Seagate Shipping 5mm 2.5-Inch 500GB HDD to OEMs

Seagate Technology plc is shipping its thinnest HDD to OEM partners – the Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD.

5mm thin, the Laptop Ultrathin is designed to be integrated into ultra-thin, lightweight mobile computing devices and tablets all while delivering high capacity storage at an affordable price.

"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," said Steve Luczo, president, CEO and chairman of Seagate. "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 2.5-inch drive is 5mm thin and weighs 3.3oz – making it about as thin as four stacked credit cards and lighter than a deck of cards. It delivers up to 500GB of capacity in 25% less space than its previous-generation 7mm counterpart, freeing up valuable real-estate within portable devices to accommodate additional designed-in features such as longer-life batteries and better air circulation. An affordable alternative to SSD storage, Laptop Ultrathin HDD helps blur the lines between notebook and tablets by enabling new emerging applications like convertible and detachable storage.

"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 VP and GM of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.‘s 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."

Delivering the best cost per gigabyte and cost per millimeter in the industry for ultrathin applications, the capacity drive can support over 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video. The Laptop Ultrathin incorporates a 6Gb SATA interface for fast data transfer rates and comes with the industry standard SATA connection for integration into existing laptops supported by both HDD and SSD storage. SED encryption is available on the 500GB capacity version.

The Laptop Ultrathin has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $89.

"Dell’s heritage is built on empowering our customers to do more with their technology investments with our unbeatable back-end expertise and cost-effective, tailored solutions that empower end-users and IT administrators alike," said Kirk Schell, VP, personal computer product group, Dell, Inc. "Our partnership with Seagate on HDD drive technology enables us to provide our customers with reliable, leading-edge, thin and light ultrabook and laptop designs with long battery life and uncompromised storage capacity."

"Portable devices have a voracious appetite for data, yet at the same time, owners demand thinner and lighter systems. Seagate has solved both by productizing the Laptop Ultrathin HDD," says Richard Doherty, research director for The Envisioneering Group. "Slimmer than a pencil, this revolutionary new HDD drive gives freedom to designers and convenience to consumers and businesses alike."

"Our primary focus is to create IT solutions that deliver value. With consumers ever-increasing demand for high-capacity mobile computing devices, coupled with today’s data-intensive applications, cutting-edge technologies such as Seagate’s 5mm HDD are crucial for meeting end-user’s expectations," said Wentao Yang, VP of Lenovo global procurement. "And this new drive delivers on all fronts- not only enabling higher performance in many applications but also delivering high-capacity storage and providing consumers with a premium computing experience."