G-Technology

G-Technology is a brand of Western Digital that produces external storage products designed and marketed for the Macintosh, creative pro, photography and A/V markets.[1] Its USB, FireWire, eSATA, SAS, SCSI Thunderbolt, and Fibre Channel systems support all levels of audio/video production.[2]

G-Technology
IndustryExternal hard disk drive, backup and content management services
Founded2004 (2004)
Headquarters
San Jose, California
,
United States
ParentWestern Digital
Websiteg-technology.com

History

In 2004, Medea Corporation, a manufacturer of storage systems optimized for digital content creation, was sold to Avid Technology.[3] Medea co-founder Roger Mabon purchased the rights to one of Medea’s products from Avid – a two-drive RAID 0 storage system for creative professionals – and opened up his own startup company just blocks from his house in Santa Monica.[3]

The company sold products to a local community of audio/video creative professionals until the company made an agreement in 2006 with Apple that greatly increased placement of their products in Apple stores in the United States, and raised their revenue from $20,000 a month in 2004 to millions.[3]

In January 2008, Fabrik Inc. bought G-Technology for an undisclosed amount.[4][5][6] That month, the company introduced the world’s first 500 GB 2.5” portable storage drive[7][8][9] and the first 1 TB portable external storage drive at Macworld Expo.[10][11] G-Technology announced the first family of external solid-state drives (SSD) at Macworld Expo 09.[12][13][14]

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) bought Fabrik and its G-Technology brand in 2009.[15] HGST in turn was bought by Western Digital in 2012.[16] G-Technology is currently a line of products sold by Western Digital.

Products

G-Technology sells their external storage devices for professionals under the product lines G-SPEED, G-RAID, G-SAFE, and G-DRIVE.

G-RAID is a line of portable external hard drive products used for field editing and backup for video producers and camera operators. The line supports RAID 0 (striped volume) and are encased in aircraft-grade aluminum for ruggedness.

G-RAID drives support multi-stream DV, HDV, DVCPro HD, XDCAM HD, ProRes 422 and uncompressed SD workflows and can be connected via FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports.

The line also includes the G-RAID mini, a smaller version with no power cord, that’s powered by a FireWire plug into a computer or laptop. This smaller G-RAID mini comes in capacities up to 1TB in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 (mirroring).

G-SPEED is designed for professional content creation applications used to edit and produce digital video and film productions.

The G-SPEED line includes desktop and server rack-mount products ranging up to 16TBs using 16 hot-swappable drives. The G-SPEED line has high-end performance specifications geared toward content producers, Fibre Channel products, 4GBit connectivity, and more.

It also includes the G-SPEED eS, which is a small desktop enclosure with four drives.

G-SAFE is optimized for professional digital photographers. It comes with RAID 1 functionality to protect digital photography.

G-SAFE products support both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connections.

G-DRIVE consists of single-drive external storage units that work with both Mac and Windows PCs to offer up to 10 TB capacities. G-DRIVE features support for FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connections.[17] (2020 Update. Also Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 Gen. 1 connections.[18])

The series also includes the G-DRIVE mini, a smaller version, and the G-DRIVE Q, which has more support options for FireWire 400, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 and eSATA ports in a single unit.

References
  1. "G-Technology". G-Technology.
  2. "G-Technology, Inc.: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". investing.businessweek.com.
  3. Melody Hanatani, February 12, 2008. “Tech ‘baby’ grows up with merger.” Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  4. Michael Arrington, January 15, 2008. “Fabrik Acquires G-Technology, Expect 2008 Revenues of $200+ million.” TechCrunch. Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  5. "Press Releases - HGST". www.hgst.com.
  6. Alistair Croll, January 15, 2008. “Fabrik Buys G-Tech to Consolidate Consumer Storage Offerings.” GigaOm. Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  7. Press Release, January 15, 2007. “G-Technology Debuts World’s First 500GB 2.5” Portable External Drive Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine.” Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  8. Staff, January 15, 2008. “G-Technology Debuts World’s First 500GB 2.5 Inch Portable External Drive Archived 2009-01-16 at the Wayback Machine.” Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  9. [G-TECHNOLOGY DEBUTS WORLD'S FIRST 500GB 2.5" PORTABLE EXTERNAL DRIVE - Ultra Sleek and Designed for Mac Market, G-DRIVE mini Features a FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 Interface for Massive Storage and Performance]
  10. Tom Forenski, January 15, 2008. “Fabrik Expands Into Premium Drive Business, Buys G-Technology.” Retrieved on December 17, 2008.
  11. "G-TECHNOLOGY PUTS A ONE TERABYTE PORTABLE DRIVE IN YOUR HAND - Upgrade Your Gear with G-RAID mini, the Industry's First 1TB Portable Drive Offering RAID 0, Massive Capacity, Performance and Durability" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  12. Nick Spence, January 16, 2009. “G-Technology introduces external solid state drives for Mac Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine.” Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  13. Justin Yu, January 7, 2009. “G-technology jumps on the SSD bandwagon, releases two external drives.” Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  14. Ivan Beres, January 6, 2009. “G-DRIVE external SSD for the mac addict.” Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  15. "Hitachi GST Completes Acquisition of Fabrik, Inc. — Company Sets Stage for Continued Global Expansion" (PDF). News release. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  16. Byford, Sam (March 9, 2012). "Western Digital completes $4.8b Hitachi GST buyout, becomes world's largest HDD manufacturer". The Verge.
  17. http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-drive.cfm G-Drive Product Page
  18. http://www.g-technology.com/products G-Drive Products
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