We don't have details as to exactly how much these drives will cost or when we'll be seeing them in our computers, but we do know that they're shipping to Seagate's OEM and integrator partners at the very beginning of 2010. If the Momentus Thin lives up to all its claims, then its 160GB and 250GB capacities should be a rather attractive option for netbooks. Definitely something to keep an eye on next year.

SEAGATE UNVEILS WORLD'S THINNEST 2.5-INCH HARD DRIVE FOR SLIM LAPTOP COMPUTERS

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. - December 14, 2009 - Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the Momentus® Thin drive, the world's thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height – 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives – the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.

Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the lowest-cost storage for netbooks and thin laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market.

"The Momentus® Thin drive promises to help computer makers differentiate on mobile-computing form factor and better compete in the fast-growing markets for thin laptop PCs and netbooks," said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. "Seagate is committed to helping its OEM and system integrator partners meet market demand for thinner laptop PCs and plans to expand storage capabilities for thin laptops as demand for these slimmer models continues to grow."

The Momentus Thin drive rivals traditional 2.5-inch laptop drives in performance and power-efficiency, enabling thin-chassis designs in all segments of notebook computing and allowing OEMs both to design in greater value on high-end netbooks for easier upselling and to create a wider value differentiation between consumer and commercial laptop PCs. The Momentus Thin drive features two capacity points – 250GB and 160GB – an 8MB cache, a Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and a 5400RPM spin speed. The drive is scheduled to ship to Seagate's OEM and integrator partners in January 2010.

The Seagate® Momentus® family now helps laptop makers give home and business users a sweeping upgrade path – from netbooks, often purchased as introductory, low-cost laptop PCs strictly for emailing and Internet surfing, to notebooks offering mainstream business and consumer applications, to feature-rich, high-performance laptops, all in standard-size and the increasingly popular thin models. Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives in the traditional 9.5mm height combine the industry's broadest feature set – including self-encryption, FIPS 140-2 certification and free-fall sensors – with up to 640GB of capacity, fast 3Gb/second Serial ATA interface speeds, cache sizes as large as 16MB, and among the highest hard drive shock-tolerance, acoustics and reliability specifications for entry-level, mainstream and high-performance laptops.

[Seagate]

If that description doesn't make sense, here's what the structure looks like. The catch is that if you wanna use this new hard drive format, it requires you performing a clean install of your OS. Other drive manufacturers are looking at this up, so everybody might get to benefit from Advanced Formatting and the extra space. Hoo-ray. [WD, WD (PDF) via PC Perspective via Electronista, Image via Wikipedia]

Reader Drew just noticed that the artist updated the graphic. I've replaced the image. Looks like the guide inconsistencies you all noticed have been fixed, at least for the most part.

Update 2: Curtiss just wrote to tell me that version 4.0 is up, and that he's taken your feedback into account. The new image is above. [Curtiss Spontelli via fellow Gizmodian Kyle. Thanks dude!]

Imation argues that, by providing a one-to-one connection over the air, the Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive "limits the possibility of signal interception." That's a pretty vague claim to me. They also argue that it works like any other USB drive, although it only transfers data at 15 megabytes per second. That's not too fast compared to a Network Attached Storage drive over Wi-Fi.

And then, even while you don't have to connect it to the computer with a cable, you have to plug in a USB key. So why not just leave a regular drive on the desk, and plug the cable for a better transfer rate at a much cheaper price? And if you want wireless, why don't get a drive that is Wi-Fi enabled?

The only good argument for the Pro WX is simplicity: You don't need to connect to a server using the network, the drive just pops up in your desktop. But then again, connect to a networked drive is not that difficult. Certainly, not difficult enough to pay the $500 that this 1.5TB drive costs. [Press Release]

The main bottleneck in any NAS is the RAID engine. Since many NAS units don't include a dedicated controller, oftentimes the speed of the drive just doesn't matter. If you're using a blazing-fast hardware RAID card in your own custom built setup, then drive speed might make a difference. But for most consumer units, the controller is the bottleneck.

With that in mind, you can go with slower 5400 RPM drives that reduce power consumption, generate less heat, and will likely cost less up front too. Even if you have a dedicated RAID card that could let a 7200 RPM drive do it's thing at full speed, I'd consider the benefits of low-power drives to outweigh the marginal speed increase you might see.

This chart shows the difference between Samsung 7200 and 5400 RPM drives in various RAID configurations:

Not much, right? So think twice before you drop more than necessary on 7200 RPM drives for your backup unit. Check out the link for the full test rundown. [Tom's Hardware]

Last week I called Dell Technical Support about my Dell Studio 1537 Laptop and a DVD drive which was making loud noises and ejecting all cds. I had the basic "mail-in" warranty which required I ship them the laptop back. After my phone conversation with overseas tech support I received an empty box with a prepaid packing slip to mail the laptop back. A couple days ago I received both an automated email and phone call that my laptop was coming back to me. This morning, Fedex delivered a refurbished hard drive - yes just a hard drive.

I began my calling spree this morning and spoke to 7, yes 7, different Dell reps who transferred me between technical support, customer service, and back to technical support. After about 90 minutes of phone calls, hold music, and redialing I'm stuck with a 250gb hard drive but no laptop. Who do I call for help?

Oh, so he expected the whole computer to come back to him. I see. Perhaps this is some sort of new "you'll get a hard drive and like it" approach to customer support Dell is trying out. I don't see it working. Incidentally, Consumerist suggests sending emails to michael@dell.com in situations like this. Apparently, the messages are routed to an executive relations team that has been helpful in the past. [Consumerist Image via 60 in 3]

The four-platter drive has also got a massive 64MB cache, necessary, really, with that much space. You just need a brand new motherboard to use it—or add-on controllers, though it is backward-compatible with legacy SATA ports. Oh, and 300 bucks. [Seagate, Image via Scoblizer]

Apparently built by some Polish tinkerer, this clock uses LEDs and the hard disk's natural reflectiveness to create these crazy patterns and colors. It's remote controlled too, in case you need to switch to a different eye-piercing background color. It doesn't seem to be available for purchase, but let's be honest—would you really put display this in your house? If you answered yes, take the lights out of your mouth and go back to Burning Man. [Elektroda via Hacked Gadgets via Boing Boing Gadgets]

The concept is the same: you plug in the FreeAgent DockStar, from Seagate, and the Network Adapter will bring the drive online for access from across the internet (or just somewhere in your own home network). Seagate's solution also includes three extra USB ports to get three other devices online as well, and will be available for $100, which includes a year of Pogoplug service. Each subsequent year costs $30 per year. [Seagate]

Previously, storage was calculated using binary (base 2), which is why you wound up with hard drives that the manufacturer said were 250GB looking like they had 232GB of space in your OS. Snow Leopard calculates disk space in base 10, so your 250GB hard drive actually shows up as having 250GB of space. Check out that shot by Gina of the same 4GB Cruzer drive in Leopard, then in Snow Leopard to see what I mean:

So, a good chunk at least part of that 20GB of extra space you got with Snow ain't magic people, it's just math. [Apple via ZDNet via Smarterware]

The 6 x 3.4 x 0.63-inch USB 2.0 InSight is a 2.5-inch drive running at 5400rpm, with an 8MB cache. Not the fastest things ever, but kind of nice for $120 (320GB) and $150 (500GB), gooey cheese not included.

Verbatim Launches InSight™ Portable USB Hard Drives with an Always On Display

InSight™ Hard Drive Displays Drive Name and Available Free Space, Even when Disconnected

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—With the announcement today of its new InSight(TM) Portable USB Hard Drives, Verbatim(R) Americas, LLC, the world's leader in storage media technology, takes hard drive design to a new dimension. The sleek, durable enclosure is enhanced with a premium piano black finish that will appeal to professional as well as home users. Additionally, the InSight Portable Hard Drive features an Always On display, which automatically calculates and continuously displays the customizable drive name and available free space, even when the drive is disconnected from the computer. Shipping now, the palm-sized external hard drive will enable Windows(R) and Mac(R) users to instantly add 320GB or 500GB of stylish, removable capacity to their notebook or desktop systems.

"The new enclosure design for InSight Portable Hard Drives adds a touch of elegance to the external hard drive product category," says Charles Klinker, Verbatim's Director of Marketing, HDD Products. "Users have the option to personalize their drive's name, e.g., TUNES&PICS, which, along with the free space, shows on the 32 x 128-pixel display even when the drive is unplugged from the user's computer. The ability to quickly glance at several drives and identify the one that has pictures of the kids, your music collection or video library, for example, adds a level of convenience not previously available in portable hard drives."

Both 320GB and 500GB-capacity drives include Nero BackItUp Essentials, a complete data protection solution, allowing full, automatic system backup and restore functions. Easy-to-use, the software guides the user to set up scheduled backups by date and/or time. Nero BackItUp Essentials also features data encryption with password control options, providing data security and peace of mind when traveling or storing the drive.

Designed to fit easily on a desktop or to be taken on-the-go, Verbatim's new InSight Portable Hard Drives weigh less than 6 ounces (164 g), and measure 6 in. X 3.4 in. X 0.63 in. (153 mm x 87 mm x 16 mm).

The 2.5" drives have a 5400rpm spindle speed and 8MB of cache memory to optimize performance. Equipped with a USB 2.0 port, the bus-powered drives achieve high-speed transfer rates of up to 480MB/sec.

Backed by a 5-year limited warranty, InSight Portable Hard Drives deliver unique functionality, safety, security, and reliability to all computer users.

Availability and Pricing

Designed for Windows Vista, XP or 2000 and Mac OS 9.x or higher systems, Verbatim InSight Portable Hard Drives are available through Verbatim retail partners such as Best Buy. Suggested retail prices are US$119.99 for the 320GB drive and US$149.99 for the 500GB drive. Backed by a 5-year limited warranty, the complete package includes the InSight Portable Hard Drive, a USB cable, Nero BackItUp Essentials Software for Windows, and a Quick Start Guide.

The Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000, is a 3.5-inch drive that fits inside any compatible computer or enclosure. As expected, the drive uses the SATA interface and is Energy Star-rated. Hitachi didn't reveal pricing, but said they were shipping the drive immediately. So be on the lookout. [Dvice]

Accepting 2.5 and 3.5-inch SATA drives through a cartridge-like loading system, the $200 player streams 1080P content (H.264, MPEG1/2/4, DIVX, XVID, TS, MKV, RM/RMVB, TP, AVI, M2TS, VOB, DAT, MPG, MPEG and MOV) through HDMI and component outputs. If hard drives and movies aren't enough, it also reads SD, SDHC, MMC and MS cards and supports e-books and music.

So what's up next for Brando's infamous hard drive dock? Let's just say that if there's no laser or disco ball involvement we'll be vastly disappointed. [Brando]

LAKE FOREST, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — WD (NYSE: WDC) today announced two new mobile hard drives that reach new capacity extremes. The highlight is a one terabyte model — the industry's highest-capacity 2.5-inch drive available. Industry-leading 333 GB-per-platter technology enables the new WD Scorpio® Blue(TM) SATA 2.5-inch hard drives to offer mobile storage device and notebook users an enormous 1 TB capacity. A 750 GB WD Scorpio Blue model also will be available.

The WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB and 1 TB hard drives have a 12.5 mm form factor(1) and are ideally suited for use in portable storage solutions, such as the newly released My Passport(TM) Essential(TM) SE Portable USB Drives. Other applications include select notebooks and small form factor desktop PCs, where quiet and cool operation are important. Both WD Scorpio Blue drives deliver high-performance with a 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) transfer rate.

"The convergence of the growing mobile computing and digital media trends produces demand for desktop-like capacities in portable devices," said Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of client systems at WD. "Our new WD Scorpio Blue drives enable people to take even more of their digital collections with them wherever they go and, realizing the value of their data, back up their notebooks on their My Passport drives."

WD Scorpio Blue hard drives offer high-performance, low power consumption and cool operation in portable applications. They are designed with WD features to be reliable and shock resistant while also delivering industry-leading capacity and performance.

WD Scorpio Blue Features

WhisperDrive(TM) - WD's exclusive WhisperDrive technology combines state-of-the-art seeking algorithms to produce one of the quietest 2.5-inch drives available.

ShockGuard(TM) - Leading-edge ShockGuard technology combines firmware and hardware advancements to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications required for mobile and notebook applications.

SecurePark(TM) - Parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface, resulting in improved long-term reliability due to less head wear and improved shock tolerance.

Price and Availability

WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB drives (model WD7500KEVT) are available now through select distributors and resellers; the 1 TB capacity (model WD10TEVT) is available now configured into My Passport Essential SE USB drives. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB drive is $249.99 USD and for the 750 GB version it is $189.99 USD. WD Scorpio Blue hard drives are covered by a three-year limited warranty.

However, the XF1 looks geared towards the mainstream consumer crowd, as it only plays back video at 1080i, and fails to support the h.264 or MKV standards. It does, however, support the AVI, Xvid and MPEG family of codecs, along with all the major audio ones. Price and availability are yet to be announced. [LG via Everything USB]

Adding to the composite, component, and USB, the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock II also has an HDMI port, although it only supports 1080i. The media player supports the following formats:

• MPEG-1 (MPG, DAT)
• MPEG-2 (MPG, MPEG, VOB)
• MPEG-4 (AVI, MP4)
• DivX 3.11/4/5 (AVI, DIVX)
• XviD (AVI)
• AVI decode audio: MP3, AC3, ADPCM
• VOBSUB: srt, sub, smi, txt, ass, ssa
• MPEG-1 Layer 3, 24-320kbps (MP3)
• AC3 (in the movie)
• Microsoft PCM Wave (WAV)
• Advance Audio Coding LC (AAC)
• Microsoft Windows Media Audio WMA7/8 (WMA), no support for WMA9 Pro
• MP2 (MPA)

Looks like crap, but nice for $79. [Brando]

Just by looking at the 13 and 15-inch models together, you can tell that Apple was pretty much right when they said that they belong in the same family. The construction is almost identical. The only difference is that the 13-inch has one fewer audio jack and no side-board speakers, as been the case for the 13 for years now.