Microsoft Says 120GB Is Worth The Money

Microsoft's product manager, Aaron Greenberg, says the 120GB hard disk is well within reason for pricing...

Many gamers are saying "I can get a 120GB hard drive at [insert store here] for have this price!" Microsoft is arguing that gamers are talking about traditional hard disks, not laptop hard drives like the one in the Xbox 360.

"We know it is expensive and we have definitely heard that feedback but it is a little apples and oranges to compare it to internal PC hard drives because those are off the shelf drives that you have to install yourself. There is a lot of work there for your average consumer it is not a plug in and play experience for them"

Greenberg goes on to say "a 120 gig self-powered external PC drive and in that case we are seeing those retail at anywhere from $160 to $200 for comparable laptop sized external hard drives." So...lets crack open a few sites and compare...

Here are a few I see on froogle.google.com:

• Seagate ST9120821A Momentus 120GB Laptop Hard Drive: USD $98.95
• 120GB Laptop Hard Drive Sony Vaio PCG F680: $109.99
• 120GB Laptop Hard Drive Apple IBook (All Models): $104.99

These are just from the first page and a half. So, what exactly does this Microsoft laptop do that's so much more expensive? Apparently the external nature of the drive is worth USD $70.00 or more? I can get Cavalry 120GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for Laptops at Wal-Mart for USD $129.98 and a Seagate 120GB 2.5" External Hard Drive at another online store for $120.33.

The real problem? The proprietary plug allows Microsoft to charge a USD $50.00 premium on every "laptop drive." What do you think? We getting ripped off?

source: 1up.com