Toshiba Expands Its Lineup of Market-Leading 1.8-Inch HDDs with PC and CE Solutions

New Low-Power, Rugged 1.8-Inch HDDs Feature up to 120GB Capacity with an 80GB Light-Weight Model for PC Applications, along with a Series of 60GB Drives Optimized for CE Devices

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced expansion of its market-leading 1.8-inch HDD lineup with a series of five new HDDs for PC and consumer electronics (CE) applications. Highlights include a high-capacity 120GB1 model for thin and light mobile PCs, as well as slim, single-platter 80GB and 60GB models for ultra-mobile PC and portable handheld CE devices.

Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch HDDs for PC applications include the 120GB MK1214GAH, the 60GB MK6028GAL and the lightweight 80GB MK8025GAL, weighing two grams less than traditional 5-millimeter-high 1.8-inch HDDs. All three models are equipped with a PATA interface, 2MB buffer and 512 byte-per-sector format for tablet, mobile PC, ultra-portable, ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) and other applications.

For CE applications, Toshiba introduced two single-platter, 60GB 1.8-inch HDDs in the slim, 5-millimeter-high form factor with special attributes for mobile and handheld products. The MK6014GAL offers a 4,200 RPM spin speed and 2MB buffer for faster data throughput, while the MK6015GAA supports a 3,600 RPM spin speed for quieter operation.

Toshiba’s two 60GB CE HDDs demonstrate the company’s lead in the design and manufacture of long data sector technology with 1K byte-per-sector formats optimized for CE systems. Toshiba was the first HDD manufacturer to use long data sector technology in its recently introduced 160GB 1.8-inch HDD (MK1626GCB), which uses a 4K byte-per-sector architecture.

“Long data sector technology brings advantages in drive format efficiency, improved error correction capability and enhanced storage capacity,” said Dr. Michael A. Russak, executive director of IDEMA-US, the international trade association of the HDD industry. “Clearly, Toshiba is a leader in taking advantage of these benefits and will be delivering more robust, highly efficient storage solutions to its customers. IDEMA has been working to support member companies in migrating from the traditional 512 byte data sector format to larger formats as Toshiba has done in these products.”