Western Digital this morning started up a new grade of external hard drive for both its desktop and portable lines. The My Book Elite, My Book Studio and My Passport Elite both now have added visual details as to their in-use storage; while the My Passport's basic gauge is new in the first place, the new My Books get an e-paper display that shows the exact space free and the drive name even when the disk isn't plugged in. Every model comes with Time Machine-like continuous backup software as well as the option of 256-bit hardware encryption.

Both drives work on USB, but the My Passport Elite now also bundles a dock and the My Book Studio adds FireWire 800 for faster transfer. Either Elite drive is pre-formatted for Windows but can be reformatted for Mac OS X and used either as bulk storage or as a Time Machine backup; the Studio is formatted for Macs from the start.

All of the new drives should be available today. My Passport Elite drives range in capacity between 320GB and 640GB and cost between $120 and $170; the My Book Elite models have capacities between 1TB and 2TB and are priced between $170 and $280. The revamped My Book Studio ranges between 500GB and 2TB and will cost between $150 and $300.