TDK announces 64GB 1.8-inch HS1 micro SATA drives, we scream in glee
by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 2nd 2008 at 5:29PM 
[Via Electronista]
Posts with tag TDK
[Via Electronista]
TDK intros SATA-compatible industrial SSD drives
It's far from the first SATA-compatible SSD drive, but TDK seems to think its new GBDisk RS1 series drives will be just the ticket for some very particular users (though not likely you or us). Apparently designed specifically for industrial use, the drive uses single level cell NAND flash memory (as opposed to multi-level cell) and a GBDriver RS1 SATA controller, which TDK says will together help it maintain data reliability while standing up to frequent, high-speed data writing. You will have to make do with some fairly small storage capacities even by SSD standards, however, with the drives topping out at 16GB, all of which come in 2.5-inch drive enclosures. No word on prices just yet, but you can look for them to start rolling out this June.TDK intros slim new USB flash drives
TDK certainly hasn't put quite the priority on USB flash drives as it has on its other media, but it looks like the company is making a decent effort with its latest drives, which manage to keep things about as small as you're likely to want. Available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB varieties, the drives weigh in at a mere three grams, and measure 32 x 15 x 8 mm, with a sliding USB connector (and ReadyBoost functionality) also thrown in for good measure. No word on a price just yet, but you can look for them to be available in Japan by the end of the month.
[Via Akihabara News]
[Via Akihabara News]
TDK also looking to boost hard drive capacity
Just try naming a major player in the hard drive biz not touting some sort of stupendous breakthrough to boost HDD capacity, and you're likely to come up fairly empty. Nevertheless, TDK is hopping on the ever-growing bandwagon, as it has reportedly "developed the technology to more than double the data storage capacity of hard-disk drives compared with the most advanced products now available by modifying the design of magnetic heads and disks." Notably, we've heard of similar processes before, but TDK is suggesting that its method can offer up the capability to "read and write 602-gigabits of data per square inch" while producing drives up to 3TB in size. Best of all, this all seems to be a bit beyond the drawing board, as the outfit hopes to mass produce the heads sometime in 2010. [Warning: read link requires subscription]
IBM's next gen flash storage to feature spinning electrons
You don't usually think of IBM in the context of flash memory innovation, but all those processors Big Blue cranks out require some kind of cache , and the company's new joint venture with TDK is designed to create the next-gen of flash, using a technology called "spin torque transfer" that will allow scaling beyond 65nm. STT-RAM, as it's called, uses a current to "spin-polarize" electrons and align their magnetic fields to represent 1s and 0s. Intel and others have invested heavily in a rival next-gen tech called phase change, but IBM says STT is faster and may last longer. Obscure system-on-a-chip next-gen flash memory format war, here we come!Sony, others named in video tape price-fixing scheme
Seems we can't have a month go by without another industry-wide price fixing scandal. Today's cartel was bent on fixing the prices of professional-grade video tapes used in television. An infamous list of swindles which includes DRAM, LCDs, and online-music just to name a few. While the EU regulators citied "several companies," only Sony would confirm that they were charged with the crime. Fingers are also wagging in the direction of Panasonic, Fujifilm, Hitachi Maxell and TDK but all declined to comment on the matter. So innocent until proven guilty, mkay. The EU's charges are based on raids it made in 2002 as well as information received since, under a leniency program. Companies now have two months to respond. If guilty, companies could be fined as much as 10% of their annual global sales. Oh my.TDK's Xa-10 mini flat panel speakers
[Via Impress]
TDK's Durabis 2 coating protects 200GB Blu-ray discs
One of the consumer worries of Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD is the durability of that ultra-thin, 0.1-mm layer protecting your BD-stored data. HD DVDs on the other hand, use a comparatively thick 0.6-mm surface layer just like standard DVDs making them appear -- on paper anyway -- more rugged over the stretch, right? Not necessarily so. At least not when TDK or others apply protective coatings to their optical media. The 6-layer, single-sided 200GB BD disc on the right in the image above is coated with TDK's "Durabis 2" hard-coating technology -- the disk on the left is a standard DVD; both were subjected to equal treatment by the steel-wool and a Sharpie. Any questions?
[Thanks, Dave]
TDK unveils 16.5GB mini Blu-ray discs at CEATEC
[Via Ubergizmo]
TDK's 32GB Solid State Disk joins the party
TDK reveals 6x BD-R disc
[Via HDBeat]
TDK's Xa-40 2.1-channel speaker cube
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[Via Impress]
Sony ships 25GB Blu-ray recordables; 50GB to come in June
Lest anyone question their position as king of the Blu-ray mountain, Sony has announced that it has
started shipping single-layer 25GB Blu-ray discs, and will begin follow up with 50GB discs in June. Yes, we know that
TDK has already announced
their own dual-layer discs (and is even working on eight layer 200GB
versions), but it looks like Sony may just get their 50 giggers out the door first. Pricing is set at about $20 per
disc for the single-layer version and $48 for the 50GB discs. Yes, that's right. The higher-capacity disc will have a
higher per-GB price than the single-layer version. Such is the price for burning on the cutting-edge (and, no, we're
not even going to try to visualize that horribly mixed metaphor).TDK: Ok, we're done with the 200GB recordable Blu-Ray
That was fast. It took 'em years to develop recordable DVDs, then another couple more for the dual layer variety,
but now but a few weeks after TDK announced their hard workin' intentions to develop 8-layer
200GB recordable Blu-ray discs, they've got it bagged. Balls to the fact that we still don't have the players; the
interesting thing about these discs, however, is that the data isn't stored on thin layers of dye, no no. Apparently
when each layer of bismuth peroxide and germanium oxide is heated to 690K by laser, microscopic air bubbles form and
create the bits we've come to know and obsess over. Oh sure, these discs are probably going to be horrendously
expensive in the beginning, but isn't it nice to know we're already good to go on capacities large enough to archive
years of home movies? [Warning: link is Japanese and requires subscription.][Via Newlaunches]
TDK hard at work on 8-layer 200GB Blu-ray Disc
Since Sony,
et al. hammered out the Blu-ray Disc spec, there's been
speculation, theorization, and discussion
of an 8-layer 200GB disc. Sony even supposedly had some working 200GB BRD demos way back in
2004. Well, now those mammoth coasters are in the works over at TDK, who apparently hope to commercialize the first presumably
quad-layered dual-sided discs (or possibly octo-layered single-sided discs -- yeah, right). They're not giving it
up as to when these discs could come out or how much they'll cost, but right now we're more worried about just getting
our hands on some players, you know?[Via TechDigest]
