The hard disk wars rage on, pitched squarely at the next generation of super-thin tablets and laptops. Western Digital now has the world’s thinnest 1TB hard disk (7mm). And Seagate today unveiled the Laptop Ultrathin HDD: Up to 500GB of capacity in 25 per cent less space than its 7mm predecessor.
Size aside, the 2.5-inch Laptop Ultrathin fits into the picture as an affordable alternative to pricey solid state drives. Asus’ notebook chief, S.Y. Shian is enthusiastic: [It will] enable us to finally create high-capacity, thin and light laptops that consumers crave at mass-market price points they can afford,” Dell and Lenovo have also expressed early interest.
The rub: Like the 1TB WD Blue, the Seagate Laptop Ultrathin is a 5400rpm drive. So clearly thinness (and price) can come at the cost of performance. Not a deal breaker, though – especially when capacity is equally important to some. And US$89 for the 500GB version (a 320GB model will also be available), there’s lot’s to like. More at [Seagate]