Toshiba 30GB and 60GB 'iPod' hard drives delayed

Cnet reports that Toshiba's 30GB and 60GB 1.8 inch hard drives are delayed. The company announced that they will offer these drives in the fourth quarter, while they previously stated that they would be available in late summer of early fall. A representative from Toshiba told that the drives won't be available in high quantities until late in the fourth quarter.

While other types of storage, such as removable flash memory, have their advantages, such as being more portable or being less likely to skip, hard drives are an attractive storage medium for manufacturers because, in cost-per-byte point, they are one of the more affordable options in the market. Apple Computer uses Toshiba's drives in its hard drive-based iPod digital audio players. The company has used higher capacities drives as they have become available. iPods currently top out at 40GB.

Source: Cnet