WD®, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC)  company and storage industry leader, today announced the expansion of its category-leading WD® Red™ line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office  NAS (network attached storage) systems with one- to five-drive bays. WD Red  hard drives are now available in a 2.5-inch form factor offering 1 TB and 750  GB capacities and a new 3.5-inch 4 TB capacity. Powered by NASware™ 2.0  technology, WD Red is compatibility-tested with top NAS system manufacturers  and optimized for performance and reduced power consumption.

   “WD defined the NAS drive category by  leading the development of hard drives specifically built for small NAS  environments,” said Matt Rutledge, vice president of client storage for WD. ”The  WD Red product line serves the unique environment of NAS and meets the growing  demand for affordable, reliable, and compatible storage. Through dialogue with our  NAS partners and customer advocacy for WD Red, we saw the need for additional  capacity in the 3.5-inch form factor and delivered our new 4 TB offering. We  also wanted to deliver a highly reliable and compatible 2.5-inch hard drive  built specifically for small NAS. This small form factor enables our customers to  use high capacity NAS hard drives with high performance, quiet operation and  low power consumption in compact NAS enclosures. We also see an opportunity in 
smaller-footprint NAS systems, media players and other industrial applications.  Our pride in our product and our vision is shared with our customers.”

   Top industry analysts see NAS continuing  to represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the worldwide SOHO storage  systems market. From both revenue and terabyte perspectives, NAS will continue  to experience strong growth through the forecast period (to 2015), driven by a  major shift of storage deployments toward IP-connected systems (Worldwide  Personal and Entry Level Storage Tracker IDC 2013).

   The next generation of WD Red hard drives  deliver the best NAS experience for customers with a new version of NASware™  2.0, which further improves drive reliability and protects customer data in the  event of a power loss or disruption. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D
Active Balance Plus™, an enhanced balance  control technology, which significantly improves overall drive performance and  reliability. Exclusive for WD Red customers, WD offers free premium 24x7  dedicated phone support and a three-year limited warranty.

   The addition of a new form factor and higher  capacity WD Red hard drives further underscores WD’s “Power of Choice” mission  for client hard drive solutions. WD recognizes the diverse challenges of customers  and their applications and strives to empower them with storage
solutions tailored  to best suit their specific needs.

Integrating with WD NAS solutions, WD Red  hard drives are qualified to work with a wide array of WD OEM partners. A regularly  updated list of WD Red-qualified products and manufacturers is available on the  WD website at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810.

Pricing and Availability

Shipping now through select  distributors and resellers, WD Red hard drives are covered by a three-year limited  warranty. MSRP for the new 2.5-inch WD Red 1 TB, model #: (WD10JFCX)  is $99; the 750 GB, model #: (WD750BFCX) is $79 and the 3.5-inch  4 TB, model #:
(WD40EFRX) is $229 USD. Additional information about WD Red  hard drives and limited warranty terms may be found on the company website at http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810.