mikro USB HDD from Seagate

Evgenie Rudometov

rudometov@rudometov.com

Rather recently known and largest manufacturer of disk drives on hard disks — company Seagate  Technology LLC has presented on the computer market transportable disk drive USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB in size of 5 Gbytes, created on the basis of an one-inch hard disk (HDD)

One of the major components of modern computer systems are the hard disk drives, programs providing non-volatile storage and data. The information capacity of disk drives of this type from year to year grows, having reached for arrangements from size disks in diameter of 3,5 inches already 500 Gbytes. Also there is an underplate to consider, that in the near future there will be even more capacious arrangements. Probably, in 2007, and can be and already in 2006, there will be products with size 1 Tbyte (1000 Gbytes).

Perfection of appropriate processing techniques and a construction of disk drives was lifted by metrics of density of an information storage and dependability of operation on such height, that in the computer market there were compact transportable arrangements rather a high capacity. And if a fantasy disk drives with disks of 2,5-inches, got the big popularity among numerous users now there were a reality even more compact products more recently seemed. Except small dimensions and weight, they possess rather a high capacity, high dependability and quite good productivity at rather small energopotreblenii. As their basis miniature hard disk drives of a form factor of 1 inch with speed of rotation of a spindle of 3600 rpm have served . These 1-inch products rather in mass quantity began to be released recently by the industry for the markets of consumer electronics and computers, including the transportable disk drives which are hooked up by means of serial interfaces.

One of such products is transportable disk drive USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive. This arrangement which is hooked up by means of interface USB  2.0 (a transfer rate — to 480 Mbit/c) and flagged with technical index ST650211USB, rather on the market the known manufacturer of hard disk drives — company Seagate Technology LLC (further simply Seagate recently has released  ).

The package of the given transportable disk drive is presented on a Fig. 1, and appearance from both sides — in a Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. Package Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive

Disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive represents the arrangement fulfilled in shape spljusnutogo of the cylinder, reminding a puck in which the 1-inch disk drive of ST1 set and an appropriate electronic stuffing is concluded.

Fig. 2. Appearance of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive

In a disk drive construction the USB-cable, and also an USB-plug with which help hooking up of the given arrangement to appropriate USB-plugs of desktop or transportable computers is provided is provided. The given cable, which length makes about 15 sm, is allocated in a rim of an internal disk. At rotation of the given disk counter-clockwise the cable is coiled, on hour — is unwound.

Disk drive SeagateUSB 2.0 PocketHard Drive with a cable and plug USB is resulted in a Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive with a cable and plug USB

In the central part of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, under a transparent, plastic window, the bright light-emitting diode, lighting up is allocated by bright, dark blue colour at call to the given arrangement.

The specified product is oriented to the computer market of the compact transportable disk drives which dimensions are that, that such arrangements easily are located in a breast pocket of a shirt.

As basis of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive with index ST650211USB the one-inch disk drive of Seagate corporation in size of 5 Gbytes (for 1 Gbyte at instructions of size of disk drives their manufacturers accept for a long time already 1 000 000 000 value  byte) has served     . Key parametres of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211US are resulted in Table 1.

By the way, company Seagate on the basis of an own 1-inch hard disk in size of 2,5 Gbytes releases transportable disk drive ST625211USB of appropriate information capacity. On a construction and on the main consumer properties the given disk drive coincides with USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211US.

Table 1. Key parametres of disk drive Seagate USB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211US

Applied to hooking up to computers of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive interface USB 2.0 PnP does not demand driver installation, we will combine with all widespread operating systems and provides a data transfer high speed.

In arrangement SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive the tank of stylish design which provides the high dependability necessary for transportable arrangements uses. Except a construction, high dependability is reached thanks to firm processing techniques G-Force and RunOn, realised in miniature 1-inch hard disks of company Seagate. As a result the arrangement steadily works at vibrations and pushes. Moreover, it soaks considerable shock loads — to 2000 g in a non-working state.

By the way, for an illustration of high dependability of the given arrangement its creators even have made a small film with examples of nonconventional testing of disk drive SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive. The arrangement dropped and threw, then showed its working capacity. Frames from this film have been shown on one of presentations of products of company Seagate.

Coming back to package SeagateUSB  2.0 Pocket Hard Drive, the set of the software delivered with it (ON) includes the short description, and also a number of useful utilities. In particular, by means of data ON function of usage of the given disk drive as the load arrangement for the computer is supported. Besides, in structure ON the appropriate resources providing data protection, hranimyh on a disk of the given transportable disk drive are presented.

In conclusion of the given short browse of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB some the numerical estimations received in the course of testing of the given arrangement.

As transportable disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB is taken up a position for market sector where the dominating role is played by flash-memory arrangements, expediently to compare the given disk drive to one of such products — Transcend 64 Mb (USB 1.1) — FlashDisk 64 Mb.

At hooking up transportable disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB easily and was defined at once by the operating system as arrangement SEAGATEST650211USB USB Device that is presented in a Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. A menu fragment «the Manager of arrangements» after hooking up to a notebook of disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive

And now some digits received in the course of testing Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB and its alternative in the name of flesh-disk drive FlashDisk 64 Mb (Transcend 64 Mb).

In Table 2 the parametres characterising a transfer rate, in Table 3 — access time are presented .

In a Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are resulted graphics representations of the numerical estimations of results of testing Seagate USB resulted in tables 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB and FlashDisk 64 Mb.

Table 2. The Transfer rate

Fig. 5. The Transfer rate

Table 3. Access time

Fig. 6. Access time

As follows from results of the led testing, compact transportable disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB can represent itself as an effective remedy of carrying over and storage of programs and data.

In conclusion of the given browse it is necessary to mark, that according to recently published announcement the bar of 1-inch disk drives ST1 of company Seagate is presented by products in size 2,5, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Gbytes. The extension of the specified bar at the expense of appearance of new models allows to calculate and for increase in the set of transportable disk drives Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive.

Transportable disk drive Seagate USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive ST650211USB has been given on testing by company Seagate