Seagate and AMD will be demonstrating the world’s first SATA 6Gbps hard-drive today, theoretically offering twice the throughput of the existing SATA 3Gbps standard. The demo will compare an existing Barracuda 7200.12 HDD and a SATA 6Gbps HDD that uses a prototype AMD chipset to offer 5.5Gigabits per second performance.
The companies are hoping to provoke interest in the new SATA 6Gbps standard, which will begin showing up in hard-drives before the end of 2009. It uses the same cables and connectors as previous 3Gbps and 1.5Gbps SATA, but introduces new power-efficiency technology among other things.

New drives will be backward compatible with motherboards that only support the existing SATA speeds, so we’re hoping to see them hit themarket sooner rather than later. No word from Seagate as to when a commercial version of the current prototype will be launched.

Press Release:

Seagate and AMD Unveil World’s First Demonstration of Serial ATA 6Gigabit/Second Technology for High-Speed PC Applications

Seagate (Nasdaq: STX), teaming with microprocessor manufacturing leader Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) at the Everything Channel Xchange Conference in New Orleans this week, today unveiled the world’s first public demonstration of next-generation high-speed data transfer - Serial ATA 6Gigabit/second - for bandwidth-hungry desktop and laptop PC applications including gaming, streaming video and graphics multimedia.

The Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/second storage interface will deliver the highest performance - burst speeds of up to 6Gigabits per second - for all PC applications, maintain backward compatibility with the SATA 3Gb/second and SATA 1.5Gb/second interfaces, and use the same cables and connectors as previous SATA generations to ease integration. The third generation of the mainstream storage interface for desktop and notebook computers also enhances power efficiency and improves Native Command Queuing, a SATA feature, to increase overall system performance and data transfer speeds of mainstream PC applications but especially applications with heavily transactional workloads such as scientific modeling and forecasting, and engineering design and simulation.

“The increasing reliance of consumers and businesses worldwide on digital information is giving rise to gaming, digital video and audio, streaming video, graphics and other applications that require even more bandwidth, driving demand for PC interfaces that can carry even more digital content,” said Joan Motsinger, Seagate vice president of Personal Systems Marketing and Strategy. “The SATA 6Gb/second storage interface will meet this demand for higher-bandwidth PCs. Seagate has a long history of being first to market with new technologies such as Serial ATA, perpendicular recording and self-encrypting drives, and is pleased to be teaming with AMD to stage the world’s first public demonstration of SATA 6Gb/second storage.”

“AMD strives to deliver platform technology that our technology partners can use to create high- performance desktop and laptop PCs,” said Leslie Sobon, vice president of Product Marketing, AMD. “The new SATA 6Gb/second technology not only incorporates the best features of previous SATA generations but also includes new enhancements. This innovation enables AMD to continue to evolve its technology platforms and to develop low-cost designs that our technology partners can use to improve their own PC and laptop products.”

The Seagate and AMD demonstration features two Seagate SATA disk drives - one a shipping Barracuda(R) 7200.12 3Gb/second hard drive and the other a prototype Barracuda 6Gb/second drive - in a desktop PC to show the performance difference between the two generations. The PC is powered by an AMD prototype SATA 6Gb/second chipset. The Seagate SATA 3Gb/second drive runs at more than 2.5Gigabits per second and the SATA 6Gb/second drive at 5.5Gigabits per second, with the performance of each storage interface displayed on the PC monitor.

Serial ATA 6Gb/second - Blazing speed for next-generation personal computing

Serial ATA (SATA), the mainstream storage interface for desktop and notebook disk drives, is currently available in two speeds - 3Gb/second and 1.5Gb/second. SATA 6Gb/second was developed by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) under the Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specification.

In keeping with SATA-IO objectives for designing a low-cost interface for desktop and notebook PCs, SATA 6Gb/second maintains the low cost and low-power design requirements of previous SATA generations, and is designed to be backward compatible with SATA 3Gb/second connectors, cables and other hardware.

Mouse Computer Japan announced a new LuvBook, the TW600X that will retail at just 99,750 yen(~S$1590) and comes with a Blu-ray drive.

The specifications are not too shabby, it comes with a 15.4” WXGA screen. The laptop is powered by a Core 2 Duo P8700, 4GB of DDR2 (PC2-5300) RAM, 320GB of HDD, Blu-ray reader with DVD Super Multi and aan average Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD. The OS that comes with it is a Vista Home Premium SP1. Some of the outputs are USB2.0 × 3, HDMI output port × 1 and a Express card slot.

Seagate today introduced its Constellation™ family ofnew enterprise storage solutions for Tier 2 nearline storage applications. The two new drive models, the 2.5-inch Constellation and the 3.5-inch Constellation ES hard drives, include a combination of features that enable high capacities, increased power efficiency, enterprise-class reliability, and data security. Both drives also include PowerChoice™ from Seagate, which decreases power consumption by up to 54% for record power savings in enterprise environments.

The Constellation 2.5-inch hard drive is offered in capacities of 160GB and 500GB with both 3 Gbps SATA and new SAS 2.0 interface running at 6Gb/s speeds. As the first SAS 2.0 nearline drive, the Constellation hard drive enables larger external storage topologies, 100% faster data throughput and higher signal strength over greater distances – dramatically increasing storage scalability. The Constellation family will begin shipping this quarter.

“Dell recognizes that increased capacity and high-reliability are key toenabling further adoption of small form factor storage within the enterprise. With new capacities, small form factor drives afford customers performance and power gains within the same rack space,” said Praveen Asthana, director of Dell Storage.

“As an industry-leader in storage, Dell is pleased to partner with Seagate and be one of the first companies to offer the Constellation family of drives to our customers.”

Constellation ES
The 3.5-inch Constellation ES hard drive will be available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities, and with an enterprise-class SAS interface as well as a SATA version, and provides best-in-class capacity and performance. As the world’s only 7200-rpm 3.5-inch hard drive providing up to 2TB of storage, the record-setting capacity of Constellation ES hard drives are ideal for 3.5-inch based external storage architectures. With Constellation ES hard drives, customers don’t have to sacrifice performance in order to gain the highest capacities. The Constellation ES hard drive will ship in calendar Q3.

“Xyratex continues to work closely with Seagate to advance storage system innovation to meet both the performance and capacity-based market requirements,” said Todd Gresham, executive vice president and general manager of the Networked Storage Solutions Division for Xyratex. The new Constellation family of products complements Xyratex’s philosophy of delivering cost-effective enterprise-class, energy efficient storage solutions that help provide our customers the long-term investment protection they demand.”

With Seagate’s innovative PowerChoice technology, both Constellation hard drive models deliver the highest power-reduction savings ever offered in an enterprise-class HDD, and provide flexible, user-manageable options to deliver power savings without sacrificing performance, data integrity, or reliability. In addition, the Constellation family of drives are backed with field-proven, enterprise-grade reliability and rated at a full 1.2 million hours MTBF.

Delivering on Seagate’s commitment to add security features throughout its product portfolio, the Constellation family of drives are offered with optional self-encrypting drive (SED) technology and provide government-grade data security through the drive’s life cycle. SED technology makes drive retirement and disposal easy by eliminating the need for the numerous manual processes involved which are often incomplete, complex, expensive, or prone to error. For critical information that must remain secure, and because all systems are eventually retired, whether being relocated, re-purposed, or disposed of, the information on a Constellation SED hard drive remains AES-safe.

Seagate Unified Storage™ architecture delivers long-term business sustainability
Historically, the variety of drive interfaces, form factors and now, security solutions, can add complexity and increase costs for both IT professionals and OEMs. Making the wrong choice today creates storage islands in the data center with no easy path for upgrades – further complicating an already complex environment. The Seagate Unified Storage architecture converges best-of-breed technologies (Serial Attached SCSI, Small Form Factor and Self-Encrypting Drives) into a foundation for powerful yet simple storage that boosts business and operational efficiency while reducing cost and complexity.

The Seagate Unified Storage architecture delivers a storage foundation for companies that are proactively ensuring the long-term sustainability of their business through best-in-class IT practices. Companies will avoid the risk of impacting their own product quality, competitiveness, or profitability when their storage system infrastructure and data center footprint is optimized across power, cooling and performance density. Because the role of small form factor drives are important to the long-term efficiency and sustainability of any data center enterprise, Seagate will be extending this component into all tiers of its Unified Storage architecture in the future.

“With tightening IT budgets, Seagate is committed to delivering enterprise-class nearline storage solutions that ensure business sustainability by optimizing resources, reducing environment, energy or social impact and satisfying customer requirements without compromising performance,” said Sherman Black, senior vice president, Seagate Core Marketing and Strategy. “These new Constellation HDDs provide business continuity in the data center by offering the highest capacities, the lowest power, and the latest in enterprise-class data integrity with SAS 2.0 and AES government-grade encryption.”

A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory products, announced today that it is launching XPG Dual SSD 3.5" RAID Enclosure to expand its portfolio of SSD solutions.

The A-DATA XPG Dual SSD 3.5" RAID Enclosure is a complete RAID solution through the use of two 2.5" SATA SSDs and/or HDDs mounted on one standard 3.5" form factor drive cage. This multifunctional RAID enclosure can be used as two separate drives, as a redundant drive to protect against drive failure, combined to becomeone high-performance drive or combined to become one large drive. By utilizing the hardware DIP switch on the back of the unit or included software utility, all these different RAID configurations and more can be set in an instant. Connection via SATA or USB enables easy direct access.
Designed for both internal & external purposes, A-DATA XPG Dual SSD 3.5" RAID Enclosure is the best choice for storage expansion and backup solution.

Furthermore, A-DATA also offers a 2.5" to 3.5" hard drive enclosure (Dual SSD 3.5" Enclosure - without built-in RAID function) converting simultaneously two 2.5" SATAI/II SSD and/or HDD into a 3.5" one. Both products will be available by end of Q1 2009.

Asus has unveiled HD versions of its Eee Box that it launched in June 2008. The new Eee Box B204 and B206 are equipped with a discrete graphics card that features a high definition hardware video decoder, vastly improving the quality of video and freeing the Eee Box’s processor to tackle other tasks.The Eee Box B204 and B206 come with an exclusive remote control that enables users to easily browse, manage and play their media from a distance. The remote control works seamlessly with Eee Cinema, a user-friendly, all-in-one media player that supports all popular music, video and photo formats.
Belying their small size, the Eee Box B204 and B206 are packed with a wealth of features. They support the latest Wi-Fi 802.11n wireless standard, providing up to eight times faster speedsthan the previous 802.11b/g wireless standard. In addition, the Eee Box B204 features Bluetooth for quick and hassle-free connectivity to other Bluetooth devices. Both models also come with 10GB of online Eee Storage, allowing users to access their documents and media no matter where they are. Furthermore, they feature an exclusive Easy Mode within Windows that provides users with convenient access to commonly-used applications.

The Eee Box B204 and B206 is equipped with Asus Tranquiller Technology
that integrates an optimized system air flow design, intelligent fan speed control and a unique heat dissipation material in order to allow them to operate coolly at an extremely quiet 26 dB. Moreover, the Eee Box B204 has a built-in battery that performs an Uninterruptible Power Supply (U.P.S.) function, enabling it to stay running for a period of time when main power is lost.

The Eee Box B204 and B206 are priced at approximately Rs. 16,000.

Kanguru has developed a new breed of flash drive eliciting one of those 'Why hasn't someone thought of this before?' moments. The new drive, which the company calls e-Flash, combines both eSATA and USB connectivity on a standard sized thumb drive.

"We’ve combined the fastest connectivity with the most universal connection for the best of both worlds,” said Nate Cote, VP of Product Management at Kanguru Solutions. “The ultra-fast transfer speed, high capacity and small size combine to make it a great portable solution for users that want the next generation of unbelievable performance."

Kanguru says the eSATA connection comes powered so that it requires no extra power, but the company also tosses in an "eSATA + Power bracket and an eSATA + Power cable for easy hookup to the computer you use it most on." The flash drive also comes preloaded with Hotswap! software.The Kanguru e-Flash currently comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities ($85 and $120 respectively), with a 64GB planned for January 2009. The drive's aluminum casing can also be personalized with a custom engraving.

The storge market is going through major changes these days, with SSDs gaining more and more ground and registering a good market penetration, while HDDs struggle to maintain their position. Undoubtedly, the battle between the two technologies will be a tough and long one, and perhaps they will come to a consensus at a certain moment and will coexist, as we've seen in other IT market areas.

We have had the chance to talk to Siobhan M. Lyons, Seagate Corporate Communications, Consumer Solutions Division, who has been more than kind to answer some of our questions regarding the plans the company has. Also, he has given us an “inside view” on the future of storage industry, confirming some of our thoughts and expectations. Here is the e-mail interview we have had with Mr. Siobhan M. Lyons. Mr. Forrest Monroy, Seagate company spokesperson, should also be credited for the answers we received.

HDD technology has been reportedly advancing towards higher densities, higher storage capacities, faster transfer rates, as well as higher spinning speeds for the platters. How does Seagate see the future of HDDs from this perspective? Seagate: Seagate sees a bright future for HDDs, and storage in general, as digital content continues to proliferate. We've demonstrated advances in technology in HDDs and other complementary technologies, that can provide a path to supply the growing storage density and performance needs of the market past 2020.


Seagate is one of the industry biggest players in the HDD market. How does this go along with the company's switch towards the SSD technology? What is Seagate's vision on the future of storage solutions?

Seagate: Our company is a storage solutions provider and as such is storage agnostic with regard to the type of storage being used. There are some applications that will be best served by HDDs for the long run and some areas where SSDs will prove to be ideal in the future. The key point to note is that SSD technology is not yet the ideal solution for any volume market requirements right now due to a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, cost, endurance, and lack of industry standards. Seagate has dedicated teams working on SSDs, but the key to this, or any other technology, is to enter the market at the right time. It's also critical to be a trusted supplier for not only product quality and performance, but for execution and delivery across the worldwide supply chain. Seagate's expertise in storage delivery and being a trusted supplier is second-to-none. The future will show that there will be co-existence between SSDs and HDDs, and our OEM customers are looking to us to be that trusted supplier that can provide the necessary storage solutions across the board.


When do you expect to deliver Seagate SSDs for both consumer and professional market? Could you detail some of the specifications of the said SSDs?

Seagate: Seagate will be entering the SSD market in 2009 within the enterprise as this is where it makes the most sense for our customer's needs. Our first offerings will be targeted toward being used with the most transaction-intense servers. We will continue to explore consumer and other markets.


Which OS do you think embraces best SSD technology? What can you tell us about your collaboration with Microsoft on making Windows and SSDs play nice together, in the context of today's Vista and the upcoming Windows 7?

Seagate: Microsoft is making a focussed effort to embrace SSD technology as documented most recently at WinHEC 20008. Microsoft introduced several new technology advancements intended to enhance the use of SSD in conjunction with Windows 7.

HDDs and SSDs currently plug into the same storage eco system socket and look the same to the OS - although they should be treated differently with regards to some aspects. Windows 7 will set Defrag off as a default when detecting non-rotating media, improving device endurance by reducing writes. Windows 7 supports the Microsoft implementation of the 'Trim' feature which enables three optimization opportunities for the drive that are: enhancing device wear leveling by eliminating merge operation for all deleted data blocks, making early garbage collection possible for fast write, keeping device’s unused storage area as much as possible; there is more room for device wear leveling.

Microsoft also had a panel session at WinHEC 2008 with industry representatives from Intel, Samsung, Sandisk and Seagate with the title "How Windows and SSDs Can Provide the Best User Experience" which indicates that the enabling work for SSDs is not done yet and it seems reasonable to expect further enhancements in the future.

Seagate is working with Microsoft in standards bodies such as JEDEC JC64.8 to build the foundation to a successful growth of the SSD market. Widely adopted industry standards will allow the operating system to best embrace the SSD technology in the future. While standards build the foundation, there is intentionally clearly enough head room for each vendor to differentiate and innovate which Seagate plans to do as well.


What can you share with us on Seagate's upcoming HDD product lineup? What should consumers be looking for the 2008 holiday season?

Seagate: Consumers this season can look forward to seeing our brand new line of FreeAgent product lining the shelves. This new generation of the Seagate® FreeAgent™ family includes attractive desktop and mobile options, for both Mac® and Windows® operated PCs that make it a breeze to back up, share and protect valuable digital content like photos, videos and music. With capacities ranging from 250GB up to 1.5TB, the FreeAgent family provides storage solutions for the everyday consumer, the professional and the photo or music enthusiast.

The FreeAgent line also includes the industry’s slimmest and only dockable, portable drive, the FreeAgent Go. Just in time for the holidays, we will unveil a wide range of new, stylish colors for the FreeAgent Go including pink, red, orange, yellow, Mars green, earth green, royal blue, sky blue, gold, silver or black. With up to 500GB, the FreeAgent Go has enough room to carry entire libraries of movies, music and pictures, making it a great present for all the important people on your holiday shopping list.

Those who either purchase or receive a drive this season will have fun customizing their gift with new content thanks to Seagate’s limited time “Load Me Up” campaign. Starting November 28, owners who register their products will get 50 free songs from eMusic, the second largest digital music service; two free movie rentals through CinemaNow, an innovator in digital entertainment technology; and 50% off of a one-year subscription at SmugMug, the leading photo-sharing destination on the web. The promotion will run through the end of January 2009, allowing people time following the holiday rush to carefully consider and select their favorite content to personalize their FreeAgent Go.


HDDs, as well as SSDs, have been, for a good time now, featured in devices related to home entertainment. How do you expect this market segment to develop in the near future?

Seagate: Our world is becoming increasingly more digital in all aspects. For the first time in 2006, consumption of storage in the home out paced that of enterprise. This has also spurred an increased in the proliferation of digital content capture devices, such as HD camcorders and high-resolution digital cameras. As consumers continue to produce and capture increasing volumes of digital content, they will be looking for ways to expand the capacity of these home entertainment devices with DAS and NAS solutions. Seagate is delivering on these demands with convenient and easy to use products for back up, storage, sharing and security of important files.

We currently offer the Maxtor Central Axis to address this need. Down the line, you’ll see us introduce products that allow our FreeAgent products to be docked into a TV allowing it to stream content for playing in your living room. It will successfully extend the content power of the computer and Internet to the comfort of your couch. We also see the need for and are evaluating product specs for a home storage server that accepts content from various content creation devices - and, presumably, over the net - and then streams it to content playing devices. As the technology becomes easier to use and people become more familiar with the ways in which they can share media on the network, we see that this will be an opportunity for growth in the home.Source : softpedia.com

Fujitsu Limited and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies have both announced today their latest 500GB 2.5" hard disk drive (HDD) products featuring low power consumption and built-in encryption functions.

Fujitsu MJA2 BH and MJA2 CH series

Fujitsu has developed two new 500 GB 2.5" hard disk drive (HDD) models that feature a rotational speed of 5,400 RPM. The MJA2 BH series will be available from the end of December 2008, and the MJA2 CH series will be available in the first quarter of the 2009 calendar year.

The new models consume only 1.4W of power when recording data, one-third less than previous models. Moreover, these are Fujitsu's first halogen-free HDD models, making them an environmentally friendly products across their lifecycle, from deployment to disposal.

In addition, the MJA2 CH series is equipped with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption.

By increasing recording density, the new models deliver a maximum of 500 GB in storage capacity. To prevent data leaks for customers handling sensitive information, the MJA2 CH model has a built-in encryption function. This model automatically encrypts data as it is recorded, and all data stored on the HDD can be erased instantly, in less than a second, using the advanced secure erase feature.

Both MJA2 BH and MJA2 CH series target the expanding notebook PC market but also other markets such as desktop PCs.
Basic specifications:

Capacity: Maximum 500 GB
Interface SATA 3.0Gb/s (ATA-8, Serial ATA 2.6)
Rotation speed: 5,400 RPM
Average seek time (typ.): 12ms (read) 14 ms (write)
Data transfer rate: Max 300 MB/s
Buffer size: 8 MB
Shock resistance, during operation: 350 G (2 ms)
Shock resistance, non-operating: 900 G (1 ms)
Voltage: +5 V ± 5%

Power consumption
Read/write (typ.): 1.4 W (3.0 Gb/s) / 1.3 W (1.5 Gb/s)
Idle (typ.): 0.60 W (in slumber mode)
Standby (typ.): 0.13 W (in slumber mode)

Noise at idle (typ.): 2.4 bels
Dimensions: 9.5 x 70 x 100 mm
Weight: 101g or less

Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B

Hitachi Hitachi GST introduced the Travelstar 5K500.B, a mobile hard drive that also combines advanced data encryption technology with eco-friendly features.
The Travelstar 5K500.B, Hitachi?s second 500GB mobile drive, uses the latest 250GB-per-platter technology to deliver a half terabyte (500GB) of capacity in a standard 9.5mm mobile form factor.

The Travelstar 5K500.B features optional Bulk Data Encryption (BDE) for hard-drive-level data security. The drive also meets the forthcoming Storage Security specification established by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), an organization focused on developing open industry standards for security hardware and software. The TCG Storage Security specification, targeting consumer and commercial applications, is intended to discourage HDD/system theft, as well as prevent data access after HDD/system disposal.

BDE encrypts data using a private security key as it is written to the disk and then decrypts it with the key as it is retrieved. The TCG Storage Security specification implemented in the Travelstar 5K500.B supports pre-boot authentication in hardware, and up to four separate encrypted data ranges with multiple user and administrative authentication credentials. It also speeds and simplifies the drive re-deployment process. By deleting the encryption key, the data is rendered unreadable, thereby eliminating the need for time-consuming data-overwrite.

The Travelstar 5K500.B also features a read/write power specification of 1.4W, resulting in more energy-efficient notebooks that run cooler and have longer battery life.

iStarUSA has been around for close to twenty years and are experienced in the design and manufacture of industrial power supplies, rack mount chassis, server cabinets, hard disk docking devices as well as other products. They are a global ISO 9001 certified company that works closely with their numerous partners providing assurance of innovative technologies, quality products, and a high reputation. iStarUSA's goal is to "...always provide our customer with the best products and superior customer services."Some of the features are :
* Screwless and Trayless Design for fast HDD mounting
* Anti-vibration Design
* Support SAS and SATA I/II Hard Drive
* Key Lock Prevents Theft or Removal During Operation
* Fits Standard 5.25" Drive Bays
* 40mm Ventilation Fan

There's an old cliche' that certainly applies to commodity semiconductor and electronics technology, as well as many other competitive arenas; "go big or go home". If you look at major semiconductor manufacturers, like Intel, AMD, Samsung and NVIDIA, you'll notice that they generally do not enter a new market lightly. In addition, they almost never partially resource a new market penetration effort. Timing is definitely key but it usually doesn't pay off to tread lightly when it's time to execute. It's simply a question of doing the business case analysis, justifying the ROI and then placing your bets. Go big or go home. It's all-in or sit on the sidelines and watch. And you know, when Intel decides they want in, the stack of chips they're playing with isn't the kind you find at the cheap tables.With that in mind, let's consider the future of the Solid State Disk market and where it's going. We've said it before, the days of rotational media are numbered. Though SSDs and spinning drives will likely coexist for some time, traditional hard drive technology will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. SSDs have no moving parts to wear out, they consume much less power, produce very little heat and their performance will continue to improve over time, with the kind of scaling that comes along with a semiconductor performance evolution curve. Though the migration will be gradual, starting first at the consumer level, then moving into the industrial and enterprise space, it's a matter of time before the world literally goes solid state for its storage. In the short term, especially at the consumer level, the SSD market is expected to have explosive growth over the next year or so, some analysts predicting well in excess of 100% annually.

And so it goes without saying, Solid State Storage is a safe bet. Today Intel just bellied up to the table and dropped their chips down on the SSD market, and in typical Intel fashion, they're going in big. The following is a full evaluation of Intel's new consumer-targeted X25-M Solid State Drive.

Thanks to Toshiba, geeks will soon have reason to try and get on Santa's 'Good' list this holiday shopping season. The company's Storage Device Division (SDD) today announced what it claims is the world's first dual-platter 240GB 1.8-inch hard drive for use in portable media players, camcorders, and other gadgets. Toshiba also introduced a single-platter 120GB model.The two new PATA hard drives take areal density up to an impressive 344 gigabits-per-square-inch. Toshiba said the feat was made possible using its fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which bodes well for future devices utilizing the 1.8-inch form factor.

In addition to offering a higher capacity, Toshiba said its 240GB drive comes optimized for power performance and offers a 33 percent overall improvement in energy consumption efficiency when compared to the company's previous generation two-platter 160GB drive.

No word yet on pricing or specific availability, though Toshiba did say its "new 1.8-inch HDDs will be incorporated into CE and mobile PC products shipping this holiday season."