SentrySafe, which is noted for its fire resistant external hard drives, is back in the news with a new 250GB model made in the same vein. The new SentrySafe QA0005 is priced at around $400.

The SentrySafe QA0005, like its predecessors, is designed to withstand select environmental conditions to protect your digital data. It is designed to be waterproof, even when submerged for up to a day, as well as fire resistant up to half-an-hour in 1550-degree temperatures. If it gets that hot, however, we doubt you’ll be donning your fire suit to retrieve it.

Newer Technology, which recently released a more eco-friendly version of its Guardian MAXimus external storage solution, is back again with with a new Guardian MAXimus which revs up to 10,000RPM for faster data transfer rates. It is called the Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM and you’ll find it pricing around $900.

The Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM offers data transfer rates up to 100MB/sec, depending upon whether you are using the FireWire 800, FireWire 400 or USB 2.0 interface. It sports two 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drives in a RAID-1 mirror configuration.

OWC continues to like to see how many directions it can go with its line of Mercury On-The-Go external hard drives. To that end it just announced what it is calling the highest capacity 7200RPM portable bus-powered storage solution on the market - the OWC Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM.

The OWC Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM, available with USB 2.0, USB 2.0+eSATA, FireWire 400+USB 2.0, and FireWire 800/400+USB 2.0 interfaces for a variety of prices starting around $240, offers what OWC says is 60% higher capacity to similar products. It is described as offering “3.5″ desktop hard drive performance in a 2.5″ solution.”

Western Digital (WD) said today it was introducing a dual drive storage option to its popular My Book line of external hard drives. This new model is known as the WD My Book Mirror Edition and you find it pricing around $290 for 1TB or $550 for 2TB.

The WD My Book Mirror Edition is a dual drive system designed to automatically and continusously duplicate your data. It does RAID-based data protection to mirror your files twice. Included backup software also lets you do additional, more selective backups.

Buffalo Technology popped out today its own spin on portable mass storage by unveiling the MiniStation DataVault. It is set to price at around $130 for a 160GB version and $210 for 320GB.

The Buffalo MiniStation DataVault weighs less than eight ounces and includes a wrap around cable which snaps into place. The hard drive inside this Buffalo offering makes uses of hardware-based 128-bit AES technology for automatically encrypting all data saved to the drive.

LaCie said today it would be unveiling a 1TB version of its Little Big Disk Quadra external hard drive for use on the go. The LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra 1TB is pricing at around $660.

The LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra 1TB is an external hard drive which can fit “into the palm of your hand.” It consists of two 2.5-inch hard drives working together in a RAID 0 configuration. Data transfers speeds are said to be upwards of 110MB/s using e-SATA or 80MB/s via FireWire 800.

NewerTech is going green with the announcement of a more eco-friendly version of its Guardian MAXimus line of RAID-1 storage drives. It is called the NewerTech Guardian MAXimus eMAX and you’ll find it pricing around $550.

The NewerTech Guardian MAXimus eMAX offers up 1TB of RAID-1 storage. NewerTech says this drive is more eco-friendly by being RoHS-certified via unmentioned energy efficiency technologies. This reportedly offer a 15 percent power savings and up to a 50 percent power reduction versus similar 1TB external drives.

Imation announced today a new line of external hard drives which feature nice looks and decent storage capacities. The line is the new Apollo and the first model is a 2.5-inch hard drive for mobile users called the Portable Hard Drive.

The Imation Apollo Portable Hard Drive, priced at around $150 to $223, is available in storage capacities up to 320GB. This particular drive is a little over half an inch wide and weighs just 0.35 pounds.

Iomega is getting into the DVR storage expansion business with today’s unveiling of a new external eSATA-compatible hard drive. The model is called the Iomega DVR Expander Drive and pricing is set around $200.

The Iomega DVR Expander Drive brings 500GB of additional storage to the DVR, which Iomega says increases storage capacity “by as much as 300 hours of standard-definition TV or 60 hours of high-definition TV.” It is currently certified compatible with an eSATA-enabled Scientific Atlanta DVR when connected to the eSATA port on the back panel of the DVR.

Iomega announced today a 1TB upgrade to its line of eGo portable hard drives. This larger storage capacity drive prices at around $270.

These new 1TB “Super eGo” external hard drives are 3.5-inch drives which store up to 4 million photos, 18,500 hours of music or 1,500 hours of video. Three color options are available and USB 2.0 is the interface for data transfers to other computers.

These Hardbox external drive cases should come in pretty handy. For one thing, we all know that having books around makes you seem smarter. Plus, if some thieves happen to break into your house, they just might be stupid enough to think it’s a real book. Nobody wants to steal those.

The enclosure supports 3.5 inch SATA I or II drives and connects to your PC via USB. There’s no fan, instead it uses the fake page detailing on the edges as a heat sink, keeping it extremely quiet. The power supply is built-in so the AC cord doesn’t need a large transformer, but that does add to the enclosure’s size. It has a physical write protection switch on the back, and a ‘Backup’ button for manually starting a backup of your data. At $300, you better hope a burglar isn’t into classic literature.

Buffalo Technology has announced a new external hard drive which offers you 1TB of storage room and multiple interfaces to work with. It is known as the DriveStation Combo4 and you’ll find the 1TB option (HD-HS1.0TQ) pricing you around $350.

The Buffalo DriveStation Combo4 offers you four options for interfaces with a computer - eSATA, FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0. This choice of options makes this external hard drive useful for either Mac or PC owners, with Buffalo saying users will get an added 20 percent faster data speed transfer rate due to its special “TurboUSB” software and the face this drive is a 7200-RPM SATA model.

A new portable external hard drive announced today by Iomega is geared towards bringing media content from the PC to home entertainment systems. The ScreenPlay HD MultiMedia Drive is priced at around $210.

The Iomega ScreenPlay HD MultiMedia Drive has 500 GB of storage, which Iomega says is enough to host up to 2 million photos, 9,250 hours of music, or 750 hours of video. The portability of this Windows-focused hard drive is enhanced by a remote control for navigation.

LaCie is upping the storage capacity of its rugged design portable hard drive so you can carry more MP3s and such on the go. The LaCie Rugged Hard Disk now maxes out at 500 GB and you’ll find that pricing you between around $300 and $400.

The LaCie Rugged Hard Disk is, like select other LaCie products, designed by Neil Poulton. This particular external hard drive has a scratch-resistant aluminum shell and shock-resistant rubber bumper to protect the latest 500 GB Hitachi hard drive and others.

Iomega is introducing for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners a new external portable hard drive designed to offer greater storage for these gaming consoles. It is known as the Iomega Media Xporter Drive and you’ll find it pricing around $120.

The Iomega Media Xporter Drive is a 160GB hard drive which connects to Sony and Microsoft’s gaming platforms via USB 2.0. It is a wallet sized device which has been tested for compatibility with these systems and serves as a place to store media files of various formats which can be enjoyed through the different game machines.