Credit: Western Digital
After being revealed at CES 2019 back in January, Western Digital’s new My Passport Go has finally launched in Australia.
According to Western Digital, the new drives features no moving parts and comes drop resistant for up to two metres, thanks to a colourful shock-absorbent rubber bumper. There are also no cables to lose, with a firmly attached USB-A cord built in for easy access.
Credit: Western Digital Weighing in at just 55 grams, the Passport Go is small but punches above its weight.
WD claims that the line is up to 2.5 times faster than other portable drives at 400MB/s. It also features built-in backup software for Windows 7 and up, and can be reformatted to work with Time Machine on Macs.
Credit: Western Digital Today’s Australian launch comes several months after the product’s US launch. At that time, criticisms were made by customers and reviewers about the older model’s 300MB/s speed and pricing.
Overall, this seems like a step in the right direction for WD. It shows that they’re listening to consumers in the development process, as well as building on the missteps of the past, however slight they might seem.
In terms of pricing, WD is roughly on par with main rival Seagate. The Passport Go's 500GB model at AU$149 is roughly on par with Seagate's Fast SSD, the latter currently listed at AU$158 on Amazon AU - though in the 1TB range, WD wins out in price at just AU$269, compared to Seagate’s AU$317.
[Related: Western Digital vs Seagate: we take a look at the two storage giants]
Western Digital’s My Passport Go is available with 500GB (AU$149) and 1TB (AU$269) of storage. Both models are available in cobalt blue and amber from Western Digital distributors and retailers, as well as on Amazon AU and WD's own online storefront.
