Oct 11, 2010 12:31 GMT  ·  By

Even though it is known for being the world's top supplier of personal computers, HP is, apparently, intent on catering to the needs of other market segments as well, as is made obvious by how it just made three hard drives available for pre-order.

Although it may not have taken a break from its PC and printer selling ways, HP still had enough time to bring out a line of speedy external HDDs.

HP even went as far as using the currently fastest USB standard available, so as to make sure that its new creations draw as much attention as possible.

Needless to say, the USB connection in question is the SuperSpeed USB 3.0, which is, theoretically, 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and steadily getting more and more widespread.

The new HDDs do not exactly achieve that feat, but they do manage a threefold boost in performance, to the point where a 2-hour HD video can be copied in about five minutes instead of 15.

Thus, the portable hard drives should be able to copy data to and from their platters and perform such tasks as backup in a very timely fashion.

Other specifications include backwards compatibility with the USB 2.0 interface and, of course, the lack of need for any auxiliary power source (it runs on just the energy provided by the USB port itself).

As for their design, they come with black enclosures that measure 0.7 (H) x 3.1 (W) x 4.4 (L) inches and lead to individual weights of roughly 190 grams, which should make them easy to carry around on any sort of trips.

HP has, so far, unveiled three models, with internal capacities of 500 GB, 750 GB and 1 TB, each priced at $79, $99 and $129, respectively.

Those interested in acquiring either model will be able to find the trio set up for pre-order here. All of them are backed up by a two-year warranty.