WD debuts 1TB 2.5 inch HDD

Lake Forest (CA) – Western Digital has two new 2.5 inch mobile hard drives that should satisfy even the most profligate laptop user.

The one terabyte Scorpio Blue – which becomes the industry’s highest-capacity 2.5-inch drive – is accompanied by a smaller yet still impressive 750GB model. Both use 333 GB per platter technology and come in a 12.5 mm form factor. While this is fine for new laptops and external disk storage, it could preclude upgrades for older notebooks which only have a 9.5mm deep HDD drive bay. Check before you buy.

WD says the drives are also suited for small form factor desktop PCs, where quiet and cool operation are important. Both Scorpio Blues deliver a three gigabit per second transfer rate.

“The convergence of the growing mobile computing and digital media trends produces demand for desktop-like capacities in portable devices,” said Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of client systems at WD. “Our new Scorpio Blue drives enable people to take even more of their digital collections with them wherever they go and, realizing the value of their data, back up their notebooks on their My Passport drives.”

Both Scorpio Blues are available immediately. The 1TB WD10TEVT is also packaged as a My Passport Essential SE USB drive. MRSP for the Scorpio Blue 1TB drive is $249.99 and the 750 GB version is priced at $189.99 USD. Both drives come with a three-year limited warranty.