14 DAY TRIAL // Western Digital seems bent on playing the high-areal-density card to the maximum, having now made the official introduction of a notebook storage unit that, while using only two platters, achieves the capacity of 750GB. Known as the Scorpio Blue, the product's platters each have an areal density of 350GB, which makes the storage unit ideal for enthusiast notebooks. Not only that, but the drive also enables a lower power consumption and is also, according to the company, “one of the quietest 2.5-inch drives on the market.”
Besides just the very high storage space that it provides, the 5,400RPM drive has a number of extra benefits. One is the Advanced Format Technology, which increases the media format efficiency and drive capacity. Secondly, the device features the WhisperDrive technology, which uses special seeking algorithms to optimize data seeking, reducing power consumption.
Furthermore, the Scorpio Blue comes with the ShockGuard technology, which confers shock resistance upon the drive mechanics. Finally, the hard drive boasts the SecurePeak technology, which parks the recording heads off the disk during spin up, spin down and when the drive is off. This improves long-term reliability and non-operational shock tolerance.
"WD continues to lead the market with capacity points that enable consumers and business professionals to store large quantities of data and rich media content," Jim Morris, WD's senior vice president and general manager of Storage Products, said. "Our leading power efficiency, achieved without compromise to performance, is another example of the added features and value that our customers have come to expect from WD."
The Western Digital Scorpio Blue HDD operates at a 3-gigabits-per-second SATA interface speed and has been extensively tested, according to its maker, on a multitude of platforms in its FIT Lab and Mobile Compatibility Lab. The unit is backed by a three-year warranty and is already shipping, at a price of $149.