Fujitsu Also at 500GB Into a 2.5-Inch HDD

Fujitsu Limited announced the release of its new series of MHZ2 BT 2.5" hard disk
drives with world-class capacity of up to 500 GB. Sales of the new
series will begin at the end of May 2008.

The MHZ2 BT
series requires only 1.8 W of power for read and write operations,
ranking it among the most power-efficient drives in its class. The
series is one of many new products announced as part of Fujitsu’s Green
Policy Innovation program, unveiled in December 2007 to promote
energy-efficient products and services as a way to help customers lower
their ecological footprint.

As an environmentally friendly product, these hard
disk drives use 1.8 W for read and write operations, ranking them among
the most power-efficient 2.5" HDDs in the industry. They are also
manufactured in compliance with the EU’s RoHS Directive, which
limits the use of hazardous substances.

In addition, the series
also supports the Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s interface[3] for high-speed data
transfers. Moreover, capitalizing on the vast experience and reputation
for reliability that Fujitsu has accumulated through over 40 years of
HDD development, the series delivers the superior quality that
customers have come to expect from Fujitsu.

Sales Target: 20 mil units total for the MHZ2 BT series in fiscal year 2008.

Fujitsu Limited

Comments

Fujitsu is the third HDD manufacturer to enter into half-terabyte notebook drives after Hitachi GST and then Samsung at the beginning of the year.

But the new MHZ2 BT, with 400GB or 500GB capacity, has a rotational speed of (only) 4,200rpm, compared to 5,400rpm for its competitors.

We looked at the specifications of the drive. Fujitsu is using three disks/six heads, and the unit has a 12.5mm height, like the Hitachi Travelstar 5K500. Samsung did a better job putting 500GB in a device only 9.5mm high, the standard for notebook HDDs.

We are now waiting for Seagate, Toshiba and Western Digital to reach this capacity in this form factor.