives include a 20GB version which retails for £79.99 inc.VAT. Presumably, the soft launch gives Seagate the chance to see if its disks are as easy to install and as maintenance-free as it claims - Fry's customers are always said to be a knowledgeable bunch. So upgrading their hard drives should be a piece of cake. More US retailers will be added later this year; no And no, we haven't got US prices yet. By Drew Cullen