When the first 2.5" (15mm thick) drives were unveiled to the world roughly 20 years ago the popularity of 3.5" ones thanks to their highest capacities and performance didn't leave much room for debate regarding which form factor was best. In the end it wasn't until several years later with the introduction of the next-gen portable personal computers (laptops) that use of 2.5" drives was deemed necessary mostly because of their size. Today things have changed quite a bit however and although 2.5" drives are still the number 1 choice for notebook manufacturers due to their small size (5-9.5mm thick), lower temperature levels and lower electrical demands they are also starting to take the place of their larger 3.5" brothers both in regular personal computers and in data intense application environments (enterprise-class). Because of that the leading manufacturers are dishing out many new models based on the 2.5" form factor for use with regular laptops, ultra-thin ones and of course with portable enclosures. Lately Toshiba introduced their latest MQ01ACF050 500GB 2.5" SATA III hard disk drive aimed towards casual users and as always we got out hands on one to see what it has to offer.