Western Digital Ships Ultrabook-Compatible Hard Drives

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Need more mobile storage space? Western Digital's new 7 mm Scorpio Blue hard drive can now fit inside your Ultrabook.

The new hard drive features Western Digital ShockGuard Technology, protecting your drive from up to 400Gs of shock due to an accidental drop while on the move. The 2.5-inch single-platter drive is available in 500 GB and 320 GB densities and is compatible with standard 9.5 mm notebook slots. The drive also boasts extremely low power consumption, and Western Digital's WhisperDrive Technology to ensure silence.

“Consumers want thin and light personal computers, but the limited storage capacity of SSD-based notebooks forces them to pick and choose what files to bring from their library,” said Matt Rutledge, vice president and general manager for WD client storage products. “With the release of the new WD Scorpio Blue 7mm mobile hard drives, WD is able to offer capacity, reliability and data protection features combined with excellent power management all in a slim form factor perfect for thin and light notebooks.”

Western Digital Scorpio Blue 7 mm hard drives are protected by a two-year limited warranty. Early pricing starts with the 500 GB model at $99.99 and the 320 GB model at $79.99. For more information visit Western Digital's product page.

Billy Taylor
20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • inanition02
    This should bring ultrabook prices down...
    Reply
  • gm0n3y
    Why would anyone buy an ultrabook with an HDD instead of an SSD? This will help to keep the price down and provide more storage, but the whole point of an ultrabook is its supposed to be faster than a netbook and provide decent battery life. This goes against both of those points. I guess lowering the entry price is good though.
    Reply
  • esrever
    ^a lot of people really only care about looks so if you sell them something that looks high quality for low price, they will buy it.
    Reply
  • Northwestern
    I'll be more satisfied once HDD prices in general lower.
    Reply
  • inanition02
    Its not about looking quality at low price, its about having a range of options for buyers.

    Given the choice between a 'thin and light' laptop with 10 hour battery life, 20 second boot and 128 gb of ssd for $1100 and the same chasis with 8 hour battery life, 45 second boot and 500 gb of hdd for $700 and I'll take the second - it can fit my apps and all my files and I'll take that and a $400 price drop in exchange for two hours of life and double boot time.

    Not to mention that Im still wary of ssd wear-leveling...despite having two pcs with ssds.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    Performance. If its slow compared to a WD Scorpio Black (which isn't all that fast)...just not interested.
    Reply
  • fudoka711
    Inanition02Its not about looking quality at low price, its about having a range of options for buyers.Given the choice between a 'thin and light' laptop with 10 hour battery life, 20 second boot and 128 gb of ssd for $1100 and the same chasis with 8 hour battery life, 45 second boot and 500 gb of hdd for $700 and I'll take the second - it can fit my apps and all my files and I'll take that and a $400 price drop in exchange for two hours of life and double boot time.Not to mention that Im still wary of ssd wear-leveling...despite having two pcs with ssds.
    esrever^a lot of people really only care about looks so if you sell them something that looks high quality for low price, they will buy it.
    I agree with both points. Personally, I'm just going to wait it out and buy an "ultrabook" in a year or so when prices have dropped and the technology is all more in sync. While the ultrabook is technically not new (macbook air has been around for a while already), its still in its early stages and ssd tech is still getting better/cheaper, ivy bridge is right around the corner (and by summer 2013 we'll have the next gen cpu's), gpu's will be better, battery life will be better, and everything will be cheaper. Q2 2013 seems like a good time to cash in on all the waiting and jump into an "ultrabook", or whatever other comp you want to buy.
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    500GB isn't much for people like me with FLAC music...
    Reply
  • I don't think a 128 SSD is $400 more than a $100 hard drive is it? Performance worries me as well. Performance of those 2.5" compact single platter hard drives has not been good. My guess is it is 5400 rpm. Might get you an ultrabook for $700, but would rather pay a couple hundred more for a lot more battery life, and MUCH greater performance and battery life.
    Reply
  • Kamab
    GoogleMeI don't think a 128 SSD is $400 more than a $100 hard drive is it? Performance worries me as well. Performance of those 2.5" compact single platter hard drives has not been good. My guess is it is 5400 rpm. Might get you an ultrabook for $700, but would rather pay a couple hundred more for a lot more battery life, and MUCH greater performance and battery life.
    This. A 320GB HDD and a 128GB SSD at the "ultrabook" type form factor should be less than a 150$ price difference. (ssd max 220$ ish). Nothing wrong with more options though.
    Reply