Seagate Technology, the world’s largest producer of hard disk drives, on Thursday said that it would begin shipments of its 1TB, or 1000GB, hard drive in the first half of the year. The company said that it would use totally new platters to make the product, thus, it promises to be quiet, fast and energy efficient.

Seagate’s 1TB hard disk drive for high-performance desktops will feature 4 perpendicular recording technology-based platters with 250GB capacity. Seagate also promises unprecedented – for 1TB – performance, “rugged” design with “best-in-class” shock tolerance as well as “whisper-quiet” acoustics.

“Seagate’s 1TB hard drive will be our second generation 3.5” hard drive to feature capacity-boosting perpendicular recording technology, and it will use fewer heads and discs than similar-capacity products we expect to see from our competitors. It is clear that fewer heads and discs, along with our proven perpendicular technology, can increase drive reliability, and also reduce operating temperatures, power consumption, noise, and weight,” explained Mike Hall, a spokesman for Seagate.

The company also indicated that to date, Seagate has shipped some 10 million 3.5” hard drives with its perpendicular recording technology in the PC, enterprise, and consumer electronics markets, which, the firm claims, is significantly more than any other hard drive maker.

The company did not unveil pricing or availability dates for the 1TB hard disk drive. Seagate’s 750GB hard disk drive, which has been on the market since April 2006 is currently sold for around $330 - $400 by online stores in the U.S.