Toshiba, one of the world’s largest makers of “flash memory” and computer chips, is reportedly interested in acquiring Fujitsu’s hard-disk drive business. Western Digital was rumored to be interested in Fujitsu as well but it looks like Toshiba has just sweetened the pot with its entry into the fray.

And if the grapevine is true, Fujitsu openly declared that they are negotiating with multiple parties but it looks like Toshiba has the inside track. And with the reputation of Toshiba obviously put into consideration it looks like Fujitsu is barking at the right party to take over.

A deal, which is expected to be priced at between Y30bn-Y40bn ($340m-$450m), would allow Fujitsu to exit another lossmaking hardware business, as the Japanese group seeks to concentrate on higher-margin IT services. Toshiba, meanwhile, would be able to spread its bets in the data storage market.

(Source) Financial Times

Tags: computer chips, data storage market, flash memory, Fujitsu, Fujitsu, fujitsu hard drives, hard disk drive, Mobile News, Toshiba, Toshiba, western digital

Now, laptop owners can expand the available storage space to 500GB with the new Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB notebook hard drive. The 2.5-inch drive uses 250GB-per-platter technology and designed for both notebooks and portable storage devices. The Scorpio Blue series is known for its performance - with up to 3Gb/s transfer rate - without a lot of noise at cool operating temperatures.

The 5400rpm drive comes with WhisperDRive technology to make it one of the quietest drives out in the market. ShockGuard, with its hardward advancements, protects drive mechanics as well as platter surface offering a high shock tolerance that is essential to anyone. The drive also boasts of IntelliSeek technology that calculates optimum seek speeds for lower power consumption.

The WD Scorpio Blue 500GB (model WD5000BEVT) hard drive is now shipping through retailers for US $219.99, while a 400GB version is available for $189.99.

Tags: hard disk drive, Laptops, notebook, Portable Devices, scorpio blue, wd, western digital

We have seen yesterday the Western Digital Mirror Edition, a great external hard drive which secure data backup or lots of storage space when needed. Today we are looking at Maxtor Black Armor, an external drive that is said to bring both security and storage space.
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Tags: external HDD, HDD, Maxtor, Mobile Software, Portable Devices, western digital

Are you paranoid about backing up your work? So you should. I can count the times I’ve lost access to important data not properly backed up on one hand’s fingers. With My Book Mirror Edition from Western Digital, more data storage and proper back up, the things you were looking for, are properly delivered.

The Mirror Edition comes in two versions, 1TB priced at $289.99 and 2TB priced at $549.99. And you have two versions of using them. Either a RAID 1 setup which will actively use half of the total storage space for data while mirroring it on the other half, either a RAID 0 setup which gives you access to all that space for data writing with no mirroring.

What else for that price you ask? First of all you should be able to find online discounts for most products. But since you asked, the Mirror Edition comes with special software which will help you setup backing up rituals, there’s USB 2.0 connectivity involved and there’s a cute unnecessary capacity gauge to show you how much storage space is left. And for your convenience, you can easily replace drives at any time. Just open the box up, place the HDD under the pillow and reverse the process once you are awake.

Tags: external HDD, HDD, Portable Devices, western digital

Between all cell phone and carrier news, between laptops and highly portable desktops we manage to squeeze in a few hard drive news once in a while. With all this talk about SSD which become bigger and bigger while prices are slowly dropping, Western Digital aren’t going to give up their way of producing quality HDD.
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Tags: Desktop PCs, Laptops, Mobile News, western digital

I like how this Western Digital My Passport Studio looks near those keys. It’s so tiny but it will pack and backup all your information. Take your music, videos and games wherever you are going. The only problems seems to be not loosing it.

Although slightly bigger than your USB stick, the Studio packs up to 320GB storage space and has both USB and Firewire integrated slots. You only need a processor and some RAM and you’re going to have a small PC there.

Depending on size and seller, you’ll find this external HDD for purchase from $200 to $400.

Tags: external HDD, HDD, Portable Devices, western digital

Western Digital extended its My Book family of external drives with the introduction of the new My Passport Essential Portable USB drive. Designed in a new form factor that fits in a pocket or purse, the drive comes in WD’s trademark glossy black finish. At less than 5 oz, it is easy to carry around. No external power supply is needed as it runs off the USB connection. Google tools such as the Desktop Search, Picasa and Toolbar are bundled with the drive.

The drive is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.4.8 onwards. It comes bundled with WD Sync synchronization/encryption software. It measures just 15mm x 126.15mm x 79.5mm.

For data security, it is comforting to know that the drive uses 128-bit encryption. The WD My Passport Essential Portable USB drive is now available. A 320GB model - that can hold up to 80,000 songs or 38 hours of HD video - costs US $199.99. All it needs is a USB port.

Available from the WD Store.

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Tags: HDD, my passport, portable, Portable Devices, USB drive, usb2, western digital

Offering one of the highest storage capacities for OEM Notebook platforms is Western Digital’s newest Scorpio 320GB Hard Drives. The 2.5″ notebook hard drive comes in a slim 9.5mm form factor and offers great features to achieve quiet running and cool operating temperatures. The newest Scorpio HD also provides exclusive Western Digital Technologies including WhisperDrive, ShockGuard, and IntelliSeek. Not only does the Scorpio HD offer outstanding memory capacity, it also delivers high performance with transfer rates up to 3 Gb/s.

The WD 320GB drives are currently available at www.shopwd.com, the company’s online store, at a retail price of $199.99.

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Tags: Uncategorized, western digital