Western Digital will enter the 1-inch hard disk market in the second quarter. The company plans to release a series of 1-inch devices with capacities of up to 6 GB to be featured in digital cameras, MP3 players and PDAs. The HDs will be offered with CF Type II and form factor. They will spin at 3600 rpm with access time of 12 ms and include exclusive anti-skip and power management technologies.
The anti-scratch CDs and DVDs are catching on. This week Maxell announced the 4.7 GB DVD-R Pro, featuring a proprietary hard-coat technology that protects against scratches. The disc also sports improved antistatic quality allowing use in dusty environments. The 8x DVD-Pro is available now and the 16x version will begin shipping in March. TDK and Imation have already unveiled CDs and DVDs with similar protection features.
Hitachi launched three new 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch hard drives in its Deskstar line including one that establishes a new industry record with 500 GB capacity called the 7K500. The other models are the T7K250, a two-disk, 250 GB product, and the 7K80 with 80 GB. All drives are available in SATA II versions with NCQ support. In related news, Hitachi announced new 1-inch “baby” Microdrives, with 20% size reduction and capacities between 8 GB and 10 GB. These will get to the market in the second half of the year.
JVC announced a combo disc that allows storage of content in Blu-ray and DVD formats. With total capacity of 33.5 GB, the disc has a triple layer structure based on a patented reflective film. The outer Blu-Ray layer stores up to 25GB and the inner DVD dual layer stores up to 8.5 GB. The film used on the combo disc reflects Blu-Ray blue laser but is transparent to red laser used in DVD reproduction. JVC will forward a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) to have the technology accepted as a specification. The company is already working on a Blu-ray/ DVD combo disc with 58.5 GB (50 GB + 8.5 GB) capacity.
Iomega has started shipping external hard drives that incorporate a Firewire 800 interface in addition to USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 ports. The 7200 rpm units are available in three capacities: 160GB, 250 GB and the new 400 GB. The HDs have a new enclosure with high-gloss black finish and can be mounted horizontally, for drive stacking, or vertically. Suggested U.S. prices are USD 199 (160GB), USD 279 (250GB) and USD $429 (400GB).
Western Digital announced that its Caviar family of hard drives has been enhanced to lower power comsumption and therefore reduce operating temperatures. The new WD Caviar “Cool” series includes 8 MB buffer and 2 MB buffer models working at 7200 rpm and is available in capacities of 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 and 250 GB. A 320 GB model is in production and should go on sale before the end of the year.
Seagate has released a new 400 GB hard drive, which the company claims is the highest capacity available in the market. The Barracuda 7200.8 works at 7200 rpm with an average seek time of 8 ms. It is available with ATA-100 and Serial ATA interfaces. The latter supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ), a technology that allows the drive to manage multiple commands and optimizes performance.
Western Digital unveiled new WD Passport Portable USB drives that dispense a separate power supply in most systems. The devices, available in 40 GB and 80 GB, use Scorpio 2.5 inch EIDE hard drives. A shock-absorbing case and Data Lifeguard tools are combined to protect against damage and data loss. The drives have a 2 MB buffer and work at 5400 rpm. Suggested retail prices are USD 199 for the 40 GB model and USD 249 for the 80 GB.
Seagate announced its new 5 GB Pocket Hard Drive and 100 GB Portable External Hard Drive. With a shell design, the USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive measures 3 inches and features a 3,600 rpm drive with a 2MB cache. Suggested retail price is USD 199. The USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive features a 2.5-inch hard drive with 5,400 rpm spin speed and 8 MB buffer. Suggested price: USD 279.
