Tokyo -- Toshiba Corporation today announced that it would meet fast increasing demand for its 1.8-inch hard disk drives (HDD) by doubling production to 600,000 units a month by March 2004. The innovative drive, a winner since its 2000 launch, delivers high-performance, high-capacity storage in a small form factor that has supported creation of today’s new breed of consumer electronics devices and mobile products. The drive’s versatility is reflected in the recent achievement of cumulative production of 3 million units on consistently rising demand. Toshiba will support increased production by expanding outsourcing, including manufacturing at Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd.

As the storage device of choice for some of the hottest portable gadgets on the market, Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD has supported manufacturers in delivering unprecedented functionality to exciting new mobile entertainment products. Handheld computers, ultraportable notebooks, portable handheld GPS units, MP3 players and automotive MP3 jukebox systems are just a few of the specialized digital devices made possible by the performance of Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD. And that performance, combined with superb advantages in size, weight and low power consumption, assures that Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD will continue to be a winner in the market for mobile digital products in this age of ubiquitous computing. Toshiba estimates show the market for 1.8-inch HDD rising to 25 million units in 2006.

“Toshiba is the first company to successfully market storage products in the 1.8-inch category and currently is the only 1.8-inch supplier shipping in volume today,” said Hiroyuki Sato, Senior Manager of Storage Device Div., HDD Sales & Marketing Dept. of Toshiba’s Digital Media Network Company. “We looked at the trends, listened to our customers, and were convinced that this kind of small but powerful, highly functional drive, was the right product for the fusion of computing tools and consumer electronics products.

“We were very happy to pass the milestone of production of three million units. By further increasing production capacity, we will confirm that our 1.8-inch drive is capable of driving explosive growth in smaller and more mobile digital devices. As far as we are concerned, this is only the beginning of a market where we will do all we need to do to grow and advance.”

Toshiba’s created the 1.8-inch HDD market in 2000, when it started mass production of a PC-Card-type removable 1.8-inch HDD with a 2GB capacity. The company has subsequently rolled out a series of products that consistently push back the borders of capacity and performance: a 1.8-inch, 5mm height, 5GB embedded HDD in 2001; and a 5mm height 10GB embedded model and 8mm height, 20GB and 30GB embedded HDD in 2002. Toshiba’s latest 1.8-inch embedded HDD offers a capacity of 40GB with 8mm height and a 20GB capacity with 5mm height.

The 1.8-inch HDD drive has been a key element of Toshiba’s successful strategy to expand its storage business into non-PC and consumer electronics applications. Advances in hard drive technology continues to push the limits on areal density and speed, and Toshiba has used the power of these diminutive HDDs to transform basic products into compellingly necessary power tools.

Toshiba is also a technology leader in 2.5-inch HDD. Here too demand is growing beyond the core market of portable computers, and the 2.5-inch HDD is now a key component of car navigation systems. Toshiba developed and started mass production of a highly reliable, vibration resistant 2.5-inch HDD for automotive use in 2001, and expects cumulative production of these drives to reach one million units by the end of 2003. Toshiba’s cumulative production for all 2.5-inch HDDs now stands at 60 million units.