Tech Shout!

Western Digital Corp. has announced the availability of its 160 GB WD Scorpio 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives in India. The drives use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology to achieve high capacity in the small form factor. The WD Scorpio drives expand the company’s breadth of 2.5-inch mobile hard drive offerings to capacity points ranging from 40 GB to 160 GB.

The new WD Scorpio drives deliver the specifications and features that meet demands specific to notebook PCs and portable storage devices, such as WD Passport: quiet operation, high shock tolerance and low power consumption.

According to WD, with the PMR technology, the magnetization of each data bit is aligned vertically to the spinning disk, rather than longitudinally, as has been the case in hard drive technology for decades. This makes it possible for more data on a given disk than is possible with conventional longitudinal recording, and provides a platform for future expansion of hard drive densities.

Jody Bradshaw, WD’s senior director and general manager of notebook storage said, “The new WD Scorpio 160 GB drives deliver the high capacity that many mobile computing users demand with WD’s implementation of PMR technology, as well as exclusive features that result in meaningful end-user benefits. With the introduction of our latest-generation WD Scorpio drives, WD offers mobile computing and portable storage customers the same outstanding quality, reliability and performance that have already earned WD a leadership position in the desktop PC market.”

The company’s WhisperDrive technology with SoftSeek algorithms helps make WD Scorpio the quietest 2.5-inch drive available. ShockGuard technology blends firmware and hardware advancements to protect the drive mechanics and delicate platter surface to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications required for mobile and notebook applications.

Additional shock protection by locking the heads off the disk is provided with DuraStep Ramp, which uses the most technologically advanced material available on the market to allow the drive to execute a minimum of 600,000 load/unload cycles without contamination.

Offering high performance from 5,400 RPM spin speed, WD Scorpio operates with power requirements comparable to 4,200 RPM drives to yield lower power consumption for longer system battery life and increased long-term drive reliability.

WD Scorpio 160GB drives are available through WD’s key India distributors including value distributors such as Ingram Micro and eSys as well as volume distributors such as Champion Computers, Inspan Infotech, Lalani Infotech and Venktron Digital Systems. Estimated pricing of the product is Rs 9000.

WD Scorpio mobile hard drives are now offered in capacities from 40 GB through 160 GB; feature up to 8 MB cache; are available with EIDE or SATA interface; and come with a five-year warranty.