Samsung have unveiled a new, rugged hard drive for mobile computing, available in capacities of up to 500GB. The Spinpoint M7 is available in 250-, 320-, 400-, 500-GB capacities. A new controller has been adopted to reduce power consumption in seek mode to up to 25 percent over conventional 2.5” drives. The Samsung Spinpoint M7 hard drive features a 5400rpm spindle speed, 8MB cache, native command queuing and a 3.0Gbps SATA interface. Global shipments in the United States and Europe began in April with shipments to other regions to follow accordingly. Pricing is to be confirmed.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung Introduces New “Rugged” High-capacity 500-Gigabyte 2.5-inch Hard Disk Drive for Mobile Computing

SEOUL, South Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, today introduced their new 500-Gigabyte (GB) 2.5-inch hard disk drive with a shock operation tolerance of 400G/2ms. The Spinpoint M7 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive with 250GB per platter features a rugged base and cover design, offering better data protection for road warriors and other mobile laptop users.

“Our customers have been requesting hard drives with higher density, lower power and greater reliability for their mobile applications,” said C.H. Lee, vice president, Storage sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. “The Spinpoint M7 answers these needs with a high-speed operating shock specification and extraordinary drive capacity for storing large data files, music, photos and videos.”

The Spinpoint M7 is available in 250-, 320-, 400-, 500-GB capacities. A new controller has been adopted to reduce power consumption in seek mode to up to 25 percent over conventional 2.5” drives. In particular, internal test results on PC Mark show an 18 percent improvement in overall performance over 2.5” hard drives.

“Samsung’s M7 will appeal to notebook PC customers who want to have a hard drive operating shock tolerance for mobile applications in tough environments,” commented John Chen, senior director, TRENDFOCUS.

The Spinpoint M7 utilizes Samsung’s proprietary SilentSeek™ and NoiseGuard™ technologies to minimize the noise-level of the mechanical drive operation. The halogen-free drive complies with the European Union’s Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) regulations.

The Spinpoint M7 500GB hard drive is lightweight and durable, featuring a 5400rpm spindle speed, 8MB cache, native command queuing and a 3.0Gbps SATA interface. The perpendicular magnetic recording technology enables the 500GB drive to store 160,000 digital images, 125 hours of DVD movies, or 60 hours of high definition video images.

Qualification samples of the Spinpoint M7 are currently shipping to major OEMs. Global shipments in the United States and Europe began in April with shipments to other regions to follow accordingly.

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

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