Toshiba late Monday solved two of the frequent problems of notebooks at once with the release of its GSG series hard drives. Though measuring the same 1.8 inches across as many ultraportable disks, the GSG drives spin at 5,400RPM -- much faster than the 4,200RPM of most same-size drives and enough to provide the same speed expected of larger 2.5-inch notebook drives. It also connects through Serial ATA rather than the more common Parallel ATA for 1.8-inch drives, giving it more headroom for quick bursts of data.

Versions of the drive ship with either 80GB (MK8016GSG) or 120GB (MK1216GSG) of storage. Both are 8mm (0.3in) tall and provide greater shock resistance than larger 2.5-inch disks, Toshiba claims. Mass production of both drives starts in April and should see ultraportable notebooks ship with the technology shortly afterwards. The company has not named customers but is likely to make the drives available as stand-alone purchases through some computer resellers.