1.8 Inch -- Engadget

Toshiba's 320GB hard disk is world's largest 1.8-incher

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 5th 2009 at 1:35AM

That's the world's largest capacity 1.8-inch hard disk drive right there. A claim met by a list of specs going a little something like this: 3.0Gbps SATA interface, 320GB capacity, 5,400 RPM, 16MB buffer, and 19dB of emitted noise during seeks -- a 4dB cut from Toshiba's previous generation of 5,400 RPM 1.8-inchers. Of course, these 1.8-inch mechanical HDDs are the form factor most commonly found in those netbook-shoving CULV thin-and-light ultraportables now coming onto the market. Look for it in December when the MK3233GSG hits mass production.

Toshiba's 1.8-inch 160GB PATA disk is ready for KIRFers

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 10th 2009 at 5:38AM

Wonder what's inside the latest iPod classic besides suave marketing and Pixi-dust? In a not-so coincidental announcement following yesterday's classic capacity bump, Toshiba unleashed specs on its newest 160GB 1.8-inch single-platter spinner that just happens to come in 120GB versions too. The Parallel ATA interface holds-tight the 5-mm / 48-gram disk spinning at 4,200 RPM. Interestingly enough, Tosh claims that its hard disk holds 45,000 digital photos, 42,000 songs, or 130 videos thereby besting Apple's claims on all counts. So get to it KIRFers, the MKxx34GAL series is shipping now and your marketing bullets have already been written.

Video: RunCore's 1.8-inch Pro IV SSD line priced and tested

by Darren Murph posted Jul 27th 2009 at 8:18AM

RunCore just got finished introducing its 2.5-inch Pro IV SSD family back in May, and already it's looking to expand its reach with a new line of solid state drives in the 1.8-inch form factor. These ultra-small devices were taken for a spin by the fine folks over at TweakTown, and while the real world difference compared to an HDD was certainly evident in the side-by-side comparison (shown after the break), it's the benchmarks that really had us smiling. In testing, the 128GB model managed to notch a 224MBps read and 136MBps write rate, and while both figures are more than respectable, the lofty MSRPs have us thinking twice about just how badly we flash in our lives. If all goes well, the crew will hit shops next month for $179.99 (32GB), $289.99 (64GB), $499.99 (128GB) and $899.99 (256GB), and if our wildest dreams come true, they'll be slipped into unreasonably expensive portable media players shortly after.

Read - RunCore press release
Read - Video unveiling and benchmarks

Continue reading Video: RunCore's 1.8-inch Pro IV SSD line priced and tested

Apricorn rolls out pocketable Aegis Mini 240GB 1.8-inch hard drive

by Donald Melanson posted Mar 11th 2009 at 8:41PM

240GB 1.8-inch hard drives have been out and about for a little while now, but they're still a bit of a rare sight in actual products, which is something the folks at Apricorn look set to rectify with their new Aegis Mini portable hard drive. As you can see above, the whole package isn't much larger than the hard drive itself and, better still, it's available in your choice of USB 2.0 or FireWire flavors, which'll run you the expectedly premium price of $269 and $279, respectively. If that's a bit more than you need, you can also grab an 80GB or 120GB drive, which also pack the same shock protection and retractable cable as their more capacious counterpart, plus Apricorn's own Data Protection Suite software.

[Via iTech News Net, thanks Sze]

Toshiba's record breaking 1.8-inch 250GB SATA disk for your next ultra-slim laptop

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 25th 2008 at 3:23AM

Ok, it's not by much, but world's biggest is world's biggest especially notable when it comes in a package this small. Toshiba just busted up its own record for 1.8-inch drive capacity with this new 250GB MKxx29GSG series disk spinning at 5,400rpm -- the previous 240GB 1.8-incher announced a few weeks ago is stuck with a slower PATA interface more suitable to portable audio players. That makes this 8.0-mm thick, 3Gbps SATA hard drive ideal for ultra-slim, ultra-portable laptops requiring snappy (and cheap compared to an equivalent capacity SSD) data access by your applications. At least it will be when it begins mass production in November.

[Via Impress]

Toshiba announces 240GB 1.8-inch HDD

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 9th 2008 at 5:48PM

Funny that Toshiba is announcing a 240GB 1.8-inch drive just a day after Microsoft took the Zune to 120GB and the same day Apple dropped the iPod classic's 160GB SKU -- doesn't seem like very many people need this much storage. Still, that's a lot of bits in a tiny drive -- and we'd bet that shoving one of these things in either an iPod or Zune wouldn't be too hard, modders. Hint, hint.

Toshiba's 1.8-inch 160GB disk hits 5400RPM for netbooks

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 11th 2008 at 2:08AM

Who makes a 160GB, 1.8-inch SATA disk spinning at 5400RPM? Nobody, until today. Toshiba just announced the industry's largest-capacity / fastest 160GB MK1617GSG disk for ultra-portables and netbook-class machines. While others have hit the magical 160GB mark in an 8-mm thick form factor, this is the first 1.8-inch SATA to reach 5400RPM. Oh, and because you're about to ask: no, it's too chubby for an iPod classic (where that speed wouldn't likely be noticed) or ultra-thin laptop like the MacBook Air or Envy 133. Thanks for asking though.

TDK announces 64GB 1.8-inch HS1 micro SATA drives, we scream in glee

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted Jun 2nd 2008 at 5:29PM

Things are looking up in the SSD race: TDK has just announced what they are calling the smallest Micro SATA SSD drives. The HS1 series will measure just 1.8 inches with 16, 32, and 64GB capacities and will use single-level cell NAND flash memory. Read / write speeds are spinner-like 100MBps and 50MBps respectively and are expected to be energy efficient at 20mA. Security wise, we're looking at 128-bit AES encryption with 7-bit error correction. They won't come cheap, though: prices are expected to run $900, $1,500, and $2,000 for the three capacities.

[Via Electronista]

Toshiba intros 80GB, 120GB 1.8-inch hard drives

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2008 at 4:06PM

Hot on the heels of a pair of roomy 2.5-inchers comes Toshiba with a duo of even smaller drives likely destined for PMPs and cereal boxes of the future. The 120GB MK1216GSG and 80GB MK8016GSG are both designed to the latest SATA 2.6 specification and also feature the micro-SATA connector. Furthermore, the 5,400 RPM units weigh in at just 62 grams apiece and feature 8MB cache and a 489 Mbits/sec data transfer rate. Per usual, pricing on these buggers remains a mystery.

Toshiba intros five capacious new 1.8-inch hard drives

by Evan Blass posted Dec 14th 2007 at 10:12AM

We're all for bulking up the storage in our notebooks and portable gear, so naturally we're quite thrilled that Toshiba has developed a quintet of new 1.8-inch PATA hard drives that promise higher capacity and better performance for the gadgets we hold so dear. Three of the drives offer up 60GB on a single platter: the 4,200 RPM MK6028GAL for laptops and UMPCs, along with the 4,200 RPM MK6014GAL with 2MB buffer and 3,200 RPM MK6015GAA with 160KB buffer, both of which employ so-called "long data sector" technology to bring "format efficiency, improved error correction capability and enhanced storage capacity" to portable consumer electronics devices, according to ol' Tosh. Also destined for lightweight PCs are the dual-platter 120GB MK1214GAH and single-platter 80GB MK8025GAL, both 4,200 RPM drives with 2MB and 8MB buffers, respectively. Expect the new models to start appearing in consumer products sometime early next year. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Slashgear]

Toshiba's DTR technology hints at 240GB iPod drives by 2009

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 10th 2007 at 4:20AM

With Apple launching their new iPod classic, pretty much everybody is now aware that 1.8-inch hard disks max out at 160GB. Thing is, that disk -- be it from Toshiba or Samsung -- is actualy spinning a pair of 80GB platters at its core. So what would you say to Toshiba's announced 120GB single-platter drive? Hoozah, seems appropriate. The new prototype applies Discrete Track Recording (DTR) technology to boost the areal density of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) techniques by a full 50% -- that's 516Mb per square millimeter (333Gb per square inch). Tosh plans on mass producing the 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch (laptop) drives in 2009 which means that a 240GB "iPod HD" can't be too far away, eh Apple?

Toshiba announces iPod classic-sized 80GB and 160GB 1.8-inch disks

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 6th 2007 at 3:22AM

Could be just a coincidence, but Toshiba just announced their new 1.8-inch, 80GB and 160GB hard disks. Right, the same size drives just announced for Apple's iPod classic line-up. Of course, Samsung announced their 160GB spinner a few weeks ago so we'll have to wait for the iSuppli teardown before making too many assumptions here. As for the details behind the 160GB MK1626GCB: 2x 80GB platters, 3,600rpm, 52MBps (66MBps for 80GB HDD) transfer rate and 15-ms mean seek time, and portable device-friendly CE-ATA interface on a mini 54 × 71 × 8-mm slab. Oh, and Tosh wants you (and the analysts) to know that they are "already shipping in samples," wink wink, nudge nudge.

[Via Impress]

Samsung shows off world's biggest 1.8-inch drive: 160GB

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 21st 2007 at 8:10AM

Samsung seems hell-bent on cramming every bit of data it can onto a 1.8-inch drive platter -- just two months after announcing the former capacity champ 120GB SpinPoint N2, the company is pre-announcing a 160GB version. Other than the size, the essential stats remain the same: 4200RPM, 15ms seek time, sub-1W power consumption.
No work on pricing or availability, but our 80GB iPod is beginning to look positively cramped.

[Via TGDaily]

Samsung's 64GB SSDs: ready to roll

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 25th 2007 at 4:08AM

For all the 64GB SSDs announced, only one manufacturer has the skillz to bring them to market: Samsung. Starting today, Sammy is mass producing the world's first 64GB, 1.8-inch SSD. Right, the ideal size for UMPCs and super slim ultra-portables. No word on price but it's not like you'll find these up for retail anyway. We expect 'em to go OEM-only baby as $1,000 (at least) premiums inside your latest VAIO, Latitude, Lifebook, and Sammy's own Q40 and Q1 Ultra machines to name a few. Apple too, if there's any life to that ultra-portable rumor.

PNY unveils SSDs for laptops, iPods, and more

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 5th 2007 at 4:05AM

They told us they were coming, now sure enough, PNY has loosed their line-up of Solid State Disks. Available in 1.8- and 2.5-inch profiles, the new SSDs feature up to 66MBps read and 55MBps write speeds and standard ZIF, micro-SATA, 44-pin IDE, and regular ol' SATA interfaces for drop-in replacement of hard disks in things like iPods (you wish PNY) and laptops -- right, the same price as SanDisk. Unfortunately, you'll have to be an OEM to take order (starting today) of the 2.5-inch, 32GB jobbie which costs about $350 when purchased in quantity. By Q3, PNY (and everyone else it seems) expects to be shipping their 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch SSDs in 64GB and 128GB capacities, respectively.