Consumers who have been favoring notebook computers over desktop machines now have more reason to choose a laptop.
Seagate’s new 2.5 inch perpendicular recording drive will offer 160GB of storage to laptop users. That is a 25 percent increase over the largest notebook drive currently available.
The new drive, called Momentus, stores data differently than a regular hard drive. Standard drives use longitudinal recording to retain data on the drive’s platter. That causes bits of data to lay flat on the platter’s surface.
Perpendicular technology stands data bits on their end on the platter. Each standing bit takes up less space than a flat bit. Seagate claims this will also increase the speed of read-write performance of the hard drive. The technology won’t generate more heat or increase power consumption.
“More office and home users want all the capabilities of a desktop PC in a notebook computer – high performance and capacity, stronger security and quiet operation – combined with power efficiency so they can run longer between battery charges,” said Brian Dexheimer, Seagate executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing.
“Some prefer lower-cost notebooks with lower performance and capacity. All of them need products that can take a pounding during travel and remote use.”
Seagate says its Momentus drive can withstand 900 Gs of non-operating shock and 350 Gs of operating shock without data loss. A winter time frame for shipments of the drive has been announced.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
