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http://neasia.nikkeibp.com/wcs/leaf?CID ... ews/282323

Toshiba's 'Postage Stamp-Sized' HDD to be Embedded in Mobile Devices
December 18, 2003 (TOKYO) -- Toshiba Corp has completed the development of a new HDD for media with a diameter of 0.85 inches (2.16cm).

According to Toshiba, this drive has a size, both vertically and horizontally, "almost equal to a postage stamp." However, the company is yet to decide on details of its product version, including outside dimensions and the transfer rate. But its capacity is expected to be between 2GB and 3GB. And its recording density is to be about the same as a current HDD.

Starting from the summer of 2004, Toshiba will ship samples of the drive for use in mobile phones. It is also studying an application for a mobile information terminal, such as a PDA or a mobile broadcasting device, as an embedded disk. However, at present, it has no plan to use it as an exchange medium such as a CompactFlash card.

If this HDD is used as a storage device for portable equipment, it should compete with flash EEPROM, a memory product Toshiba also produces. According to Toshiba's estimates, this hard disk's transfer rate is lower, but its power consumption is higher than a corresponding feature of flash EEPROM. Therefore, it will further offer new applications to avoid competition between the two.

As for a price to be set at the initial stage of production, Toshiba said, "We are afraid that it might be a little higher than is justified for boosting market penetration." Nonetheless, with volume efficiency, the disk's price can be lower than those of flash EEPROM products. Some media reported that Toshiba will set the price at 30,000 yen at the start of the HDD痴 roll-out.