Seagate unveils Ultrathin hard disk for use in mobile devices

Seagate Technology has launched the thinnest hard disk drive ever, targeting use in mobile devices. The hard disk, that has been dubbed Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD, is only 5mm thin and weighs approximately 93 grams.

Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD is a 2.5- inch drive, which will be available in two variants, 320GB and 500GB, but takes 25 percent less space than its previous-generation 7mm counterpart. The suggested retail price for this hard disk is $89, for the 320GB variant. This hard disk comes with a 6Gbps SATA interface. It also supports SED encryption on the 500GB capacity version.

Due to its slim profile, Seagate is hoping the hard disk will find use in mobile device like tablets, further diminishing the boundaries between tablets and laptops.

Commenting on the launch, Steve Luczo, president, CEO and chairman of Seagate said, "When we originally demonstrated this solution last September, we knew we had a truly innovative product that would empower our partners to reimagine mobile applications. The strong support from our OEM partners indicates we have delivered on our vision and look forward to a new wave of innovative solutions enabled by this revolutionary product."

"The new Seagate Laptop Ultrathin truly raises the bar, enabling us to finally create high-capacity, thin and light laptops that consumers crave at mass-market price points they can afford," said S.Y. Shian, corporate vice president and general manager of Asus' notebook business unit. "The drive's capacity, coupled with its ultra-slim, lightweight footprint, empowers our engineers to think out of the box and create truly ground-breaking, innovative system designs- it's a win- win for both us and the consumer."

Seagate has recently unveiled 660 SSD, which is its first solid-state drive (SSD) for consumers, as well as next-generation enterprise SSDs - Seagate 600 Pro SSD and the Seagate 1200 SSD.