Seagate launches Momentus XT drives

STORAGE VENDOR Seagate has launched a solid state hybrid drive for laptops, the Momentus XT, which it says is its "fastest drive ever" for PCs.

The hybrid data storage drive is now available at online retailers Amazon, Canada Computers, CDW, Memory Express, NCIX, Newegg and Tiger Direct.

The Momentus XT drive is apparently nearly 70 per cent faster than the prior Momentus drive and up to three times faster than a traditional hard disk drive while providing 750GB of storage capacity. The hard drive has a Serial ATA 6Gbits/s interface and 8GB of Single Level Cell NAND flash storage, which Seagate said "doubles the interface and NAND read-write speed of the previous generation".

The suggested retail price for the Momentus XT with 750GB capacity is $245.

The Momentus XT drives are powered by Seagate's Adaptive Memory and "FAST Factor" technologies. Adaptive Memory technology works by identifying data usage patterns and then moving the most frequently retrieved information to solid state memory for faster access. Adaptive Memory effectively tailors hard drive performance to each user and the applications they use. "FAST Factor" technology blends the strengths of SSDs and hard disk drives for faster access to applications, quicker boot times and higher overall system speed.

"Laptop users want faster access to all of their content, from gaming, music and video to spreadsheets and documents, creating strong demand for the highest performance," said Scott Horn, VP of worldwide marketing at Seagate. "Seagate is excited to answer this need with a second-generation Momentus XT drive that delivers solid state drive (SSD) speed, greater storage capacity and easy installation at an affordable price."

"High-speed storage devices make a difference when it comes to improving overall PC performance," said John Rydning, research VP at IT industry analyst International Data Corp. "Seagate's newest Momentus XT drive gives notebook PC users an economical option for boosting PC performance while at the same time providing spacious storage capacity all in one device." µ