MUMBAI
SEPTEMBER 20, 2006

Western Digital announced the introduction of its external storage lines into India. Growth in the country of the PC market and consumer electronics devices that require high capacity digital storage are driving demand for WD's external hard drive products including its My Book, WD Passport Pocket and WD NetCenter families.

My Book family of external drives is unique with a book-shaped enclosure that stands vertically, leaving a tiny footprint and sitting naturally on desktops and bookshelves. It features vents around the book's page ends, keeping the hard drive inside cool for long-term reliability. Two members of the My Book family initially are available: My Book Essential Edition and My Book Premium Edition. The My Book Premium external storage system family features a capacity gauge, which indicates to owners the remaining storage capacity as they add data. Price points for 500 GB capacities of these products are approximately Rs 15,600 for the My Book Essential and Rs 17,160 for the My Book Premium.

The WD Passport Pocket is a miniature digital storage device that holds as many as five two-hour  feature-length movies1, 1,700 digital photos2, 1,500 songs3 or thousands of documents, enabling consumers to effortlessly take their digital library wherever they go. The new USB 2.0 WD Passport(tm) Pocket Drives are about the size of a matchbox, measuring about one-third of an inch thin and weighing only 1.6 ounces. It conveniently stores 6 GB of digital content and can fit into the smallest of pockets and purses. The WD Passport Pocket drive is available for approximately Rs 5200.

The WD NetCenter network storage system, available in a half-terabyte capacity, with backup and system recovery software, provides multiple users in homes or small offices a convenient way to store, share and back up their data. The WD NetCenter in 500 GB capacity will be available for approximately Rs 20,800.

These products and other WD external storage systems are available through Mediaman Infotech, WD's external drive distributor in India.

Commenting on the new drives and the strategy for India Sharad Srivastava, Sales Director, South Asia and India, Western Digital said, "WD is committed to the India market including the country's burgeoning consumer segment. As a result, we are continuously bringing new and innovative products to the market. With the evolution of the digital user, our external storage products will find applications across multiple business and consumer segments."

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