Fujitsu today unveiled the world’s highest-capacity 2.5″ drive yet at 300GB. They showed off the drive in a USB-powered external enclosure. It runs at 4,200RPM and has a 16-point shock absorber along with an array of security software. It is expected to hit retail in Q3 at $229. There is no word on when the bare drive will be available.

The 300GB MAW3300NC is an enterprise hard disk drive offering 10K RPM spindle speeds and features an 8MB data buffer for optimizing the overall drive performance. It utilizes Fujitsu’s Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) technology to assure remarkably quiet operation. Connecting via an Ultra320 SCSI interface, the MAW300NC provides accelerated performance, making it perfect for NAS, DAS, or SANs. It is also in compliance with the RoHS initiative, which calls for the elimination of hazardous substances from the manufacturing of electronic equipment.

It’s difficult to dispute the practicality of a 2.5in external hard disk, and the HandyDrive is a case in point. It weighs only 255g, and at 82 x 22 x 142mm (WDH) it’s small enough to fit into a pocket. Although it comes with an extra USB cable to plug in to draw power, in practice the three laptops we tested with all supplied enough juice to run the drive. It also supplies 300GB of storage, which is ample for use as a photographer’s friend, or simply for toting around very large documents. It’s fast, too: writing 100MB of files took only ten seconds, so getting large folders across is painless. Consider the exceptionally low price of £110 - just over 36p per gigabyte - and this is a must-have addition to any traveller’s bag.