Seagate to preload HDDs with Paramount movies

I’m fairly sure this is actually forbidden by EU legislation tying products, but somehow Seagate announced a deal with Paramount Pictures to preload some of its portable hard drives with Paramount movies. The 500GB FreeAgent Go for instance will be sold in the US with 20 preloaded movies, which can be unlocked online for $9.99 each.

Seagate and Paramount’s digital entertainment division will announce on Monday that some of Seagate’s pocket-sized 500-gigabyte FreeAgent Go portable hard drives sold in the US will be preloaded with 20 popular movies including contemporary movies such as GI Joe and The Love Guru, which will cost from $9.99 each to unlock.

Consumers will be able to buy the license keys needed to unlock each movie online and then watch them as many times as they want. In addition, consumers who buy the specially marked hard drive packages will be able to activate Paramount Pictures’ popular 2009 film, Star Trek, for no additional fee.