http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/ Engadget Comments for Hitachi to phase out 1.0 and 1.8-inch drives, Fujitsu scraps plans to launch them http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/
Samsung already announced a new 1.3" microdrive.

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/productSubType.do?group=72&type=60&subtype=76

This might be the base for:
- HDDs in EeePC-sized notebooks
- smaller HDDs in HD-camcorders
and some more.
We should keep in mind, that flash memory write cycles are less then writing on a HDD.
Regards
G_Hammer]]>Feb 4th 2008 6:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 1:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/
For the price of 32 GB SSD, you could get 750-1000GB of storage on a HDD. I have a hard time justifying paying $400 for 64 GB SSD, when I can get 500GB in my laptop for less, and that 500GB drive is gonna drop in price just as fast as the SSD]]>Jan 5th 2008 1:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/They see it as incredibly fast data storage, low power requirements, and less chances of failure, even in RAID 0.
So... as valid as your argument is... if flash can indeed prove itself as a viable alternative to traditional HDD's... who knows... one day relatively soon (15-20 years from now) hard drives may very well be a complete thing of the past.
Some people just like to jump on the bandwagon early, some do it because they can warrant the price for their setup, and some just feel like it...
In the end... it doesn't matter how prices drop... reliability and speed will probably end up winning out.
GR

(Sorry if this was redundant... I'm tired)]]>Jan 5th 2008 1:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/
I'll have a 500GB or whatever is $100 at the time as well for storage and 2nd OS if I get ambitious.]]>Jan 5th 2008 1:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/oh, i mean, Fourth!
Asian women are sometimes attractive, constable!]]>Jan 5th 2008 1:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/
It used to be reasonably easy to obtain replacement bare 1.8" drives but the 160Gb ones seem to be unobtainium. And Apple are the only PMP manufacturer with a player with this size. More evidence that Apple have monopolized the market.

Meanwhile, when does the SSD price/capacity curve cross that for hard drives? Until it does, there should still be a market for drives. ]]>Jan 5th 2008 3:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 4:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 1:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 2:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/05/hitachi-to-phase-out-1-0-and-1-8-inch-drives-fujitsu-scraps-pla/Jan 5th 2008 3:18PM