Seagate gives you new entertainment choices with 4G LTE storage

Seagate is announcing today that it is teaming up with Verizon Wireless to create the first 4G LTE mobile wireless storage devices for use with smartphones and tablets.

The devices use 4G LTE mobile networking to connect to the internet from any location and essentially allow you to add huge amounts of storage to your mobile device. Using the wireless connectivity, you can use your smartphone or iPad to view more than 300 high-definition movies stored on a Seagate mobile wireless storage device. You could store the whole catalog of James Bond movies in HD and have each movie ready to play at your fingertips.

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Seagate and Verizon are demonstrating the new technology at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

The 4G LTE-connected storage will use the network to connect up to three WiFi-enabled devices to the internet at the same time. The two companies have been working on the technology for about two years and created a multi-party collaboration last year that also includes Novatel Wireless and Skycross. The timing for Seagate’s product hasn’t been determined yet.

“This is an example of innovation in storage,” said Scott Horn, vice president of global marketing for Seagate, in an interview. “It opens up new possibilities for getting your content when you are on the go.”

Consider, for instance, entertaining your kids by letting them watch a movie from a huge collection while they’re sitting in the backseat of a moving car. Each of the kids could be watching a different movie at the same time. The device will be portable, using rechargeable batteries with up to five hours of battery life. It can have WiFi connectivity.

Seagate is also showcasing other storage solutions as well at CES. They include the GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage, first introduced in May 2011. The drive is a WiFi-enabled storage device that can stream media to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Seagate is unveiling new features that improve the device.

The storage company is also unveiling its GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter (pictured right, $99) and the GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt adapter ($199), both of which will let users transfer data at high speeds using Intel’s Thunderbolt technology. The GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter will be available in the first quarter, and the desk version will be ready in the second half of the year. Seagate will also show some GoFlex Slim hard drives with more storage, 500 gigabytes instead of the previous 320, for the Mac.

For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012.