To enrich multitasking, gaming and other graphic-intensive applications, Hitachi recently revealed its fifth-generation, 7200 RPM hard disk drive known as the Travelstar 7K500.The 2.5-inch, 3GB/s SATA drive is designed for notebooks, gaming systems and professional external storage solutions.
This HDD is compliant with Trusted Computing Group’s (TCG) Opal storage security specification, a new open standard that fortifies data protection and safeguards notebooks incase of system loss or theft. With Bulk Data Encryption, the hard drive encrypts the data from the system as it is written to the media. When it is read back, the drive decrypts the data so that it can be understood by the system.
“Portable PC shipment growth continues to be one of the most significant market drivers underpinning 2.5-inch disk drive demand, and is a major reason why IDC expects the 2.5-inch HDD market will grow at a 16.8 percent 2008-2013 compound annual growth rates. Hitachi’s new 500GB 2.5-inch HDD with a 7,200 rpm spin-speed provides PC OEMs an opportunity to differentiate PCs with both capacity and performance,” commented John Rydning, research director for hard disk drives at IDC.
Brendan Collins, vice president of Product Marketing at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, stated, “With Hitachi’s support for the TCG Opal specification, we’re working with industry leaders who are enabling more widespread adoption and interoperability across the entire storage ecosystem. With the launch of the Travelstar 7K500, Hitachi continues to solidify its position as the segment and technology leader in this space.”
The storage device conserves energy and is designed to consume less power at 0.69 watts idle power and 1.8 watts for read/write operations. The device is distinguished by the Hitachi EcoTrac, owing to low power, halogen-free design, RoHS compliance and steps in eco-friendly product design, manufacturing, operation and disposal.
The Hitachi HDD is currently shipping in limited quantities to top tier OEMs. Volume shipments would be initiated from this month. The company plans to offer an enhanced-availability version, available in 160GB to 500GB capacities by November.
