When you think about thumb drives over the years they have gotten bigger in storage size but have shrunk in size. So it makes you think? Why hasn't the external hard drive been made smaller for travel? Well it has, let me introduce the Seagate Seven Hard Drive ($100). It doesn't refer to the capacity of the drive. Instead, it refers to the size. This is being revered as the thinnest 500GB portable hard drive in the world. It measures just 7mm thin, with a precision-crafted steel enclosure that highlights the look of the bare drive while offering protection for your data. It is powered by a USB 3.0 cable and weighs just over three ounces, it's a perfect way to lighten the load for those that travel while still giving you storage on hand.



Source: Unrate.com 

Check out this Eco-friendly enclosure. The Solid Wood Hard Drive Enclosure ($100-$145). It will keep your hard drive from getting banged up and it will give it a slick new look. These are handmade by two men in their Seattle shop using 100% reclaimed or discarded materials. These are one-of-a-kind drives typically house an included 500GB drive. It boasts its unique shapes with a hand oiled finish that are polished with a protective finishing wax to keep them looking great long after the drive has ceased to exist.

We have as a whole come along way in the technological world over the years. We went from a huge 1GB hard drive to something that is now even smaller and larger than 1GB that we can fit into our pockets. This drive looks like the Flux Capacitor.

You would never lose the 1980's version in a drawer in your kitchen and spend 2 hours searching for it before you gave up and went and bought another one then discover it in your pants pocket when you got home.

Techonology is forever changing at a rapid pace and we are all aware of that. The picture above is a comparison between “Head Disk Assembly” (HDA) from an IBM 3380 Model J storage device from the 80s and an SD card that we carry today.

Do you think that the engineers of the day would guess that today we would have more than a hundred times that storage in your pocket which also by the way has a color screen, battery and the smarts to make it play audio and video?

Strengthening its line up of portable 1.8” hard drives for external storage markets, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced its 250 Gigabyte (GB) 1.8 inch hard disk drive, the Spinpoint N3U which incorporates a native USB controller on its printed circuit board. This optimized design results in a smaller foot print, less power consumption and optimized performance, which is ideal for portable external storage devices. The Spinpoint N3U stores up to 125 Gigabytes per platter for a total 250GB data storage capacity.

“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,“ said Choel-Hee Lee, vice president of marketing Storage System Division, Samsung Electronics. “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.”

Samsung now ships industry leading areal density levels for all of its hard disk form factor products with up to 1.5 Terabyte for 3.5” drives, 500GB for 2.5” drives and 250GB for 1.8” drives. The Spinpoint N3U comes in 120-, 160-, 200- and 250-GB capacities, the disk rotation speed is 3600rpm, and it supports a USB 2.0 interface. The drives are equipped with an 8MB cache memory. Initial shipments to OEMs are scheduled from mid-July with a MSRP at $199.00.