With double the capacity and a 22-percent performance improvement over its predecessor, the 200-gigabyte), 7200 RPM Travelstar 7K200 reigns supreme as the leader in this elite notebook hard drive segment. Now, with optional hard-drive level “Bulk Data Encryption” technology from Hitachi, the Travelstar 7K200 offers even greater cachet to notebook users by helping to guard against data loss and piracy.

Dell and Alienware will be the first to offer the Travelstar 7K200 on select systems. It is available immediately on all Dell XPS notebooks and on all Alienware notebooks. Customers demanding the highest capacity storage found on mobile systems can create dual hard drive configurations with 400GB of available storage on the Aurora m9700 and the XPS M2010.

“Today’s technology enthusiasts demand performance from every facet of their notebook computer,” said Neil Hand, vice president, Dell’s worldwide consumer marketing product group. “Incorporating best-in-class features, like the high-performance Travelstar 7K200, underscores Dell and Alienware’s commitment to meet and exceed our mobile customers’ expectations.”

The 7200 RPM category of the 2.5-inch hard drive segment is considered the platinum class of notebook hard drives, designed for the most discriminating users. Hitachi is living up to this expectation by delivering first to market a 200-GB product with unmatched performance, optional encryption technology and leadership shock specifications to further strengthen its position in this hard drive category. In addition, despite the higher motor spin speed, the 7200 RPM Travelstar 7K200 offers comparable power consumption, heat emission and acoustics to its 5400 RPM counterparts.

Hitachi will also offer 7200 RPM performance in an enhanced-availability version. The Travelstar E7K200 is designed for applications that require 24x7 data access.

Hitachi believes 7200 RPM 2.5-inch hard drives will account for 40 percent of all notebook hard drives shipped in 2010, representing a 25-percent compounded annual growth rate since 2005. Today, 7200 RPM products represent roughly 10 percent of total 2.5-inch shipments. The Travelstar 7K200 uses Hitachi’s third-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology.

From a user standpoint, the Travelstar 7K200’s specifications translate into very tangible benefits:

-- 18-33 percent faster application performance than competitive 7200 RPM and 5400 RPM 2.5-inch hard drives could mean faster file copying and document retrieval, better graphics, faster game performance, etc.;
-- Low acoustics offer users a richer audio-listening experience, especially as more and more users are listening to music and watching movies on their notebooks;
-- 5400 RPM power parity means users don’t have to give up battery life for the higher performance;
-- 350 Gs operating shock tolerance gives users better data protection from vibration, bumps and drops than any other competitive hard drives.

Hitachi’s “Bulk Data Encryption” is a hard-drive level security mechanism that is offered as an option on the Travelstar 7K200. Today, data on a hard drive can be protected either through software-based encryption or a system-level password. However, hard-drive level encryption provides a higher level of benefit than both these options by offering better performance than software-based encryption and a higher level of security than system password protection.

In full or bulk data encryption, data is scrambled using a key as it is being written to the disk and then descrambled with the key as it is retrieved. Thus, data encryption at the hard-drive level represents a more sophisticated approach to securing users’ data and is generally considered to be virtually impenetrable.

Another benefit that the Travelstar 7K200 offers with hard-drive level security is in the data-erasing process. Today, hard drives must either be physically destroyed or the existing data must be written over and over – a time-consuming process using a software tool – before it can be safely discarded without fear of data piracy or identity theft. Bulk Data Encryption would make data-erasing unnecessary when a hard drive needs to be discarded. By simply deleting the encryption key, the hard drive is rendered unreadable and, thus, safe from prying eyes.

With the rise in notebook theft and the relative ease in which software-based password security can be compromised, Hitachi’s “Bulk Data Encryption” is an essential component for on-the-go notebook users.

The Travelstar 7K200 will be available in retail this summer at a suggested retail price of $249. Additional information will be provided closer to the time of availability.

Source: Hitachi