Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced a new family of high-performance 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs, including a top-end half-terabyte capacity.
The four-model line-up delivers more than a 13 percent performance improvement in disk operations compared to Toshiba's previous 7,200 RPM family, while decreasing environmental impact by eliminating or reducing the use of certain toxic and hazardous chemicals. The series also carries the SATA-certified 3Gb/s logo, which indicates successful completion of stringent interface compliance testing defined by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the industry body responsible for setting the standards for Serial ATA interface technologies.
WD®, the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new, smaller, sleeker My Book® Essential™ and My Book for Mac® desktop external hard drives equipped with the new WD SmartWare™ software and hardware-based encryption. The new appliances visually present consumers' data in a software control center, providing them peace of mind that their precious photos, videos and files are securely protected. Available now at select retailers and the WD online store (shopwd.com), the new My Book Essential and My Book for Mac drives are offered in capacities ranging from 500 GB to 2 TB.
According to research firm Parks Associates, the average U.S. broadband household currently has over 120 gigabytes (GB) of digital media and files, which is expected to grow to over 1 terabyte (TB) of data by 2013. The accelerating shift from physical media (such as photo negatives, CDs and DVDs) to digital media (such as digital photos, videos and downloads) means that consumers' real lives and digital lives are increasingly overlapping. And while 70 percent of consumers back up their content, the majority of these people are using manual, cumbersome methods such as copying and pasting to multiple CDs and DVDs, and less than 18 percent use software that automatically and continuously backs up their content. As a result, many consumers' digital lives are unprotected and at risk.
Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today introduced a new line of 1.8-inch HDDs with up to 160GB of capacity in a single-platter, five-millimeter-high design targeted for next-generation portable media players, digital video cameras and other consumer electronics products.
Toshiba's new MKxx34GAL family of 1.8-inch HDDs offers consumer electronics manufacturers a thin and light package with the industry's highest storage capacity, best power consumption efficiency, most durability and quietest seek operation of any HDD on the market.
Equipped with a PATA interface, 4,200 RPM rotational speed and acoustic-reduction features, Toshiba's MKxx34GAL HDD is ideal for audio and video playback applications that require high-capacity in a small footprint with quiet operation to maximize the entertainment experience of the host device. Leveraging Toshiba's long history of technology expertise in miniaturization and the 1.8-inch HDD form factor, the MKxx34GAL is the quietest hard drive produced because of its size and the advanced acoustic management techniques that Toshiba has incorporated into all of its recent mobile HDD platforms.
WD®, the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its smaller, smarter and more secure My Passport™ Essential™ and My Passport for Mac® ultra-portable external hard drives featuring WD's new WD SmartWare™ software and equipped with hardware-based encryption. The new My Passport drives are more than 20 percent smaller than the previous generation My Passport.
The new portable drives with WD SmartWare software visually present consumers' data in a control center, providing them peace of mind that their precious photos, videos and files are securely protected. Available now at select retailers and the WD online store (shopwd.com), the new My Passport Essential and My Passport for Mac drives are offered in capacities ranging from 320 GB to 1 TB and come in a range of colors including Pacific Blue, Real Red, Cool Silver and Midnight Black.
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today rolled out the red carpet for the newest members of its celebrated CinemaStar™ family of 3.5-inch hard disk drives (HDD). Based on 500GB per platter technology, the new Hitachi CinemaStar product line-up consists of the 7200 RPM, 1TB CinemaStar 7K1000.C and its 1TB, CinemaStar 5K1000 CoolSpin™ companion.
Both product families are built to handle the most demanding high definition (HD) video streams and offer reliable performance, large capacity, quiet operation, advanced AV features, and low power and temperatures that help manufacturers meet design, price and performance objectives for their consumer electronics devices. Along with these benefits, these 1TB performers are able to store nearly 250 hours of MPEG-41 HD video and can handle multiple streams of video simultaneously, making the CinemaStar 7K1000.C and the CinemaStar 5K1000 the perfect drives for consumer electronics applications such as HD DVRs, DVD/HDD recorders, DVR-enabled TVs, media centers, and video surveillance systems.
Now with an expanded capacity range of 160GB to 1TB, the new CinemaStar 5K1000 family features innovative Hitachi CoolSpin Technology, which relies on motor speed optimization to provide a unique balance of performance, power utilization and acoustics. By tuning the motor to make the drive spin slower, thereby reducing harmonic resonance, the CinemaStar 5K1000 is nearly silent at 2.4 bels during operation, draws 3.3 watts or less idle power and generates less heat, which are all critical factors when designing environmentally friendly digital video solutions.
WD® today announced that it has commenced volume shipments of its 9.5 mm high, 2.5-inch notebook hard drives with 640 GB capacity. The WD Scorpio® Blue™ 640 GB hard drives utilize 320 GB-per-platter technology and are designed for mainstream notebook computers. The WD Scorpio Blue 640 GB is the highest capacity 2.5-inch hard drive available today in the industry-standard 9.5 mm, 2-disk form factor.
The new WD Scorpio Blue 640 GB drive has a 30 percent reduction in overall power consumption from the previous generation WD Scorpio Blue drive to achieve best-in-class power and performance1, making it an ideal solution for notebook computers and other portable devices that require extended battery life and cool, quiet operation.
"WD continues to provide the market with industry-leading capacity points so consumers and business professionals can take advantage of the ever increasing need to store rich media content, such as high resolution photos, HD videos and music," said Jim Morris, WD's vice president and general manager of client systems. "Our industry-leading power efficiency, achieved without compromise to performance, is a further example of the added features and value that our customers have come to expect from WD."
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, today announced its new 640-Gigabyte (GB) 2.5-inch Spinpoint M7 internal hard disk drive. The new 640GB hard drive, now the top-density drive of the popular M7 family, has an areal density of 516-Gigabit per square inch for each 320GB platter, which is a 28 percent increase per platter over Samsung’s previous density-leading 500GB hard drive. Samsung’s new Spinpoint M7 model is designed for high-end mobile computing applications requiring greater shock resistance without a compromise in performance.
“With the addition of the new internal drive to the M7 series, our customers will get the best viable combination of density, performance and reliability that is essential for high-end notebooks and mobile applications,” said C.H. Lee, vice president, Storage sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Samsung maximizes the density level of its platters to enhance the reliability and stability of its internal hard drives.”
Increasing the areal density of 516-Gigabit per square inch raises the total drive capacity without adding additional platters. By maximizing capacity without increasing mechanical parts, the two-platter 640GB drive has lower power consumption levels and higher operational stability compared to drives with a higher number of platters.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, today announced two new editions to its S Series external hard drive line up; the 3.5-inch 2TB (Terabyte) S3 Station and the 640 Gigabyte (GB) 2.5-inch S2 portable. These two new family members strengthen Samsung’s external drive portfolio of 1.8”, 2.5” and 3.5” drives, thereby widening the choice of reliable portable storage solutions for customers. Samsung’s hard drive line up, including S2 Portable 640GB, S1 Mini and STORY Station will be demonstrated in Hall 20 at IFA.
“As consumer demands continue to escalate for storing personal data, music and video files, Samsung has expanded its extensive family of external hard drives to support the growing personal storage market,” said Cheol-hee Lee, vice president of marketing, Storage Systems Division, Samsung Electronics. “The new drives provide users with a sleek design and high-density choices in both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors.”
Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd. (MKM) announced today the acquisition of Freecom B.V., a privately held data storage and multimedia solutions provider established in Germany with headquarters in Rijswijk, Netherlands and offices in Austria, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom. Effective September 1, 2009, the stock-funded acquisition includes all of Freecom’s physical assets, patents, trademarks, technology, engineering, sales and marketing expertise. The purchase price was not disclosed. With the acquisition, MKM adds Freecom to the MKM/Verbatim group. Verbatim is already a leading brand in the worldwide external storage market.
The Freecom acquisition represents yet another investment made by the MKM/Verbatim group aimed at the growing external hard disk drive (HDD) market. The asset acquisition of SmartDisk, made in June 2007, has proved successful in establishing MKM/Verbatim in both the portable and desktop external HDD markets on a global basis. By leveraging the strength of the Verbatim brand and channel relationships in the worldwide removable storage markets, the MKM/Verbatim external HDD business has grown more than 600 percent during the past two years.
Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.'s Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today introduced a 640GB model to its personal storage line, responding to consumer needs for robust storage space in an intuitive, easy-to-use backup solution for the exponential amounts of digital content they are amassing.
According to leading research firm IDC, consumer-generated digital content is growing 55 percent annually with 70 percent of all digital content being created by individuals versus businesses. IDC predicts that by 2010, 36.5 terabytes of data will be created per second - that's a stack of books that could extend from the sun to Pluto - and back.
To address this explosion in personal digital content and help consumers protect their precious data for years to come, Toshiba's new portable hard drive offers high capacity, an easy-to-use interface and special features to enhance the backup experience, making it a flexible and dependable storage solution for any user. This digital safety net can store up to 182,000 digital photos, 168,000 digital music files or 520 downloaded digital movies.