Hitachi debuts 500GB laptop drive
By Stuart Turton
Posted on 3 Jan 2008 at 11:20
Hitachi Global Storage has announced a 500GB 2.5in HDD for use in laptops and slimline mobile devices, ahead of its official launch at CES 2008.
The new TravelStar drive will be available in two models: the standard 5K500 for laptops and an enterprise E5K500 version rated for 24/7 usage in blade servers and video surveillance systems.
While Hitachi may have the bragging rights for reaching the laptop half-terabyte mark, there is a catch. In order to blast past the current 320GB pacesetters from Western Digital, Hitachi has had to squeeze another platter onto the stack, meaning that the new drives are 12.5mm thick as opposed to the standard 9.55mm. As a result they may not fit in certain laptops.
On the bright side, the drives feature a 3 Gb/sec SATA interface; Bulk Data Encryption; and a "Rotational Vibration Safeguard" system which Hitachi claims can detect when the drive is being jostled and stabilise the drive heads before damage occurs.
Asus will be the first manufacturer to use the 5K500, which will feature in its M50 and M70 notebooks, the latter of which will feature two drives providing 1TB of capacity.
The drives will start at $400 and will be available from February.
Check www.pcpro.co.uk from 6 January for full coverage of CES 2008
From around the web
advertisement
- Laptop bag reviews: nine tested
- Sony VAIO T Series Ultrabook review: first look
- Revealed: the military standards and robots HP uses to test its laptops
- Windows 8: multi-monitors and double standards?
- Why is TalkTalk's year-old porn filter suddenly big news?
- Why are laptop screens so far behind mobiles?
- HP EliteBook Folio review: first look
- The shoebox-sized all-in-one printer
- Forget the Ultrabook: here comes the HP Sleekbook
- HP Spectre XT review: first look
- Why you have to be left in the dark on OS patches
- Is Microsoft mismanaging Windows on ARM?
- Dealing with spam surrogates
- Why 3G broadband can be better and cheaper than ADSL
- Is Twitter bad for business?
- Publishing your email address isn't a security disaster
- Why you'll need a fax machine to develop iOS apps
- Learning to adapt to the mobile web
- Why you shouldn't use WPS on your Wi-Fi network
- Disabled users suffer when software breaks the rules
advertisement
