WD Celebrates 10 Years of My Passport with Two Special Models

WD’s My Passport series of mobile hard drives turns the big 1-0 this year, and it’s a birthday that the company didn’t want to go unnoticed. So, to help commemorate things, the company is releasing a new model called Ultra Metal, and a limited-time one called Anniversary Edition.

As the name of the series would imply, Ultra Metal drives have a solid aluminum chassis, and a very cool radial aesthetic. The drives themselves don’t bring any new features to the table, but that’s because none are needed. You still get WD SmartWare which helps you keep your data backed-up, securely and easily, and should you want it, the drive can also be protected by 256-bit hardware encryption.

The Anniversary Edition is basically an Ultra Metal model with a light gold color scheme. I’d presume that the box will be a little different as well, highlighting the fact that the series is celebrating its 10th anniversary. A simple addition to the lineup, but a cool one for fans of the series.

I looked all over the Web before sitting down to write this post, hoping to figure out the density of the original My Passport release. Unfortunately, I was left empty-handed. I did find out, however, that 250GB drives were the norm for new PCs at the time, while 400GB models were available for those looking to go the high-end route. The same year, WD released its super-fast Raptor – coming in at 74GB. Further, USB flash drives peaked at about 1GB.

If I had to guess, WD’s original My Passport debuted at about 80GB. If anyone has any proof to the contrary, please oust my assumption in the comments!