The new Seagate HDD is part of Dell’s XPS laptop line and the company also intends to include it in several Alienware models.

The Momentus 7200.3 HDD is the industry’s first 7,200rpm 320GB hard drive for mobile computing, claims Seagate. The 2.5-inch HDD also comes in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 250GB capacities. All models feature a 7,200rpm spin speed and a 16MB cache.

“Laptop users want every bit of capacity, performance and durability that desktop PCs deliver,” said Michael Wingert, Seagate executive vice president and general manager, Personal Compute Business. “The new Momentus 7200.3 hard drive exemplifies Seagate’s focus on delivering leading storage technologies that make it easier to move, use and protect digital information in the home, in the office and on-the-go.”

The drive also is offered with G-Force Protection, a free-fall sensor technology, to help prevent drive damage and data loss upon impact if a laptop PC is dropped. The sensor works by detecting any changes in acceleration equal to the force of gravity, then parking the head off the disc to prevent contact with the platter in a free fall of as little as eight inches.

The new HDD is built to withstand up to 1000 Gs of non-operating shock and 350 Gs of operating shock to protect drive data. Momentus features Seagate’s SoftSonic fluid-dynamic bearing motors and QuietStep ramp load technology, which makes the HDD "virtually inaudible".

Last but not least, Seagate stressed out that the new model needs less power, thus enabling users to work longer between battery charges.