Toshiba Corp has developed a hard-disk drive (HDD) that measures 0.85 of an inch (22 millimeters) in diameter, smaller than the record one-inch HDD that Hitachi Global Storage Technologies released in November, company sources said on Saturday.
The drive, which is small enough to be used in mobile phones, can store up to two hours of high-definition moving images and just under 60 hours of music. Its tiny size will likely lead to the development of extremely small video cameras.
The one-inch HDD developed by the US affiliate of Hitachi Ltd is used in digital single-lens reflex cameras and other products, but is too big for mobile phones.
Despite the smaller size, Toshiba's HDD has a storage capacity of two to three gigabytes, an amount equal to 2,000 floppy disks.
Toshiba aims to start shipping samples if its HDD to makers of cellular phones next summer and begin full-fledged production in early 2005 at its Ome, Tokyo, plant. After order volume rises, production will be moved to its HDD plant in the Philippines.
The company expects each drive to cost about 30,000 yen (US$280) initially, but projects that mass production will push down the price to less than 10,000 yen within a few years.
Global HDD sales are expected to total about 220 million units in 2003, with 3.5-inch products, supplied mainly by US producers, accounting for more than 80 percent of them.
But for HDDs of 2.5 inches or less, which are now enjoying surging demand for use in cellular phones, digital home appliances and car navigation systems, Japanese makers are the dominant players in the market.
-Spence
The drive, which is small enough to be used in mobile phones, can store up to two hours of high-definition moving images and just under 60 hours of music. Its tiny size will likely lead to the development of extremely small video cameras.
The one-inch HDD developed by the US affiliate of Hitachi Ltd is used in digital single-lens reflex cameras and other products, but is too big for mobile phones.
Despite the smaller size, Toshiba's HDD has a storage capacity of two to three gigabytes, an amount equal to 2,000 floppy disks.
Toshiba aims to start shipping samples if its HDD to makers of cellular phones next summer and begin full-fledged production in early 2005 at its Ome, Tokyo, plant. After order volume rises, production will be moved to its HDD plant in the Philippines.
The company expects each drive to cost about 30,000 yen (US$280) initially, but projects that mass production will push down the price to less than 10,000 yen within a few years.
Global HDD sales are expected to total about 220 million units in 2003, with 3.5-inch products, supplied mainly by US producers, accounting for more than 80 percent of them.
But for HDDs of 2.5 inches or less, which are now enjoying surging demand for use in cellular phones, digital home appliances and car navigation systems, Japanese makers are the dominant players in the market.
-Spence
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