Toshiba Storage Division announced a breakthrough half-terabyte hard disk drive in a 2.5-inch form factor on Wednesday.
The mini-drive is targeted for inclusion in mobile devices by OEMs.
The high-capacity drives are expected to enhance the capabilities and thus the interest in the new class of sub- and mini-notebooks coming into the market.
Toshiba Model MKxx55GS will most likely also be included in game consoles and printers.
The drive might also be designed as an external storage devices if an OEM is willing to wrap a plastic shell around the drive, add a connector like USB, and sell it as an external storage device. Weighing only 3.6 ounces as produced by Toshiba even with the additional weight of an external shell, the device could be easily packed in carry-on luggage.
Although the units will ship in volume in December, OEMs may not have products incorporating the devices until the spring.
The Serial-ATA 2-platter drive features 8MB of buffer memory, 3Gbps transfer rate, and a rotational speed of 5,400 RPM.
Additional drives using the same form factor in the product line will include 400GB, 320GB, 250GB, 160GB, and 120GB models.
