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Just a few months ago we reported that Toshiba had turned up the spin-speed on its 1.8-inch hard drives to 5400 rpm. And now Toshiba’s squeezed yet more storage onto those tiny spinning platters, beefing the storage capactity up to 160GB. Apparently it’s the industry’s first such drive with a serial ATA interface and it’s exactly the sort of thing that could become your ultra-portable PC’s new best friend when it goes into mass production in August, alongside a smaller 80GB version. Full press release below.

Jun 11, 2008 01:00

Toshiba’s New 1.8-Inch HDD Achieves 160GB, the Industry’s Largest(1) Storage Capacity for Drive with a Serial ATA Interface

TOKYO —(Business Wire)— Jun. 11, 2008 Toshiba Corporation today announced a new line-up of 1.8-inch hard disk drives (HDD) adopting a serial ATA interface, including the industry’s first(1) drive of this type with a capacity of 160 gigabytes. The new 160GB drive, MK1617GSG, and an 80GB drive, MK8017GSG, will enter mass production in August.
Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch HDDs boost interface speed to 1.5Gbps and offer a rotation speed of 5,400 rpm, faster than the current generation of Toshiba 1.8-inch HDD (MK1214GAH, parallel ATA, 120GB). By realizing the industry’s first 160GB 1.8-inch drive with a serial ATA interface, Toshiba assures that mobile PCs will be able to meet the most demanding user needs.

The new MK1617GSG drive is more environmentally efficient than Toshiba’s current MK1216GSG (120GB) model, and raises energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.00281W/GB, a 25% improvement. The drive improves the maximum internal data transfer rate by approximately 17%, and supports faster data access in reading and writing that enhances overall performance.

Alongside Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD of 80GB and 120GB serial ATA interface drives already in the market, the new drives will provide product manufacturers with a broad line-up that supports diverse applications. The new drives will also contribute to achievement of environmentally conscious products in full compliance with the EU’s RoHS directive(2). -0-

Outline of New Models
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Model name Formatted Capacity Dimensions Weight
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MK1617GSG 160GB 54.0 x 78.5 x 8.0mm 62g
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MK8017GSG 80GB 54.0 x 78.5 x 8.0mm 60g
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Background

Hard disk drives for mobile PCs must be small, light and able to withstand vibration and shock. While Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD are more robust than 2.5-inch HDD, they have not matched the larger drives in data transfer rates. However, the company’s new 1.8-inch HDD combine a serial ATA interface with a faster rotational speed to realize a high speed transfer rate. Building on the achievements of providing a 1.8- inch HDD that employs industry’s largest capacity with a serial ATA interface, and expanding its product line-up, Toshiba will continue efforts to provide innovative products that meet market needs for HDD integrated mobile PCs.

Key Features of New Products

1. Industry’s largest storage capacity:160GB (MK1617GSG)

The new MK 1617GSG brings the industry’s largest capacity of 160GB to a 1.8-inch HDD with a serial ATA interface.

2. Improved energy consumption efficiency (MK1617GSG)

Compared to the MK1216GSG (Serial ATA, 120GB, 1.8-inch HDD), the new MK1617GSG raises energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.00281W/GB, a 25% improvement.

3. Lighter weight (MK8017GSG)

The new 80GB drive weighs only 60g, 3% lighter than the MK8016GSG (serial ATA, 80GB, 1.8-inch HDD).

4. Higher rotational speed (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)

The serial ATA interface supports an interface speed of 1.5Gbps, surpassing the performance of drives with a parallel ATA interface. The drives also operate at a maximum rotation speed of 5,400 rpm, 29% faster than Toshiba’s current MK1214GAH (parallel ATA, 120GB, 1.8-inch HDD), supporting much faster data transfers. The disk’s higher areal density improves the maximum internal data transfer rate by approximately 17%, and supports faster data access in reading and writing that enhances overall performance.

5. High vibration and shock resistance (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)

Compared to current 2.5-inch HDD (MK1652GSX), the new drives offer the higher levels of vibration and shock resistance needed in mobile PCs.

6. Environmentally conscious products offering efficient power consumption (MK1617GSG and MK8017GSG)

Alongside capacity improvement, Toshiba has also achieved a power consumption efficiency of 0.00281W/GB for the MK1617GSG, and 0.00563W/GB for MK8017GSG, as defined in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Energy Conservation Law, assuring a more environmentally friendly design. The new drives also comply with the EU’s RoHS directive.

(1) The industry’s largest commercially available capacity in a serial ATA interface 1.8-inch hard disk drive, as of June 11, 2008 (source: Toshiba)

(2) The RoHS Directive, which came into effect in July 2006, is a European Union directive that eliminates the use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

Toshiba Group, a Corporate Citizen of the Planet Earth, is committed to realizing a better environment. Guided by Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050 Toshiba Group is implementing measures to boost environmental efficiency by 10 times in FY2050, against the benchmark of FY2000. Toshiba Group is seeking to reduce CO2 emissions by a total equivalent to 57.6 million tons by FY2025, through the development and sales of high efficiency power supply equipment and systems, and the manufacture of environmentally conscious home appliances and office equipment. By working to mitigate global warming, make efficient use of resources and control management of chemicals, Toshiba creates value for people and promotes lifestyles in harmony with earth. -0-

Main Specifications
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Model name MK1617GSG MK8017GSG
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Formatted capacity 160GB 80GB
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Number of platters 2 1
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Number of heads 4 2
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Average seek time 15msec
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Rotational speed 5,400rpm
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Interface Serial-ATA
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Interface speed 1.5Gbps
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Dimensions (W x D x H, mm) 54.0 (W) x 78.5 (D) x 8.0 (H)
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Weight 62g (max) 60g (max)
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Energy consumption efficiency 0.00281W/GB 0.00563W/GB
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Operating: 4,900 m/s2 (500G, 2msec)
Shock resistance —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—
Non-operating: 14,700 m/s2 (1,500G, 1msec)
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Note: Hard disk capacity is calculated on the basis of 1MB = 1-million bytes, and 1GB = 1-billion bytes.
[Toshiba]