Hitachi adds speed, capacity, encryption to notebook drive

Stephen Withers
Friday, 11 May 2007 03:39

Business IT - Technology

Hitachi is set to begin volume shipment of the Travelstar 7K200, a 200G, 7200rpm, 2.5in SATA hard drive intended for notebooks.

Despite the higher rotational speed, Hitachi says the 7K200 uses a similar amount of power and emits comparable levels of heat and noise to its 5400rpm equivalents. The company claims the new drive delivers 18 to 33 percent faster application performance than competing 5400 and 7200rpm drives, while providing better shock resistance than any competing drive.

The optional Bulk Data Encryption feature allows in-drive encryption of all data as it is being written. Given the number of notebooks - sometimes containing sensitive data - that are lost or stolen, this capability is likely to be increasingly important to buyers. It also simplifies the decommissioning process, as erasing the key from the drive makes any remaining data unreadable. This is much easier and quicker than repeatedly overwriting the entire drive or physically destroying it to avoid data leakage.

The first OEM drives are going into Dell XPS and Alienware notebooks. "Today's technology enthusiasts demand performance from every facet of their notebook computer," said Neil Hand, vice president of Dell's worldwide consumer marketing product group. "Incorporating best-in-class features, like the high-performance Travelstar 7K200, underscores Dell and Alienware's commitment to meet and exceed our mobile customers' expectations."

Drives in this family are available in capacities ranging from 80G to 200G. The larger sizes also come in "enhanced availability" versions designed for round-the-clock use.

At retail, the 7K200 will cost $US249.