Samsung's 1.8" 120GB Glossy USB Drive Spotted in China

1.8" hard drive capacity hasn't quite caught up with that of 2.5", but at least Samsung has broken through the 100GB barrier with the its SpinPoint N2. Besides begging Apple to buy a million of these for future iPod classic and MacBook Air, Sammy is also pushing the drive in Chinese market. It doesn't appear there's an official name for the 120GB USB drive in a glossy black enclosure with the size of a credit card.

What we do know it's incredible power saver with impressive performance. The 4200-rpm USB drive only draws less than 1.4W and needs just 300mA from a 500mA USB port. Its power consumption is only one-fourth that of a 2.5" drive. Disk benchmark shows the 4,200-rpm read speed is rated at 27MB/s and write at 23MB/s, which are on par with high-end flash drives. Affordability is a question, not just for the Chinese. The 40GB version retails for 1099 RMB ($161); 60GB for 1299 RMB ($191); and 80GB for 1599 RMB ($235). The 120GB model should go for about 1999 RMB ($293... ouch). In comparison, a 320GB USB 2.5" drive now drops below $120, but it will obviously never fit in your wallet.