Logitech keyboard, mouse combo touts 3-year battery

Logitech has launched a new keyboard and mouse combo that raises the bar in power efficiency. The Wireless Desktop MK710 boasts a three-year battery life per device -- an industry first, the company claims. Both peripherals transmit data more quickly and efficiently using the company's 2.4GHz RF adapter, and the amount of time they are left in active mode when idle has been reduced.

What exactly constitutes three years of use, though? Logitech says the keyboard is good for about two million keystrokes per year in an office environment, and the mouse's juice will vary between users and computing conditions.

The combo uses Logitech's itty-bitty Unifying receiver to minimize clutter. Keyboard features include a low-profile design with concave keys, Windows shortcuts on the F-keys, media buttons, a cushioned palm rest, an LCD display for caps lock, scroll lock, num lock, and battery life. The mouse boasts "hyper-fast scrolling," and 128-bit AES encryption.

The Logitech Wireless Desktop MK710 will ship to Europe sometime this month and should arrive stateside in April with a suggested retail price of $99.99.

Lenovo shows new budget workstation, ThinkStation E20

Lenovo has added a new budget workstation PC to its ThinkStation lineup. Donning the same goofy handle as its elder brethren, the ThinkStation E20 starts at $599 and offers a selection of Intel Pentium, Core i3, Core i5 or Xeon 3400-series processors, up to 16GB of DDR3 1333MHz RAM spread across four DIMM slots, and Intel Core HD integrated or Nvidia Quadro discrete graphics (up to the FX1800).

There's also a choice of 7,200 RPM, 10,000 RPM, or MLC SSD storage with RAID 0 or 1 configurations, and known connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, eight USB 2.0 ports with optional eSATA and FireWire, and audio in/out. Operating system options include Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP, or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

Lenovo took a moment to mention the environmental bonus of buying the E20, which uses over 50% post-consumer plastics, has earned various Green certifications, and uses an 80 Plus Bronze PSU. The company plans to ship the E20 later this month, but the system doesn't seem to be available for purchase just yet.

Seagate unveils 2.5" 600GB 10K-RPM enterprise HDD

Seagate has introduced what it claims is the world's highest-capacity, most reliable small form factor enterprise hard drive, the Savvio 10K.4. The drive is made in 450GB and 600GB capacities (twice as much as its nearest competitor), boasts a spindle speed of 10,000RPM, a MTBF of two million hours, and crams it all into a 2.5-inch form factor.

Aimed at enterprise customers, the Savvio 10K.4 uses a 6Gb/s SAS or 4Gb/s Fiber Channel connection, and features Protection Information for enhanced protection of data in flight. SAS models also have a TCG-compliant SED (self-encrypting drive) option for additional protection of sensitive data at rest. All of the drives have PowerChoice technology and an average idle draw of 4.6W.
Combined, Seagate believes the Savvio 10K.4's features offer a greater overall value and can reduce the total cost of ownership to IT organizations. The company hasn't disclosed pricing or ship dates.