Western Digital (NYSE: WDC), known for their external storage solutions, has announced the launch of the company’s new 2.5-inch portable hard drive that has been designed for the Apple Mac and is compatible with Apple’s TimeMachine software.

The new WD drive supports the high performance FireWire 800 allowing fast data transfer to occur between the external hard drive and the Mac computer. Additionally, an e-ink display on the front panel of the drive provides valuable information about available free space and whether the hard drive is in a locked status or not. Additionally, using the SmartWare software, users have the option of customizing the screen display to their personal preference and can even label the device with the drive contents. The nice thing about the e-label smart display is that it is bright and remains visible even if the drive has no power.

The Western Digital My Passport Studio drive isn’t the first to be compatible with Apple’s TimeMachine software but this is a good feature to promote easy data backups. Additionally, WD throws in SmartWare software with automated, continuous backups and a real time data backup status.

Finally, on the security front, the USB 2.0 plug and play drive includes 256-bit hardware-based encryption as well as password protection to thwart unauthorized access.

The new drives come with a 3-year limited warranty and are available in drive sizes of 320GB, 500GB and 640GB with pricing ranging between $149.99 USD to $199.99 USD.

Via: Hardware Sphere, Crunch Gear