As you probably know first-hand, the amount of data each computer user has to deal with on a daily basis has seriously increased over the past few years, triggering a large demand for increasingly "roomier" storage solutions. And this is the reason why the people over at Toshiba have just announced the addition of a new 250 GB model to their existing line-up of external HDDs, as well as the introduction of a new line of internal HDDs designed especially to be used in portable computing solutions.

The new 250GB 2.5-inch portable external hard drive is capable of storing up to either 71,000 digital photos, 65,000 MP3 music files, 110 hours of DVD videos or 29 hours of high-definition videos. It also incorporates a shock mounting system for extra protection against normal wear and tear, while the drives' ventilated black aluminum housing helps dissipate heat more efficiently.

Furthermore, Toshiba's click-free, switch-free and button-free backup solution is bundled with the NTI Shadow software, which allows even users with lesser computer-related skills to carry out out backup operations fast and easy. The device is also quite portable, measuring just around 23.65mm x 88.0mm x 142.08mm, and works with the most popular operating systems on the market, including here Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or later.

On the other hand, Toshiba's notebook HDDs are compatible with every major brand of Serial ATA-enabled mobile computer and feature Toshiba's perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology, native command queuing (NCQ) and tunnel magneto-resistive (TMR) head recording for increased capacity, reliability and performance. They're available in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 200GB and 250GB capacities, have rotational speeds of 5400 RPM (4200 for the 200 GB version) and have an 8 MB buffer size.

These new drives also include an intelligent Serial ATA interface, read/write cache for increased performance, low power consumption with adaptive power modes and Serial ATA DIPM, internal shock detection and ramp loading technology to help protect the drive. Furthermore, the storage devices are compatible with the most popular OS on the market, including Windows XP and Vista as well as Mac OS X and Linux.

"Consumers are generating an astronomical amount of digital content as new applications, channels and tools continue to expand personal digital libraries," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing, Toshiba SDD, commenting on the company's latest announcement. "These new personal storage tools give consumers more capacity to house and protect valuable personal memories and information, and provide an affordable and easy enhancement for investments in current PC products."

The new 250GB portable HDD from Toshiba retails for around 190 US dollars, while the new notebook drives are available in the 80 - 190 US dollars price range, depending on their respective storage capacities.

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