Fujitsu ups mobile hard drive stakes

Fujitsu has beefed up the capacity of its mobile hard drives with the launch of a 100Gb unit which it claims boosts data access speeds while reducing power consumption.

The MHV2100AH features 5,400rpm disk platter spin speeds, increasing data seek performance compared with its previous 4,200rpm mobile drives.

The move was given the thumbs up by industry analysts. "The emergence of 100Gb mobile drives greater than 4,200rpm is significant for the hard disk drive industry," said Dave Reinsel, programme director of storage research at IDC.

"Disk drives continue to shrink while increasing in capacity and processing power. A mobile 100Gb 5,400rpm drive should fuel the development of disk drive-based consumer entertainment applications and dramatically improve the performance of laptop PCs."

According to Fujitsu, the MHV2100AH is its first hard disk drive that is lead free and compliant with the European Commission's Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive for eliminating certain materials in the manufacturing of electronic equipment.

"The MHV2100AH is the next step in the evolution of the mobile hard disk drive market: lower power consumption, increased performance, improved robustness and serial interface connectivity," said Joel Hagberg, vice president of marketing and business development at Fujitsu.