Hitachi today announced its first hard drive based on perpendicular recording. The 2.5-inch Travelstar 5K160 spins at 5,400 rpm and sports an 8 MB data buffer. Average seek time of the mobile HD is 11 ms and average latency is 5.5 ms. The 5K160 is available in 40 GB to 160 GB capacities and with PATA or SATA interface. It also uses a new iridium-manganese-chromium (IrMnCr) alloy read-head supposed to improve performance and reliability.
Sony last week announced initial shipments of blank and rewritable 25 GB Blu-ray discs. It will start selling 50 GB media in June. Retail prices are identical to those previously advertised by TDK: USD 20 (BD-R 25 GB), USD 25 (BD-RE 25 GB), USD 48 (BD-R 50 GB) and USD 60 (BD-RE 50 GB). Sony promises extra reliability and durability thanks to its AccuCORE technology.
Seagate this week officially released its highly anticipated Barracuda 7200.10 series, based on perpendicular technology, which led to capacities of up to 750 GB. The drives, available with 8 or 16 MB of cache and ATA-100, SATA or SATA 3 Gb/s interfaces, operate at 7,200 rpm with sustained data transfer rate of 78 MB/s and average latency of 4.16 ms. Other features include SoftSonic noise reduction and G-Force shock protection. Prices go from USD 104 (200 GB) to USD 590 (750 GB). The HDs are covered by Seagate’s five-year warranty.
Seagate has announced a new product as part of its Cheetah enterprise HD lineup. The 15K.5 is based on perpendicular technology, which involves vertical alignment of data on the disk, therefore taking less room in comparison to the horizontal orientation of longitudinal recording. Available in 73 GB, 147 GB and 300 GB models, the 3.5-inch drive spins at 15,000 rpm, with a sustained data transfer rate in the 73-125 MB/s range. The Cheetah 15K.5 is available with Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Ultra320 SCSI or Fibre Channel interface.
Plextor this week announced two portable hard drives equipped with a silicon jacket bumper to better withstand common bumps and drops. The 80 GB PX-SP08U-NA and 120 GB PX-SP12U-NA measure 3.33x0.74x5.51 inches and weigh 0.47 lbs. The USB 2.0 devices use a 2.5-inch 5,400 rpm disk with 8 MB of cache. Suggested retail prices are USD 169 and USD 260.
Maxtor has started shipping its new line of small form factor external HDs called OneTouch III Mini Edition. Available in 60 GB and 100 GB versions, the 2.5-inch ATA device weighs around 7 ounces and sports a titanium metallic paint finish, as well as black rubber side panels. The HD also features Sync software, which automatically synchronizes files between computers, and a system rollback tool. It is based on a 5,400 rpm disk and supports USB 2.0 interface. Suggested retail prices are USD 150 (60 GB) and USD 200 (100 GB).
Lite-On IT has reached an agreement to take over BenQ’s optical disc drive (ODD) business for NT$ 1.2 billion (around USD 37 million) in cash and 13% of its shares. The deal includes technology, patents, ODM customer portfolio and order commitments. After the transaction is closed, around June, Lite-On expects to become the second largest ODD maker in the world with 27% market share.
Massachusetts-based Kanguru will start shipping next week a USB 2.0 flash drive with incredible 64 GB of storage capacity. The aluminum-cased Flash Drive Max, weighing only 18 grams, costs USD 2,800. Smaller versions are available for USD 800 (16 GB) and USD 1,500 (32 GB). The company says the drives offer reading speed of up to 9 MB/s and writing speed of up to 5 MB/s. Another American company, Buslink, has announced a similar 64 GB device, but it is priced at USD 5,000.
Hitachi has released a new 500 GB HD as part of its Deskstar series. The T7K500 (not to be confounded with the 7K500) operates at 7,200 rpm and offers average seek time of 8.5 ms. The drive is available with ATA-133 (8 MB buffer) and Serial ATA 3 Gb/s interface (16 MB). Other features include Smooth Stream technology, to improve performance in audio and video applications, and Thermal Fly Height Control, to improve data integrity.
Western Digital has launched a pocket-size USB-powered portable hard drive with 6 GB of storage capacity. The Passport Pocket measures 0.37x2.41x1.8 inches and weighs 0.1 pound. The 3,600 rpm disk has a 2 MB buffer, average latency of 8.3 ms and read seek time of 11 ms. It includes a rotating USB connector and rubberized sleeve for additional protection. Estimated retail price is USD 129.
Fujitsu this week said it would anticipate the release of its first 200 GB notebook hard drive to the third quarter. The 2.5-inch MHV2200BT was previously expected to arrive in early 2007. Based on perpendicular recording, the Serial ATA HD spins at 4,200 rpm, with average seek times of 12 ms (read) and 14 ms (write). It sports an 8 MB buffer, low power consumption (1.6 W) and Native Command Queuing (NCQ).
InPhase has developed media with storage density of 515 Gb per square inch using holographic technology. This could lead to a DVD-sized disk capable of holding more than 500 GB of data. The company, which has a partnership with Maxell, plans to release a holographic drive and 300 GB media in September. Holographic recording technology utilizes intersecting signal and reference laser beams to store data in 3D hologram images.
Samsung has introduced, in Taiwan, a 32 GB NAND flash device aimed at replacing traditional hard disks. According to the company, the 2.5-inch unit consumes only 5% of the energy required by a conventional HD, making it a perfect fit for laptops. The flash disk, which uses a 66 MHz Parallel ATA interface, is also said to read data three times faster.
Toshiba said this week that it will start selling HD DVD players in March even if it is not able to include all interactive features provided by the format. The decision means that users might need to make a firmware upgrade afterwards to support emerging standards. Toshiba’s first players will sell for USD 500 (HD-A1) and USD 800 (HD-XA1) with full support for iHD interactive layer and HDMI connectors. In December, the company announced that it was delaying the release of the devices due to complications related to Advanced Access Content System (AACS) licensing.
Seagate has developed a 1-inch hard drive with 12 GB of storage capacity aimed at consumer electronics. The ST1.3 Series, based on perpendicular recording, is said to be 23% smaller and to use 30% less power than the company’s current such device. The new HD, however, is expected to be available only in the third quarter. It will offer 20 ms average seek time and G-Force bump protection as an optional.
