Hitachi has started shipping the Travelstar 7K200: a 200GB 7,200 RPM notebook hard drive with optional data encryption technology. Compared to its predecessor, the drive has double the capacity and reportedly a 22% performance improvement. Hitachi"s "bulk data encryption" technology, which scrambles information using a key as it is being written to the disk and then descrambles information with the key as it is retrieved, is also available. Despite its faster speed, the 2.5-inch drive offers comparable power consumption, heat emission, and acoustics to its 5,400-RPM counterpart, Hitachi said. The new drive also has a 350 Gs operating shock tolerance for better protection against vibration, bumps, and drops. The new drive is Hitachi"s "platinum-class" product for notebooks, and sells for $249 at retailers.
Dell and its Alienware subsidiary are the first computer makers to offer the new Travelstar on all Dell XPS notebooks and on all of Alienware"s notebooks. Dell and Alienware are also offering dual-drive configurations on the XPS M2010 and the Aurora m9700, respectively. The company believes 7,200-RPM 2.5-inch drives will account for 40% of all notebook hard drives shipped in 2010, representing a 25% compounded annual growth rate since 2005. The fast drives account for about 10% of total shipments today.