Bolstering Hitachi's position as the segment and technology leader in 2.5-inch hard drives, the company today announced volume shipment of new 5,400 RPM notebook hard drives with a maximum available capacity of 320GB. Designed to support the multi-tasking needs of consumers and commercial users balancing mobile computing and movies, music, photos and games on-the-go, the Travelstar 5K320 delivers the right capacity and performance options to meet the needs of IT and consumer electronics manufacturers. The new drives feature optional Bulk Data Encryption (BDE) for users requiring increased data security and enhanced availability models designed for use in 24x7 environments.

Travelstar 5K320 delivers the performance needed for today's advanced mobile applications. The drives' Serial ATA (SATA) interface provides a fast 3Gb/s data transfer rate, allowing the drive to be used in a wide variety of applications including mainstream computing, portable external storage devices, small form factor video devices, game consoles and other advanced mobile devices.

The Travelstar 5K320 elevates the standard for hard drive reliability with design enhancements that include altitude-sensing Thermal Fly-height Control (TFC), an improved actuator latch and fourth generation perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head technology. These features combine to safeguard user data that might otherwise be compromised as a result of accidental falls, bumps and rough handling. The drives also include TrueTrack technology, which improves tracking accuracy in high shock or vibration environments. These features combine to deliver an industry-leading 400Gs of operating shock protection.

The Travelstar 5K320 does not sacrifice performance in its quest to be energy efficient. The drives only consume 1.8W of power when reading and writing and their .55W low power idle means longer battery life for more "unplugged" notebook time and a longer drive life expectancy.

"The Travelstar 5K320 addresses a growing demand for high capacity hard drives, which are at the heart of today's notebook PCs, external storage devices, gaming consoles and other mobile computing applications," said Larry Swezey, director, Consumer and Commercial HDD, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "And when coupled with our optional Bulk Data Encryption technology, the Travelstar 5K320 offers even greater value to notebook users by helping to guard against data theft."

The Travelstar 5K320 is available in single or dual-platter configurations with capacities between 80GB and 320GB. The 320GB version can hold up to 320 hours of digital video, 160 PC computer games or 80,000 four-minute songs. Hitachi will also offer an enhanced-availability (EA) version of the drive that is designed for applications requiring 24x7 operation in lower transaction environments, such as blade servers, network routers, point-of-sale terminals and video surveillance systems.

Bulk Data Encryption
The Travelstar 5K320 features optional Bulk Data Encryption (BDE) for hard-drive-level data security. Previously, data on a hard drive could be protected either through software-based encryption or a system-level password. However, hard-drive-level encryption provides improved performance and a higher level of security than any of the previously available options.

Hitachi and Phoenix Technologies recently announced a collaboration to provide next-generation mobile PC security on notebooks equipped with Hitachi hard drives. When the Travelstar 5K320 is installed in a notebook using the Phoenix FailSafe theft-deterrence service, PC owners can track, remotely disable and securely erase the hard drive. As a result, vital data stored on the notebook remains safe and protected. Hitachi's encryption technology combined with Phoenix's FailSafe technology forms the core of this innovative security solution.

Technical Specifications:

Travelstar 5K320
320/250/160/120/80 GB
9.5 mm in height
5400 RPM
250 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
2/2/1/1/1glass disk platter (s)
4/3/2/2/1 TMR recording head(s)
1000 G/1ms non-operating shock
400 G/2ms operating shock
5.5 ms average latency
12 ms average read time
0.8W active idle
0.55W low-power idle
Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s, 1.5Gb/s encrypted
102//95 grams in weight
2.4 Bels typical idle acoustics
2.6 Bels typical operational acoustics

Availability
The Travelstar 5K320 is now shipping to customers worldwide. The enhanced-availability version of the drive is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2008.