Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com) is shipping the WD Scorpio Blue 7 mm hard drive, the latest addition to its mobile hard drive family. WD says it’s the 2.5-inch drive with the lowest power consumption on the market today.
Specified to a 400Gs shock tolerance, the new single-platter WD Scorpio Blue small form factor hard drives are available in 500GB and 320GB capacities. The drives’ compatibility with industry-standard 9.5 mm slots make them ideal storage options for mainstream notebooks as well as slimmer notebook and ultrabook devices that require a 7 mm drive height, according to Matt Rutledge, vice president and general manager for WD client storage products.
WD’s WhisperDrive technology enables quiet performance, he adds. WD’s SecurePark 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 non-operational shock tolerance, according to Rutledge.
Shipping now through select distributors and resellers, the WD Scorpio Blue 7 mm 2.5-inch mobile hard drives are covered by a two-year limited warranty. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the 500GB model is US$99.99; the 320GB version is $79.99 USD. Additional information about WD Scorpio Blue hard drives can be found at http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=140 .
