14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba has released what seems to be the first 100GB hard drive incorporated in a 1.8" form factor. To achieve the three digit mark, the company used perpendicular recording. The drive, codenamed MK1011GAH, contains two platters, and four read/write heads. The drive spins at 4,200rpm and has a seek time of 15ms (average). It connects to the motherboard using an ATA-7 bus which translates into a maximum burst speed of 100MB/s. The drive consumes 0.3W of power when running and that makes it ideal for handhelds and sub-notebooks.
In addition to the larger capacity, the MK1011GAH is also about 10% smaller (54x71x8 mm) than first-generation 1.8" drives, according to Toshiba. "We are enhancing the capabilities of PMR with the incorporation of TMR head technology to deliver another industry-leading mobile HDD," claimed VP of Toshiba's storage division Scott Maccabe about the 59 grams hard drive.
The next year holds some surprises for Toshiba since Hitachi has announced that they are ready to mass produce a 250GB 2.5" unit which will take the lead in the 2.5" sector. As a reminder, Toshiba currently produces 200GB 2.5" units. Also Hitachi plans to integrate security features into its mobile hard drive line, making things even harder for other manufacturers.
According to IDC, Toshiba was the market share leader regarding mobile hard drives in the 3rd quarter of 2006. As for the 1.8" category, the company holds a crushing 80% share, having shipped about 40 million since 2000. Toshiba says the new 100 GB drive is RoHS compliant and it will mass ship in January 2007. No information regarding the price was released yet.