Seagate on Monday introduced a thin backup appliance for Windows PCs that the company claims doesn't require the user to dedicate much more time to the backup process beyond plugging in the device.

Replica communicates with a PC and draws power through a USB port. The appliance automatically stores the latest copies of everything on the desktop or laptop, including applications, operating system, e-mail, pictures, music, movies, documents, and settings. The device can back up a single PC or multiple computers.

Seagate believes it has a winner based on the fact that a third of consumers do not backup their computers, and those that do, do so rarely because of the time-consuming task. To make the process painless, Seagate has designed the product so the user only has to connect a single USB cable to the PC and then click OK to the software license.

From that point on, the Replica backup system runs behind the scenes and no other interaction with the application is needed, according to Seagate. If left connected to the PC, the appliance performs continuous backup without scheduling.

"Our goal is to deliver solutions that provide thorough backup protection yet are easy to use, time-efficient, and simple to understand, and the Seagate Replica is about as easy as it gets," Terry Cunningham, senior VP of Seagate branded solutions, said in a statement.

Replica is compatible with Windows XP and Vista, weighs about half a pound, and is roughly 5.5 by 4 by 0.72 inches. The device works off of a USB 2.0 port and transfers data at 480 Mbps. The device is priced at $130 for a 250-GB model for a single PC and $200 for 500-GB version for multiple PCs.