"My only guess is market pressure because of higher demand." That's exactly right. In the mass consumer market (ie. people buying hard drives at retailers), a

"My only guess is market pressure because of higher demand." That's exactly right. In the mass consumer market (ie. people buying hard drives at retailers), a lot more external drives are sold than internal drives. Larger market → more competition → lower prices. On the other hand, for companies buying directly from manufacturers or from distributors, I would bet an internal drive sells for (a bit) less than the comparable external drive. Though I have never seen a price sheet. Would love to hear confirmation from someone in the industry.