Seagate Goes Super Thin and Solid State - Page 2

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A Momentus, thinner line of drives for laptops

Seagate also revamped its traditional disk platter-based business with a rebranding and expansion of the line. Its mobility market drives will be sold under the name Momentus, with two brands branching off from that name.

The regular Momentus line will be standard sized 2.5-inch drives that have up to 640GB of capacity. They will come with full disk encryption, shock damage protection and speeds of both 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM. Typically, laptop drives have been 5,400 RPM because the faster the drive spins, the hotter it gets.

But the power envelope between 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM these days is miniscule, according to Joni Clark, senior product marketing manager for Momentus. Seagate predicts that the faster drives will account for 33 percent of laptop drives in calendar year 2010 and 50 percent of laptop drives by 2011.

"The fact is the notebook market is ruled by the OEMs. The top five OEMs make up the bulk of OEM storage business. When one decides to switch from 54 to 72, it's not a slow switch, it's very fast. We're banking on a couple of OEMs switching from 54 to 72 and when one does it the others will follow. What's why our projections are so aggressive," she told InternetNews.com.

The new Momentus is a 1.8-inch width, seven millimeter thick drive with a single platter, able to store up to 320GB. It will be targeted at the ultraportable, ultra thin and netbook markets, where minimal weight and thickness are everything.

"Today if you want a MacBook Air or Dell Adamo, you pay a price premium for storage. That holds back some from being in those segments. This drive enables a slim form factor at any price point," said Clark.

The Momentus Thin will be launched next month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The price of the 250GB model should be about $55.