Seagate, one of the few remaining HDD manufacturers, announced on Monday the debut of an Android app for its latest external hard drive, the 500 GB GoFlex Satellite.
The free Seagate GoFlex Media app boasts "seamless connectivity and added features" when compared to the default out-of-the-box options offered to Android tablet and smartphone users, explained the company. Beyond the obvious streamlined controls and usability adjustments, Seagate said the new app "automatically organizes all your digital media into videos, photos, music and document folders."
Patrick Connolly, Seagate's Vice President, touted the company's "OS agnostic" hardware stance, adding that the Android app was in the cards "from the very start" of development.
"Seagate's line of GoFlex external storage has always been about enabling flexibility," said Connolly. "Seagate GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage continues with this theme of flexibility by providing added storage to mobile devices where there may not be a physical port to connect a cable."
An iOS version of the app was released shortly after the $200 GoFlex Satellite hit shelves in May.
MyCE contributor Wendy Coneybeer speculated that the Satellite's positives (massive storage space, rechargeable battery, remarkably small size) could be offset by potential durability issues. "It is a mechanical HDD with platters and moving parts, so just tossing it loosely in a travel bag probably isn't such a good idea," she said.
Earlier this year, Seagate bought out Samsung's HDD division. The acquisition, along with Western Digital's recent purchase of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and Toshiba's 2009 merger with Fujitsu left just three major players in the HDD market. Seagate currently holds a considerable 40 percent of that market according to analysts at IHS iSuppli. The same research concluded Western Digital/Hitachi and Toshiba/Fujitsu split the remaining HDD market at 50 percent to 10 percent, respectively.
In June the two latest acquisitions came under scrutiny by the European Commission for possible anti-trust violations, delaying the finalization of the deals.
