Seagate's portable 2.5" FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac already has the triple interface—FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0—but now it comes with 500GB spinning at 7200rpm for the best portable video and audio editing performance.
As a fan of the bus-powered FW800 drives that have the option of USB 2.0, I was pretty happy to learn about this one. We haven't checked it out yet, though it's probably worth a Lightning Review.
The only fishy part is that it comes with "required cables and dock," which makes me wonder if it can't pull all the necessary current from the FireWire (or USB 2.0) bus to spin that baby at 7200rpm. Does it need an extra power cord? I can't imagine it would, but I'll get a firm answer. Update/Firm Answer: It's fully bus-powered, and the dock is just for convenience. In the meantime, anyone who's regularly running around with external disks full of ProTools or Final Cut projects should be on this: $190 for 500GB of smooth spinning, portable goodness.
And no, there's no such thing as a true portable 10,000rpm 2.5" drive. Not yet at least. Check back in a few months.
(I should point out that, in the course of writing this up, I found that OWC also just introduced a 7200rpm 500GB drive with FW800, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro, though they cost about $50 more.)
From Seagate's press materials:
FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac Drive
Higher performance means faster workflow, and that equals greater productivity for creative professionals who work with digital video, music, photography and graphic arts. The FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac clocks in at 7200RPMs to deliver lightening fast performance and throughput with FireWire 800/400 interface for those that need higher-data transfer, making production and editing of large multi-media files a breeze.
The Seagate FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac storage solution is slim, compact and offers fast throughput with FireWire 800 or FireWire 400 connections and includes the required cables and dock. The Seagate FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $129.99 USD for 250GB, $149.99 USD for 320GB and $189.99 for 500GB.