G-Technology has introduced a number of new, rugged hard drives, and we’ve recently received the company’s 1TB G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt ($230). The product features a removable G-Drive ev RAW USB hard drive within a rugged enclosure. The hard plastic case with hard rubber accents features a watertight latch for water protection — the enclosure floats and can protect the drive in a pool of water “up to 1 foot for 30 seconds” — and it’s also pressure-resistant and dust-resistant.
Additionally, G-Technology claims the enclosure can protect the drive from drops of up to 2 meters (about 6.6 feet) onto a “carpeted concrete floor.” Inside the enclosure is a 7200 RPM hard drive offering transfer rates up to 136MB/s, formatted for Mac, with the ability to be reformatted for Windows. A Thunderbolt cable is built into the enclosure itself for use when the hard drive is docked inside.
Of course, the hard drive can also be removed from the enclosure for use, and a USB cable is included for that purpose.
The rugged case is compatible with all other Evolution Series G-Drive ev products, too — the all-terrain Thunderbolt enclosure will be sold separately for $130. We’ve long been fans of G-Technology’s drives, and the tough versatility of G-Drive ev ATC with Thunderbolt has impressed us once again. G-Technology offers a three-year limited warranty for the hard drive, which is Time Machine compatible.
