Toshiba launches 240GB 1.8-inch HDD

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced the world's first dual-platter 240GB(1) (MK2431GAH) and single-platter 120GB (MKxx31GAL series) 1.8-inch HDDs for integration into portable media players, camcorders and compact ultra-mobile PCs for the holiday shopping season. The new MKxx31GAL series also includes an 80GB capacity offering, rounding out the most complete line of high-capacity 4,200 RPM 1.8-inch HDDs for consumer electronics (CE) and mobile PC system manufacturers.

Toshiba's two new Parallel ATA HDD families feature the industry's highest areal density at 344 gigabits-per-square-inch, using fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology, which was first introduced and commercialized by Toshiba in 2005. Toshiba's technology leadership in PMR has enabled the company to consistently deliver leading-edge capacities in the 1.8-inch form factor to support growing demand for the miniaturization of mobile devices to run digital video, photo, audio and computing applications.

The new 1.8-inch HDD series uses a new mechanical and firmware design for enhanced durability, making the 80GB and 120GB single-platter HDDs well-suited for slim-line mobile gadgets and PC applications. The new dual-platter 240GB MK2431GAH product is especially suitable for light-weight mobile PC applications and high-end digital video camcorders, which require high capacity and ruggedness to protect users' valuable digital assets.

Design elements incorporated in the 240GB MK2431GAH optimize power performance to new levels with a 33 percent overall improvement in energy consumption efficiency over Toshiba's previous generation two-platter, 160GB 3,600 RPM 1.8-inch model. In addition, Toshiba's entire line of new 4,200 RPM 1.8-inch HDDs delivers solid performance while state-of-the-art electrical components reduce power consumption during read and write operations by 20 percent, resulting in a cumulative improvement in power management. In addition, PC applications benefit from the performance boost of an 8MB buffer.