Toshiba intros 250GB notebook storage kits

Toshiba on Tuesday acknowledged the increasing reliance on storage for notebooks by rolling out a new line of internal drives for do-it-yourself upgrades and expanding the top end of its external drive models. The 2.5-inch internal HDD range lets users of MacBooks and other easily upgradable portables with a Serial ATA connector replace their built-in disk with a larger model without turning to kits normally reserved for professional system builders; they include the same shock protection and native command queuing as the latest professional drives. The internal options should be ready today at prices ranging between $80 for an 80GB drive to $190 for a 250GB add-on.

The electronics firm's USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive has also received a slight improvement, adding a 250GB model that both stores 25 percent more than the previous 200GB leader and spins faster, climbing from 4200RPM to 5400RPM. It includes NTI Shadow backup software, works with most operating systems, and is available today for the same $190 as the internal model. Less-capacious models have not changed price and start at $110 for a 120GB disk.