Portable hard drives are dime a dozen, and there are already many players available in the market currently. Samsung aims to be at the forefront with their most recent release, the Spinpoint N3U which will incorporate a native USB controller on its printed circuit board. This optimized design will ultimately result in a much smaller foot print, alongside a greener solution with less power consumption and optimized performance that makes it suitable as a portable external storage device. In fact, the 1.8″ Spinpoint N3U is able to hold up to 250GB worth of data, storing up to 125 Gigabytes per platter.
While the majority of other external hard drives will require the addition of a bridge circuit board to convert the hard drive’s PATA interface into a USB interface, Samsung’s latest N3U drive with its native USB interface will do away with the need for such a bridge board. According to Choel-Hee Lee, vice president of marketing Storage System Division, Samsung Electronics, “The new high-capacity 1.8” 250GB drive enhances Samsung’s product offerings and is ideal for consumers who require a small form factor, high capacity data storage. It is easy to carry around and it is designed to withstand a free fall drop of up to 50 centimeters and be resistant to a maximum shock incident of up to 1500G.”
50cm might not sound like much, but then again it is better than nothing. Then again, do always remember to make a backup of your data in any hard drive just in case any untoward incident happens. Using a native USB interface device, the Spinpoint N3U eliminates possible points of failure due to loose cable connections while optimizing performance by eliminating the interrupt service time for the bridge board to convert PATA to USB signals. In addition, the N3U 1.8” drive is eco-friendly as it sips a mere 60% of power compared to a 2.5” hard drive of an equivalent capacity. The Spinpoint N3U will be available in 120GB, 160GB, 200GB and 250GB capacities, with shipping commencing from mid-July onwards with the 250GB model going for $199.
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