Toshiba 120GB Subnote HDD

Toshiba this morning upped its ante for notebook storage with a slew of 1.8-inch hard drives. The MK1214GAH represents the largest storage ever available from the company designed specifically for very small PCs and measures just 8mm (0.3 inches) tall despite two platters, allowing it to fit within subnotebooks, ultra-mobile PCs, and other handhelds while holding more than previous models. A single-platter version, the 60GB MK6028GAL, is even thinner at 5mm (0.2 inches), Toshiba says. Both hold 2MB of cache and spin at 4,200RPM.

A third drive, the MK8025GAL, is designed to offer as much storage as possible in an ultra lightweight form: although storing 80GB, it weighs less than the latest 60GB drive at 45 grams (1.6 ounces) while occupying the same height and running at the same speed. It also stores a much larger 8MB cache to reduce the amount of disk access for frequently memory-constrained small systems.

Two 60GB drives geared towards the relatively rough conditions of consumer electronics are also being released today. The MK6014GAL is designed for relative speed with the same 2MB cache and 4,200RPM performance as the more standardized drives, while the MK6015GAA is built for noise-sensitive devices with a slower, quieter 3,600RPM speed and a more modest 160KB cache.

Toshiba is expected to limit the drives to computer builders and other device makers but does not say when they should become available in shipping products, though the announcement is timed roughly a month ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

By Electronista Staff