Seagate's "Tornado" removable hard disk standard

Seagate used CES to introduce their new removable hard disk standard, code-named "Tornado," aimed at taking on Iomega's REV drives and the iVDR (Information Versatile Disk for Removable) drive system. The Tornado system uses a regular hot-swappable hard drive that connects through a standard External Serial ATA port to a cradle that's connected to a PC via USB 2.0. Seagate sees loads of potential for the system, ranging from including codecs and AV ports so you can play media straight to your TV to including Tornado slots in in-car entertainment units and PVRs. Sounds sweet to us, but Seagate's not dropping any hints on when units might go into production.