14 DAY TRIAL // Solid state drives have evolved at a rapid pace over the past year and they have gotten past most drawbacks that they initially had, when compared with hard disk drives. Now, SSDs are not only much faster, but their reliability is also significant. This means that the one area in which HDDs have not yet been bested is that of capacity. Recently, IDC stated that the adoption of platter-based units would begin to increase once again, at least on the enterprise front. This means that such storage units should significantly evolve as well.
A report published by The Register seems to confirm this hypothesis. Apparently, Seagate will not only increase the maximum storage space, but it will also enable higher transfer speeds by means of the 6Gbps SAS interface. Known as the Constellation ES, the HDD will have a capacity of no less than 3TB and will come to replace the Baracuda ES. The latter spins at 7,200RPM and has up to 2TB of storage of its own.
In addition to the 3TB model, Seagate is supposedly also planning to make advancements on the 2.5-inch segment. Currently, the Baracuda ES 2.5-inch tops at 500GB. The Constellation will supposedly have 1TB, which means it will be the world's highest capacity compact storage device. Furthermore, the report suggests that even a new, 2.5-inch Savvio (the famed 600GB unit with a rotary speed of 10,000RPM) will be upgraded to 750GB.
The Constellation ES 3TB device should show up later this year, whereas the 2.5-inch, 1TB unit is expected to debut around the middle of 2010. Unfortunately, there is no knowing when the Savvio will come out. Of course, it should be noted that WD also intends to unleash its own 3TB unit, although it is unclear whether it will also be meant for the enterprise or if it will cater to consumer needs. Either way, prices of 2TB units and lower will drop in the wake of these product announcements.