WD(R) today announced that it has commenced volume shipments and OEM qualifications of its WD Scorpio Blue 2.5-inch notebook hard drives with capacities up to 500 GB. Utilizing industry-leading 250 GB-per-platter technology, the new WD Scorpio(R) Blue(TM) 500 GB and 400 GB SATA hard drives are designed for notebook computers and portable storage devices.

WD Scorpio Blue delivers high-performance with a 3 Gb/s transfer rate, while including proprietary features that make the drive extraordinarily quiet, while running at cool operating temperatures. The WD Scorpio Blue 500 GB is the highest capacity 2.5-inch, standard form-factor (9.5mm) hard drive shipping-to-date, and is developed for use in OEM notebook platforms that offer the highest storage capacities to the market.

"WD continues to provide the mobile market with high-capacity storage everywhere consumers and business professionals travel," said Jim Morris, WD's vice president and general manager of notebook storage. "Notebook system manufacturers continue to improve performance, while adding data-hungry features. The WD Scorpio Blue 400 GB and 500 GB hard drives provide the capacity needed to maximize the latest features and functions available in today's notebook computers, while relying on WD's exceptional reliability."

The new WD Scorpio Blue drives further expand the company's range of 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM, mobile hard drive offerings to capacity points up to 500 GB.

WD Scorpio Blue Features:

WhisperDrive(TM) - WD's exclusive WhisperDrive technology combines state-of-the-art seeking algorithms to yield WD Scorpio Blue hard drives as one of the quietest 5400 RPM, 2.5-inch drives available.

ShockGuard(TM) - Leading-edge ShockGuard technology combines firmware and hardware advancements to protect the drive mechanics and platter surface to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications required for mobile and notebook applications.

IntelliSeek(TM) - Another unique WD Scorpio Blue 500 GB feature is its IntelliSeek technology, which calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration.