Cornice launches small 4GB Storage Element

Cornice today announced a revolutionary new 4.0-gigabyte Storage Element (SE). This new product will allow OEMs to extend the functionality of the latest consumer electronics devices while offering revolutionary new features at shelf prices that can only be enabled by Cornice's unique low cost architecture. MP3 players, cell phones, personal video recorders and GPS devices will all be immediately enhanced by this new SE.

Cornice's unique architecture lowers cost by using only one side of the disk and removing components not needed in small portable electronic devices. At 4.0-gigabytes on one side, Cornice remains firmly in the leadership position for storage density.

Cornice technology ensures that consumer electronics devices will provide continuous and uninterrupted playback even during today's most active lifestyles. The new Cornice 4.0-gigabyte SE is protected by Cornice's second-generation ruggedness design, Crash Guard II, and can withstand excessive shaking, extreme drops, and other abuse without skipping, stopping, or crashing.

Crash Guard II consists of:

Active Latch -- When dropped, the most common damage to a hard drive occurs when the head scrapes across the surface of the disk (not unlike the needle scratching across an old vinyl LP record when the turntable was bumped). Cornice not only removes the head from the disk, but also securely locks it in place with an active latch mechanism whenever the drive is not actively seeking data.

Skip Control -- Hard drives are going places they have never been before -- jogging, 4-wheel driving, skydiving -- and are expected to operate even with excessive and repetitive motion. Cornice designed the SE from the ground up to withstand the most extreme conditions while providing continuous playback without skipping or restarting.

Drop Safe -- The newest feature in the Crash Guard family allows the SE to actually sense being dropped. This means that even if the SE is in the middle of reading or writing data to the disk, it can immediately react and place the head safety under the active latch well before the unit actually strikes the ground.

Since its initial launch in 2003, Cornice has driven innovation and achieved first-to-market status in five separate categories -- the mobile phone, digital video camera, pocket-able digital audio, personal storage (USB stick storage), and GPS markets with customers such as Archos, Garmin, Philips, Rio, Samsung and Sony.

The 4.0-gigabyte SE with Crash Guard II technology will be available in July 2005 at $65 per unit in quantities of 10,000. More info can be found at Cornice's product page.