Tokyo--Toshiba Corporation today announced four high-capacity, high-performance hard-disk drives that reinforce its industry-leading position in state-of-the-art 2.5-inch drives for slim-line portable PCs. The new lineup offers an 18.1-gigabyte drive in a 12.5mm-high form factor, and 12-gigabyte, 6.4-gigabyte, and 6-gigabyte drives in a form factor only 9.5mm high. Mass production will start in August.

All the new drives employ improved giant magnetoresistive (GMR) heads and a Head Load/Unload mechanism. Toshiba's latest enhancements to GMR-head technology has increased data storage density to an industry leading 10.8 to 11.6Gbpsi (gigabits per square inch). The Head Load/Unload mechanism isolates the head from the disk when it is not executing read-write instructions, giving drives increased resistance to shock and supporting higher bit density.

Advances in software and hardware place increasingly heavy demands on hard disk drives. Operating systems and application software need ever-more disk space, and data-rich video and image sources are now part of everyday computing. At the same time, the market wants slimmer, lighter portable PCs that consume less power while offering the same functionality as desktops. As hard drive manufacturers try to meet these demands, Toshiba has led the way with slim, high-capacity, high-performance drives that offer excellent reliability, maximized battery life and a high resistance to external shock.

The new 18.1-gigabyte, 12.5mm high drive is a world leader in its class and provides an ideal solution for high-end notebook PCs. The 12-, 6.4- and 6-gigabyte 9.5mm high drives set new world standards for super-slim portable PCs.

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