Hitachi joins 500GB laptop disk party, brings encryption and a bit of whine

It's all here: 2.5-inch, 9.5-mm thick form factor; 3.0Gbps SATA interface; 250GB per platter for a 500GB total capacity; 5,400 RPM spin; and hardware-based data encryption using a 128-bit key (we presume, they don't say). That puts Hitachi's new 500GB Travelstar hard disk drives on par with pretty much everyone else. Even the 1.4 watt read/write power draw that Hitachi says, "is lower than any other 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive on the market today" was just matched by Fujitsu who goes even further with 256-bit encryption. No use crying Hitachi, that's what happens when you show up late for a party. Expect to see the 5K500.B disk ship worldwide in December while the 1.4 watt E5K500.B ("E" for Eco) is expected by the end of March 2009.

[rumblejazz @ Nov 11th 2008 5:07AM]

homonyms are funny

[Luke D @ Nov 11th 2008 5:27AM]

Haha, you said homo...

[Ori Matalon @ Nov 11th 2008 5:15AM]

I want one! estimated price?

[silverblackvoid @ Nov 11th 2008 5:12AM]

get the fuck outta engadget

[Kenneth @ Nov 11th 2008 5:33AM]

Fujitsu is talking to itself now?

[Patriks7 @ Nov 11th 2008 5:32AM]

Another thing on my list for christmas...

[Luke D @ Nov 11th 2008 5:37AM]

I am confused by that sentence too. Is Fujitsu saying it's set a benchmark and then it goes on to match its own benchmark? O_o

[JM @ Nov 11th 2008 7:29AM]

From the article:
>Hitachi will also offer an enhanced-availability (EA) version of the drive, called the Travelstar E5K500.B

So the E does NOT stand for Eco. Another case of dodgy endgaget rportnig.

[JoeNES @ Nov 11th 2008 9:17AM]

Want for PS3

[Fundi @ Nov 11th 2008 10:02AM]

Why would you need to encrypt your PS3? These are aimed at laptop users who want their data to be unreadable if they lose their laptop or gets stolen or something else similar along those lines.

[Kurian @ Nov 11th 2008 12:04PM]

I have a PS3 laptop....

[adriaaan @ Nov 11th 2008 11:08AM]

"the 1.4 watt E5K500.B ("E" for Eco) is expected by the end of March 2009"... By March 09' it'll be old already.

[Kurian @ Nov 11th 2008 11:36AM]

Its cool how the drive functions even with the read/write head lodged in that yellow thing on the side.

[Falcom @ Nov 11th 2008 12:45PM]

pretty sure thats a head park area, obviously they are only there when the drive is powered off.