Hitachi announces Z-Series ultra-thin drives

Hitachi has launched its 7mm Z-Series hard drives, which it claims are the highest capacity and fastest ultra-thin and light hard drives available.

Hot on the heels of a battery breakthrough, the Japanese manufacturer hopes that its latest hardware will usher in slimmer and lighter portable computers.

The Travelstar Z7K320 is described as the world's first 7200rpm 7mm 2.5in hard drive for "high performance and compact systems".

The CinemaStar Z5K320, meanwhile, is the first 7mm drive optimised for audio/video devices such as personal video recorders and set-top-boxes.

Hitachi said that, when the cost per gigabyte and gigabyte per cubic millimetre are combined, the 7mm drives are the "most cost-effective and space-efficient storage solutions when compared to their solid state 2.5in 9.5mm and 1.8in counterparts".

"The relentless pursuit for thinner, lighter and lower cost notebooks is impacting the design requirements of all PC components, including hard disk drives," said John Rydning, a research director at analyst firm IDC.

"Hitachi's plan to satisfy these design requirements with its new 7mm z-height, one-disk, along with its strategy to make it price-competitive with standard 9.5mm products, should drive broad adoption."

Although Hitachi said that its new hard drives will offer "compelling value" for OEMs and system integrators, V3.co.uk is still waiting for pricing confirmation.