Jul 10 -- Newer Technology Inc. (NewerTech), a developer of PC, Macintosh and iPod performance upgrades and accessories, has announced the miniStack v3 'Quad Interface'. The Quad Interface powered hub storage solution has up to 1.0 TB (terabytes) of storage capacity, and is designed for Plug n' Play (PnP) use with any Mac or PC with an available FireWire 800/400, USB (universal serial bus) 2.0, or eSATA (External SATA) port, the company said recently.

With a rear and side port configuration of one eSATA, two FireWire 800, one FireWire 400, and three USB 2.0 ports, miniStack v3 allows its users to connect simultaneously multiple desktop digital accessories like scanners, printers, memory card readers, digital cameras, and iPods while remaining cluster-free, NewerTech said. Its port flexibility and compact design also makes miniStack v3 an ideal portable external hard drive storage solution to move among multiple systems for future system compatibility, the company said.

NewerTech is a recognized developer of performance upgrades for PowerBooks, desktop Macintosh computers, Intel Macs, iMacs, iPods and MacOS compatibles, the company said. NewerTech is headquartered in Woodstock, Illinois, it said.

miniStack v3 is ideal for data intensive uses like audio/video editing, digital photography, MP3 libraries and high-speed back up, as its uses the latest generation Oxford 924 bridge chipset, fast drive mechanisms, and an eSATA port to deliver fast single drive data transfer rates, at about 150 MB/s (Megabytes-per-second), NewerTech said. With storage capacities of up to 1.0 TB, users can store up to 1 million JPEG photos or 350,000 MP3 songs on miniStack v3 depending upon file settings/preferences, the company said.

A passive radiator heat sink, thermal monitoring, Whisper Quiet Operation engineering, and stackable design are a few of the features miniStack v3 shares with the NewerTech miniStack v2, NewerTech said.

The features of the NewerTech miniStack v3 include bootable disk capacity of up to 1.0 TB and data cache of up to 32 MB (megabytes), NewerTech said. The miniStack v3 also includes Oxford OXUF924DSb bridge chipset with Native Command Queuing (NCQ) for optimum drive performance, the company said.

miniStack v3 is 6.5-inch x 6.5-inch x 1.5-inch in size, with one eSATA port on its rear side, two FireWire 800 (1394b) 9 pin ports on its rear side, and one FireWire 400 (1394a) 6 pin port on the side, NewerTech said. The storage solution also provides three USB 2.0/1.1 'A' ports, two on the rear and one on the side, the company said.

miniStack v3 has an external AutoSwitching 100~240v 50/60Hz 3 amp UL listed power adapter, offers auto-power on/off automatically with computer, intelligent thermal monitoring for minimal fan power consumption, and Whisper Quiet operation, NewerTech said. The storage solution also offers 36" FireWire 800 connecting cable, 12" FireWire 800-400 interconnecting cable and 36" USB 2.0/1.1 connecting cable, along with Kensington Security Slot, NewerTech added.

miniStack v3 is available in seven pre-configured 7200RPM (revolutions-per-minute) solutions, from 160 GB (gigabytes) to 1.0TB, with a starting price of US$ 169.99 MSRP (manufacturers' suggested retail price) from NewerTech's exclusive distributor, Other World Computing, as well as through the retail channel, NewerTech said. The 0GB "Add Your Own Drive" kit is also available at a MSRP of US$ 119.99, the company said.

miniStack v3 is compatible with Apple OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, OS X 10.1.x and later (10.2 or later required for FW800 and USB 2.0), and Windows ME and later operating systems, NewerTech said. It also includes a US$ 200 retail value utility software bundle comprised of ProSoft Engineering Data Backup 3 from ProSoft Engineering Inc., NovaStor NovaBACKUP from NovaStor Corp., and Intech SpeedTools Utilities from Intech Software Corp., the company said.

www.newertech.com