Toshiba announces the MQo1ABD series, its first 2.5" HDDs using 500GB/platter technology in the 9.5mm high form factor to reach capacities of up to 1TB.

Designed for high-end notebooks, desktop PCs, DVR set top boxes and games consoles, Toshiba says the drives store up to 744GB of data per square inch-- 37% more than its previous 2.5" models, with speeds of up to 5400 RPM.

The HDDs also consume only 0.55W during idle mode, while emitting a maximum of 19dB (when idle) and 24dB (during seek operations) Continue reading...

WD begins volume shipments of its WD Scorpio Blue 9.5 mm, 2.5-inch mobile hard drive with 1 TB capacity. Designed for mainstream notebook computers, the new WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB hard drive utilizes 500 GB-per-platter areal density and is now available in the highest capacity for 2.5-inch hard drives in the industry-standard 9.5 mm, two-platter (2-disk) form factor.

Talk cloud all you want but HDDs are still taking in the business. While the press reported Apple's philosphy is headed towards USB Continue reading...

LaCie announces its latest Rugged HDD line additions-- the Rugged Mini, now with a smaller (by 40%, according to LaCie) and very orange Neil Poulton design.

Available in three different sizes-- 500GB, 1TB and 1.5TB-- the Rugged Mini is shock-, pressure-, and rain-resistant, while the aluminium casing can also withstand scratches.

All models carry USB 3.0 connections, as well as drive speeds of 7200 RPM and a software to handle backups and data security (with AES data encryption and password protection). Continue reading...

Hitachi's G-Technology announces the G-Connect-- a portable HDD providing both wireless storage and wifi internet access for smartphone and tablet users.

It carries 500GB of storage, with support for up to x5 simultaneous devices. G-Technology says the drive can handle up to either x5 SD or x3 HD simultaneous media streams.

Protection comes through password options, which include private folders.

If one connects it to an ethernet connection it also acts as a wifi hotspot.

Users access drive Continue reading...

Seagate announces its GoFlex Satellite, its first wireless storage device connecting to any wifi-enabled device, including mobile phones and tablets.

It connects to devices over wifi 802.11 b/g/n via either web browser or GoFlex Media app (available for iDevices) and also includes a USB 3.0 port.

Seagate says it has up to 5 hours of battery life, with 25 hours' worth of standby time.

The GoFlex Satellite will be available this summer, with 500GB storage capacity.

Go Seagate GoFlex Satellite

SanDisk announces 2 new SSDs at Computex 2011-- the U100 and i100, both aimed at the mobile computing market.

The U100 is the successor to the P4 modular SSD series widespread among ultra-thin notebooks. It comes in a number of form factors, including Half-Slim SATA SSD, mSATA, mSATA mini and 2.5" cased.

It delivers SATA III performance (up to 450 MB/sec sequential read and 340MB/sec sequential write) with a low-power architecture available in 8GB to 256GB capacities.

Meanwhile the i100 is SanDisk' Continue reading...

File this in your hard drive under the title of "Given the state of national economies in the EU, doesn't the EC have more important things to do?"

The European Commission opens an investigation into storage industry consolidation, referencing "competition" concerns. Brussels regulators are reportedly "alarmed" there will be only three global HDD makers left standing if two US companies (Seagate and WD) are allowed to--as planned-- absorb their Asian competitors (Samsung HDD for $1.4bn for Seagate Continue reading...

Seagate describes its GoFlex Slim external HDD as the world's slimmest high performance, being only 9mm thick while still packing 320GB of storage.

It features USB 3.0 compatibility, 192-bit encryption and internal drive speeds of up to 7200 RPM in a damage resistant anodised design. Seagate also includes its Dashboard management tool for drive, backup and file encryption management.

The included software is compatible with both Macs and PCs, as is the drive itself.

Go Seagate GoFlex Slim