WD ships industry's first 2.5-inch 1TB hard drive

After being snubbed by Hitachi in the race to push out the industry's first 1TB desktop hard drive, Western Digital made darn sure it was first to ship a 2TB version. Now, the company is raising its fists in celebration once more with the introduction of the sector's first 2.5-inch 1TB mobile hard drive. 'Course, this isn't the first 1TB drive of any kind in this size, as that honor goes to none other than pureSilicon and its ultra-spacious 1TB SSD. Still, we recall thinking that a drive of this capacity wouldn't hit until 2010 at best, so we're steadfastly elated to hear that the Scorpio Blue 1TB (and Scorpio Blue 750GB) are shipping now to retailers. Of course, we can't help but gripe that both of these boast unorthodox 12.5mm form factors, which dwarfs the standard 9.5mm-height slot found in most laptops, but hey, progress is progress -- right? With that in mind, it's easy to see why both of these are being marketed hard in the external HDD market, with each unit slated to ship within a My Passport SE for $189.99 (750GB) or $249.99 (1TB). The full release is after the break.

WD SHIPS INDUSTRY'S FIRST 1 TB MOBILE HARD DRIVE

New Drives Offer the Highest Capacities to Date For Mobile Storage Applications and Notebooks

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – July 27, 2009 - WD (NYSE: WDC) today announced two new mobile hard drives that reach new capacity extremes. The highlight is a one terabyte model – the industry's highest-capacity 2.5-inch drive available. Industry-leading 333 GB-per-platter technology enables the new WD Scorpio® Blue™ SATA 2.5-inch hard drives to offer mobile storage device and notebook users an enormous 1 TB capacity. A 750 GB WD Scorpio Blue model also will be available.

The WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB and 1 TB hard drives have a 12.5 mm form factor and are ideally suited for use in portable storage solutions, such as the newly released My Passport™ Essential™ SE Portable USB Drives. Other applications include select notebooks and small form factor desktop PCs, where quiet and cool operation are important. Both WD Scorpio Blue drives deliver high-performance with a 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) transfer rate.

"The convergence of the growing mobile computing and digital media trends produces demand for desktop-like capacities in portable devices," said Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of client systems at WD. "Our new WD Scorpio Blue drives enable people to take even more of their digital collections with them wherever they go and, realizing the value of their data, back up their notebooks on their My Passport drives."

WD Scorpio Blue hard drives offer high-performance, low power consumption and cool operation in portable applications. They are designed with WD features to be reliable and shock resistant while also delivering industry-leading capacity and performance.

WD Scorpio Blue Features
WhisperDrive™ - WD's exclusive WhisperDrive technology combines state-of-the-art seeking algorithms to produce one of the quietest 2.5-inch drives available.
ShockGuard™ - Leading-edge ShockGuard technology combines firmware and hardware advancements to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications required for mobile and notebook applications.
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 shock tolerance.

Price and Availability
WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB drives (model WD7500KEVT) are available now through select distributors and resellers; the 1 TB capacity (model WD10TEVT) is available now configured into My Passport Essential SE USB drives. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the WD Scorpio Blue 1 TB drive is $249.99 USD and for the 750 GB version it is $189.99 USD. WD Scorpio Blue hard drives are covered by a three-year limited warranty. More information about WD Scorpio Blue mobile hard drives may be found on the company's Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=685.

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users' data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.

WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD® brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company's Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.
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Western Digital, WD, the WD logo and WD Scorpio are registered trademarks in the U.S. and other countries; Blue, My Passport, Essential, SecurePark, ShockGuard and WhisperDrive are trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks herein are property of their respective owner. As used for storage capacity, one megabyte (MB) = one million bytes, one gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes, and one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment. As used for transfer rate or interface, megabyte per second (MB/s) = one million bytes per second, and gigabit per second (Gb/s) = one billion bits per second.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:33AM]

So many torrents so little space

[DRHouse Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:42AM]

Tell me about it :/ i want to get a new HD but the 3.5 hard drives are too big and the 2.5 doesn't hold much space
I think we will get the normal 2.5 hard drives this fall with the upcoming USB3 since seagate already made 640GB normal 2.5 HD
100MB/S on a portable hard drive without the need of power supply = Fuck Awesome (It's possible if we get 7200 RPM HDS)
Everyone hates those huge external hard drives , hell my external hard drive is heavier than my current laptop

Btw if ps3/laptops can't use these those drives then wth are they for? since desktops will use the cheaper+faster 3.5 hard drives

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 12:28PM]

I'm guessing these hard drives are for larger laptops that can actually fit this like Alienware. Also good for external drives.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 3:29PM]

These are 2.5" hard drives. They fit almost any standard laptop, unless you've got the less common 1.8" drive more common to the sub-notbook category.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:39PM]

"Of course, we can't help but gripe that both of these boast unorthodox 12.5mm form factors, which dwarfs the standard 9.5mm-height slot found in most laptops"
Most laptops, especially the ultraportable "thin" laptops won't have the height requirements in their hard drive bays to accomodate the 3mm difference in height in this drive.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:34AM]

i'm all over this this christmas... i'm calling 4tb drives for 240 next summer

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:46AM]

dude that's got three platters in there at this rate companies will add a few extra gb's a year per platter and just increase platters.... whatever happened to the 1.8in HD? conventional hard disk storage is becoming crappy either release SATA 3 or just start building SSD's the size of 3.5/2.5/1.8 inch hard drives and see what we can fit in there...

Call me when we have a single plattered 2.5inch 1tb 7200RPM HD with sata 3...

[tryiian Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:37AM]

So about how tall is the hard drive bay in polycarbonate and unibody macbooks? the 9mm form factor?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:50AM]

Yep, they're 9.5mm. What I'm wondering is how much room there is when replacing the optical drive in the unibodies, as I'd love to add one of these as a secondary drive.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:32AM]

same question but the new 09 unibody 15 inch pros

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:08AM]

Yeah unfortunately, but I think the Seagate 640GB is a regular 9.5mm HD.

[OriginalJosh Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:23AM]

are any notebook companies making 12.5mm drive bays now? going over the 9mm mark isn't anything new

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 2:00PM]

Yup!! All mac's that use 2.5" drives (MB MBP, MM) use 9mm drives. Damn them extra 3.5mm! Hopefully we can get this in FireWire soon! Oh that'd be awesome.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:34PM]

Yes, 9.5mm.

These will not fit in most standard laptops, but will fit in some media/gaming laptops designed to fit 12.5mm HDDs. You will be able to install this in the optical bay of some laptops with a proper fitting caddy. Sorry not the Macbooks, they also us 9.5mm optical bays.

[TruUnknowN Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:37AM]

My PS3 is getting an upgrade now.. :)

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:05AM]

Er, woops. That was supposed to be a reply to Sean.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:24AM]

Your PS3 won't be getting an upgrade, since a 12.5mm high drive won't fit into the PS3 hard drive caddy.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:31AM]

i was thinking that too from the header, then i read on for details.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:20PM]

"Hopefully we can get this in FireWire soon! Oh that'd be awesome."
FW 400 I hope?

[Giroro Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:13AM]

Does anybody else think its weird that HDD dimensions are measured in Inches fore length, and millimeters for depth?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:55AM]

Inches for diameter.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:00AM]

One reason that height is measured in mm:
- 12.5 mm = 0.492125984 inches
- 9.5 mm = 0.374015748 inches

Okay, I know that the 12.5 and 9.5 are approximate, so it could be 0.5 inch and 0.37 inch.

These drives (2.5) were originally almost only for laptops (and still mostly are). They were mostly OEM products, no retail (and still mostly are). Engineers don't care if it is measured in mm.

So we end up with mm and inches mixed in common use.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:36AM]

The internal disk diameter is measured in inches, but the drive cases' external dimensions (length, width and height) are all measured in mm. The distinction is between internal and external measurements...

[Ahmed Alzayani Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:21AM]

I was thinking ..... since this is a non-standard 12.5mm form factors HD with 3 platters (each 333 GB) , why not make new variation with 2 platters as a standard 9.5mm form factor ... but then i note that this will be 666GB HD. (the devil hard drive)

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:32AM]

Nah, they'd just call it a 667 and call it a day...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:26AM]

Mass storage that MOVES!?

How last millennium...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 12:27PM]

Mass storage that moves. How appropriate for this economic climate.

[pika2000 Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:31AM]

Time for drobo to make a smaller unit.

[Ethan Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:56AM]

What's the biggest normal sized one then?

[Marko Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:22AM]

500gb at the moment, me thinks.

[Cheesus Crust Posted Jul 27th 2009 12:06PM]

Hahaha...

NO.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:00AM]

no good for macbook pro damn it

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 7:47AM]

do you know what will fit a oct 2008 15" Unibody MacBook Pro? what's the largest HDD I can get fot it? and what brand/model?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:59AM]

I have a 12.5mm drive in my late '08 MacBook Pro, no issues with it fitting either.

[Atlantian Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:21AM]

1.5 tb i think dunno

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:26AM]

2.5inch by 12.5mm gives a frontal area of 31.25mm-inches. I dread to think what the volume is... 46.9mm-inch-hands maybe?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 6:33AM]

Man! This plus Games on Demand(XBL). That would be freaking AWESOME!!!!!!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:04AM]

This is BS, the company that makes the first 2.5" 1TB HD that actually FITS IN A LAPTOP is the company that wins.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:32AM]

So, just to confirm; this won't fit into a PS3 as a replacement hard drive?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:33AM]

So it turns out size really does matter.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:35AM]

I was excited until I read 12.5mm depth. I just don't understand drives in this thickness.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 8:43AM]

Apparently the Unibody Mac laptops CAN fit 12.5mm drives with ease. Or so my initial Googlings would suggest. A variety of people appeared to have tried it with success. 1TB MacBook Pro.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:07AM]

It's true, I have one in my Unibody MacBook Pro.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:22AM]

i think only the 17 inch unibody mbp can support 12.5 mm drives

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:16AM]

All Unibodies should support 12.5mm drives, the one I mentioned above is a 15 Late '08.

[nikster Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:21AM]

Fuck yeah!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 11:34AM]

Sweet... whose selling them?

New Egg here I come...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 1:02PM]

Imagine though, you can have 2TB if you replace the superdrive with another one (unless the superdrive is only 9.5mm supported)



WHY AM I ANONYMOUS??

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2009 11:06PM]

You know I've tried to persuade people how great the iPhone is but Erik has it right it's a mindset thing. It's all about what you value the most in a phone. I think what frustrates people the most is that you can't have a conversation about any phone these days without someone mentioning the iphone. The iPhone absolutely blows me away and yet my roommate can't understand how I would choose it over his samsung blackjack III (the epix). It's great that we have these choices.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2009 11:08PM]

Um,,,, ooops. 1password automatically filled in that reply which was clearly for a different thread sorry about that!

[Alex Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:01AM]

Unbelievable.

To think that three years ago I thought the 100GB drives in my laptop were spacious.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:03AM]

Does anyone know if these drives will work in a 2.5" SAS enclosure? SAS drives are 15mm if I remember correctly. Thinking about this enclosure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101189

[Fanfoot Posted Jul 27th 2009 11:58PM]

Since they're not SAS drives, but SATA, I wouldn't think so.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:19AM]

My PS3 Thirsts for more!!!

[KAL326 Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:31AM]

Well my 500GB 7200rpm spinner gets a reprieve from obsolescence till this thing gets down to 9.5mm

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:43AM]

12.5mm thickness has always been a standard. If you are too young to realize that you might want to keep it to yourself. Today, thinness has caused many notebooks to sacrifice the ability to take 12.5mm drives but virtually all notebooks too them once upon a time. The older generation MBP 17 would take 12.5mm; the new ones I don't know.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:43PM]

That standard was dropped A LONG time ago. Its like compairing a standard RS-232 and USB and saying that RS-232 is still relivant. Yes it is a standard, but pretty much a dead one.
The last system that I saw that did a 12.5 was a old Thinkpad. Tosh, Gateway, Sony, Dell, and yes even Apple has been using the 9.5 standard for the better part of a decade which makes it the defacto standard for the industry.
Actually I'd love to know what laptops can still handle a 12.5 form factor. The only ones that remotely come to mind are Dell's larger XPS systems where you can take off the base panel and screw in a hard drive from the bottom, but even then I'm not 100% certain.

[Wolfticket Posted Jul 27th 2009 9:57AM]

Adding extra platters in order to set benchmarks is an old trick, and, unless you reeeeeeally need the space, weighting for a higher capacity platter instead is a better bet.

[nikster Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:33AM]

well truth be told, the 1TB has 333GB / platter, so if they came out with a 9.5mm version it would have 666GB, which would be a record.

Would be totally cool, too.

[kaitou Posted Jul 27th 2009 10:36AM]

Can't resist this, I've been running out of storage space on my 500GB drive. Just looked in the HD slot of my x200 tablet, looks like there's just enough give there for another 3mm. Going to take a gamble on it. Photos take up absurd amounts of space after you've been shooting for a couple of years.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 11:00AM]

I just want to confirm that the MacBook Pro 13", 15" and 17" can hold WD 1TB HD with a height of 12.5mm? I want the 17" MBP but I also wanted a 13" MBP also. If the 17" MBP ONLY that would be fine for me though. I rather 1TB that's more then enough room for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro plus 720p Movies from iTunes!

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 11:33AM]

Close, but still no cigar in have it fit in my old IPod Video.. Not that it would connect anyway, but it is a dream though :)

[Fanfoot Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:00AM]

Ummm... those use 1.8" drives. I think those currently top out at 240GB.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 12:24PM]

I like my HDDs skinny.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 3:38PM]

I think this is what Apple has been waiting for in order to further slim down the iMac line.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:11PM]

Waiting for the 9.5mm version...

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 4:30PM]

"which dwarfs the standard 9.5mm-height slot found in most laptops, but hey, progress is progress -- right?"

Nope. Not if the damn thing doesn't fit any anything other then specialized cages or special laptops. Fail. This is nothing more then marketing to be able to say we made it to the top of the mountain.....never mind its not the summit, just a single peak along the way to the top. Also maybe its just me but I've been seeing a lot higher failure rates over the last few years. (Dell/Sony and now Gateway warranty tech) I don't know if this is just chance, but I'm wondering if all the manufactures are cutting quality corners for capacity?

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 27th 2009 5:16PM]

Amazing. I thought the 320GB drive I got awhile back was amazing, too.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2009 11:13PM]

LOL... yeah the 320 I have was purchased day one when they were available. I feel you're pain. All I have to say is ALLELUIA, PRAISE GOD. I've been running on less then 2GB free space for the last few weeks and my pro-apps are not happy with me!

THANK GOD, I desperately needed this space!

[Fanfoot Posted Jul 28th 2009 12:04AM]

Well, I just bought one. I'm perfectly fine with them coming out initially in an external only size. Still useful. They sell a lot of those external drives I bet? What do you do when your laptop hard drive crashes otherwise?

Hey WD! Feel free to make an external drive with as many platters as you want to hit 2TB first!

All you whiners, I assume a 640GB/666GB 9.5mm version will be coming out in due course.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 29th 2009 11:09PM]

What I was trying to say was FUCK YES>>>> if it fits in a 17" MBP I am GOLDEN I CAN'T WAIT. Does anyone know where I can purchase one of these bad lads?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 12th 2009 8:53AM]

MAGIC - TWELVE

12 INCH SCREEN

12 CELL BATTERY

12.5 mm FORM FACTOR HARD DRIVE

12 OS OPTIONS

1280p

12 STORAGE OPTIONS (INCLUDING DUAL-HARD DRIVE, HYBRID, AND NO INCLUDED DRIVE AT ALL)

12 ARMS

12 FEET CABLE EXTENSION FOR DETACHABLE SCREEN