This kind of stuff has been out for years ... didn't Dell start doing this in 2001?
Not for 2.5 inch laptop drives. Those have had a speed premium. Even so, these latest are 5400 RPM units-- not the fastest. My IBM laptop has a 7200 RPM drive, and I'd find it painful to go back to 5400. Fortunately Seagate is talking about faster units within a year or two.