Fujitsu announced the release of its new series of MHZ2 BT 2.5″ hard disk drives with world-class capacity of up to 500 GB. Sales of the new series will begin at the end of May 2008.

The new series responds to the growing need for hard drives in the 2.5″ form factor that can handle high-volume storage for such products as digital video recorders and external hard drives.

The MHZ2 BT series is one of many new products announced as part of Fujitsu’s Green Policy Innovation program, unveiled in December 2007 to promote energy-efficient products and services as a way to help customers lower their ecological footprint.

The rotational speed is 4,200 RPM. The average seek times are 12 ms (read) and 14 ms (write). Data are transfered at maximum 300 MB/s. The shock resistance, during operation, is 325 G (2 ms) and in non-operating situation, 900 G (1 ms). The MHZ2 BT HDDs measures 12.5 x 70 x 100 mm (H x W x L) and they weight 135 g.

The series requires 1.8 W of power to read at 3.0 Gb/s and 1.6 W to write at 1.5 Gb/s. These hard disk drives are manufactured in compliance with the EU’s RoHS Directive, which limits the use of hazardous substances.

With the global spread of digital broadcasts and Internet-based video distribution, along with the increased storage requirements stemming from the higher image quality of video content, there is an increasing need for high-capacity hard disk drives that can handle high-volume data storage.

But with growing worldwide concern over global warming and other environmental problems, there is a demand for hard disk drives that consume less electricity.

Fujitsu has responded to these needs with hard disk drives that have storage capacities of up to 500 GB for use in personal computers, Digital Video Recorders (DVR), Set Top Boxes (STB), and external hard disk drives, representing an environmentally friendly choice for customers who need hard disk drives with large storage capacities.

In addition, the series also supports the Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s interface for high-speed data transfers.

The price was not disclosed. The sales target is 20 million units in fiscal year 2008.