The drive comes with an optional free-fall sensor, to protect the data on it

Mar 5, 2008 15:08 GMT  ·  By

Samsung Electronics has just introduced a 500 GB hard-disk drive in a 2.5-inch form factor. Targeted at the notebook users, the new storage offering from Samsung can be paired in order to achieve 1 TB of storage space, while preserving the notebook's mobility and light weight.

The Spinpoint M6 is a 2.5 inch form-factor drive spinning at 5,400 rotations per minute, that perfectly fits into the chassis of a regular notebook. Hitachi has previously released a 500 GB hard-drive for notebooks, but the technology the company used did not allow the drive to perfectly comply with notebook's size. While most of the laptops would host a 9.5-millimeter tall disk, Hitachi's unit would have some extra 3 millimeters, because of the third platter, which means that it is likely not to fit inside the notebook.

"Our customers require more and more notebook storage for their data, video and music files," said Andy Higginbotham, director of hard drive sales and marketing, Samsung Semiconductor. "Our Spinpoint M6 easily fits within notebook PCs with no modification to the notebook PC chassis, giving users more storage power than ever before."

Inside the HDD case, the company managed to fit three 167GB platters in a small frame, while preserving the default, 9.5-millimeter tall standard. This makes it easier for PC vendors and system integrators to include the new storage offering into the laptops they are shipping.

Average notebook PCs can now enjoy up to 1 TB of storage on two Spinpoint M6 disks. The product meets Microsoft's fast-boot design requirements, and, at the same time, supports up to 600,000 times ramp load and unload operations. The drive comes with an optional free-fall sensor, which parks the head and turns the hard drive off when it detects strong vibrations or unusual rotations of the laptop, in order to protect the data on it.

The drive will hit the market later this month at an estimative retail price of $299. There are no details on which PC manufacturers will first integrate the Spinpoint M6 into their products.