Hitachi Global Storage Technologies on Tuesday introduced two new 3.5" hard disk drives (HDDs) that are based on 1TB platters. Eventually, such platters will enable drives with 4TB or even 5TB hard drives, but initially Hitachi GST will offer them for 1TB HDDs aimed at low-power desktops or consumer electronics devices. Besides, the new platter technology has been used for mobile HDDs for several quarters now.

The new 3.5" Hitachi Deskstar and Cinemastar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B hard disk drives with 250GB, 320GB, 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities are based on the company's latest 3.5" platters with 569Gb/in² (569Gb per square inch) areal density. Interestingly, but Seagate Technology's 3.5"/1TB platters have areal density of 625Gb/in², which is comparable to areal density of platters used for Hitachi GST's Travelstar Z5K500 drives (636Gb/in²).

“The areal density race continues and while having the highest capacity is appealing, reaching 1TB per platter is equally important as it serves a full range of applications and opportunities across the industry’s largest market volume,” said Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing at Hitachi GST.

The Hitachi Deskstar/Cinemastar 7K1000.D hard drive sports 7200rpm spindle speed, 32MB buffer and Serial ATA-600 interface. The HDD also sports eighth-generation power management technology and power-saving HiVERT innovations, this new drive provides up to 15% idle power savings over the previous model. The CE-optimized Cinemastar sports more than 10 features and technologies optimized for A/V streaming and other similar enhancements.

The Hitachi Deskstar/Cinemastar 5K1000.B hard drive features 5400rpm spindle speed, 32MB buffer and Serial ATA-600 interface. With lowered spindle speed and CoolSpin technology, along with other Hitachi power management techniques, the Deskstar/Cinemastar 5K1000.B delivers a 23% idle power savings over the Deskstar 7K1000.D.

“As we ship our first 1TB per platter drives, we know we’re delivering capacity, reliability and value to a broad customer base. Not only are we shipping our 1TB per platter drives to our own branded business, but we are shipping to our channel partners as well, enabling them to design affordable HDD-based solutions at attractive price points," added Mr. Collins.

Despite of the announcement of its first drives with 3.5"/1TB platters, Hitachi GST did not reveal any plans to create 2TB, 3TB, 4TB or even 5TB hard drives with similar platters. While it is logical to expect such drives to be announced this year, it remains to be seen whether HGST, Seagate or Samsung will actually ship 3.5" HDDs with record capacities in calendar 2011.

The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D and 5K1000.B CoolSpin versions are shipping to distributors and channel partners. CinemaStar drives are expected to ship in the Fall.

Tags: Hitachi, Hitachi GST, HDD, Deskstar, Cinemastar