Tech News
Hitachi ships new HDD with data encryption technology
By Stevie Smith
May 11, 2007, 15:11 GMT

In a move designed to bolster mobile security alongside that of significant on-the-move storage capacity, Hitachi GST has this week announced the shipping of “the industry’s highest-capacity, highest-performing notebook hard drive,” which will come bundled with the benefits and peace of mind provided by (optional) data encryption technology.

More pointedly, California-based Hitachi GST (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Hitachi, Ltd.) claims that not only does its new 200GB, 7200RPM Travelstar 7K200 HDD “reigns supreme” as the undisputed leader in the elite notebook drive arena, but also provides “even greater cache to notebook users” thanks to “Bulk Data Encryption” technology that will safeguard against piracy and data loss.

American computer hardware manufacturer Dell Inc. and its specialist production offshoot Alienware are thus far positioned as the first market players of note to introduce the 2.5-inch Travelstar 7K200 across selected systems. Specifically, it will appear (immediately) on all of Dell’s XPS notebooks and all existing Alienware notebooks. Furthermore, those consumers keen on ramping their mobile HDD storage up yet higher can opt for the 400GB dual configuration available through Alienware’s Aurora m9700 and Dell’s XPS M2010.

“Today’s technology enthusiasts demand performance from every facet of their notebook computer,” commented Neil Hand, VP of Dell Inc.’s worldwide consumer marketing product group. “Incorporating best-in-class features, like the high-performance Travelstar 7K200, underscores Dell and Alienware’s commitment to meet and exceed our mobile customers’ expectations.”

Hitachi GST lauds its new premium class “first to market 200GB” 7200RPM drive as being designed specifically for “the most discriminating users” while also being able to provide data encryption protection and performance speed improvements of 25 percent when equated to that of its closest competitive hard disk drive, the PCMark 05. The company also claims that while its Travelstar 7K200 pushes a notably high motor spin speed, it delivers comparable power consumption, heat emission, and acoustics to those drives situated in the 5400RPM class.

“The 7200 RPM Travelstar is the rock star of our mobile hard drive family both for its technical merits and its desirability,” gushed Shinjiro Iwata, chief marketing officer for Hitachi GST. “The enthusiastic response to date confirms that consumers are ever more sophisticated in their notebook requirements and that the Travelstar has become a status symbol among notebook aficionados. As the industry’s only third-generation 7200 RPM product, we believe the Travelstar 7K200 will continue to accelerate this trend.”

From a tech and spec standpoint, Hitachi boasts that its Travelstar 7K200 can provide 18-33 percent faster application performance than other competitive 2.5-inch (7200RPM and 5400RPM) HDDs, thus leading to faster file copying and document retrieval, better graphics, improved game performance, etc.

The new Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 hard disk drive will be available at retail in the summer at a recommended retail price of $249 USD.