Fujitsu Rolls Out 300GB Mobile HDD

Fujitsu's new drive features a 300GB storage capacity, but only a 4200RPM spindle speed. The mobile storage wars are on and all of the top hard drive manufacturers are looking to one-up each other. Fujitsu fired the latest shot yesterday with the introduction of its new 300GB external HDD. I'd like to have a drive that rotates at 4200RPM when its running on batteries, and 7200RPM when running off AC power. Now is that too much to ask?

Different spindle speeds require different head designs. The head "flies" above the platter at a distance that depends on the speed of the air cushion being dragged by the platter. Change the spindle speed and you change that distance. Basically you'd need two sets of heads, one for each speed, and a very critical "parking" mechanism when going from high to low speed, to avoid head crashes. All this would make the drives significantly more expensive. The 2.5"-based drive features a SATA interface internally and a USB 2.0 interface for connecting to a notebook computer. The drive also features a 16-point omnidirectional shock mounting design