“Toshiba says it has become the first manufacturer to commercially release hard drives with perpendicular recording platters, an industry-wide innovation that greatly increases the amount of data a drive can hold,” Michael Kanellos reports for CNET News. “The MK4007GAL 1.8-inch drive packs 40GB on a single platter, which is the most for a 1.8-inch diameter hard drive platter to date. The platters can hold 206 megabits per square millimeter. The drive can be found in Toshiba’s Gigabeat F41 music player. Toshiba also makes drives for Apple Computer’s iPods.”
“Two configurations of the drive exist: a 40GB with one platter and a two-platter 80GB drive. Next year, the Japanese giant will insert perpendicular drives into its mini 0.85-inch diameter drives,” Kanellos reports.
Full article here.
Toshiba’s Press Release with specs here.
Related articles:
Microsoft, Texas Instruments reps expect Apple ‘iPod video’ by end of year – August 16, 2005
20GB Apple iPod mini possible in 2007 – April 04, 2005
So, we know what Apple will be releasing before Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving of 2006…
ummm….wow…zzzzzz
Bring it on! I’m waiting for the next-gen iPods before I replace my 3G 40GB. “iPod video,” anyone?
The increase in Hard Drive space is one of the more pronounced changed in the computing world from 10 yrs ago. Also one of the more welcome ones. And it just keeps getting better.
What makes it perpendicular? What is it perpendicular to?
Guess you weren´t good in school – Huh?
When the teacher said read the homework assignment you watched TV. When the teacher discussed the homework the next day, you asked “what is she talking about???”
So go to the top of this page Huh? and click on the links in the article (Toshiba’s Press Release with specs), read the text at the link, go to its links, read it, too – ta-dah! Huh? is educated.
normal hdd’s perhaps? @huh?
1.8 inch drives are too big for an ipod methinks. Don’t the regular pods use 1 inch drives.
But they could work for a larger unit similar in size to the PSP if Apple go that way for a video pod.
Does anyone know how many hours of video (HD or SD) an 80 gig drive can hold in H264 format?
RTFA, not Huh? Surely, you expect too much….
How do you make drives with platters at right angles? Wow! Ok what’s going on. Is it April Fools day again?
I would love to use an 80 GB iPod to store my entire music library in 320 kbs AAC files. That would leave me with another 40 GB for photos, videos and other files. I just hope these new hard drives are reliable.
Neil, Apple introduced h.264 as being comparable to Standard Definition MPEG2 at half the bit-rate so a 2 hour SD video could use around 2 GB. Of course the encoding settings could be modified.
The iPod uses 1.8″ drives, while the iPod mini uses 1″ drives. Laptops use 2.5″ drives and desktops use 3.5″ drives. My motorcycle has 1 wheel drive.
“Perpendicular” refers to marking each bit with a vertical slice of the platter, rather than a horizontal patch of the surface.
This great cartoon explains everything:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/research/recording_head/pr/PerpendicularAnimation.html
Does anyone know whether one can replace a dead 40GB hard drive in a 4th gen Ipod with a 80GB drive?