Toshiba Introduces High-Performance Half-Terabyte 2.5-Inch HDD

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. and the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced a new family of high-performance 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch HDDs, including a top-end half-terabyte capacity.

The four-model line-up delivers more than a 13 percent performance improvement in disk operations compared to Toshiba's previous 7,200 RPM family, while decreasing environmental impact by eliminating or reducing the use of certain toxic and hazardous chemicals. The series also carries the SATA-certified 3Gb/s logo, which indicates successful completion of stringent interface compliance testing defined by the Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the industry body responsible for setting the standards for Serial ATA interface technologies.

Toshiba's high-performance MKxx56GSYseries offers capacities up to 500GB(1) for commercial and consumer notebook PCs, gaming notebooks and all-in-one desktop PCs. In addition to enhanced performance, the MKxx56GSY models boost responsiveness of the overall system in areas such as application loading and general data processing. The family also offers extended battery life with lower power consumption in standby and sleep modes and faster start-up operation, thereby enhancing user experience.

With these performance features, the new line is well-suited for productivity-oriented, data-intensive and gaming applications, including general computing, graphic and image rendering, and scientific computing, while the power economies make it a fit for all-in-one and EnergyStar PCs.

The series also features best-in-class areal density of 395 Gb/in(2). At 500GB, the top-capacity HDD can store up to either 142,000 digital photos, 131,000 digital music files, 222 hours of DVD-quality video or 58 hours of high-definition video(3).As notebook shipments exceeded desktop shipments for the first time in the third quarter of 2008, according to industry analyst firm IDC(4), PC manufacturers are looking for 2.5-inch HDDs to provide storage capacities and performance levels that rival larger form factor drives for a similar user experience.

"This new family delivers faster overall system performance, which boosts user productivity -- a key differentiator that PC manufacturers can provide to commercial and consumer notebook users," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division. "As a result, we expect that 7,200 RPM HDDs will grow to more than 25 percent of 2.5-inch HDD shipments within two years. In addition to the half-terabyte capacity, decreased environmental impact and low power consumption are also benefits, demonstrating Toshiba's continued leadership in delivering the right solutions to meet emerging market needs."

Environmentally Conscious HDDs

The environmental enhancements in the MKxx56GSY line are part of Toshiba's ongoing commitment to transitioning its HDD products to environmentally sounder solutions by the end of 2009. Since September 2008, new HDDs manufactured by Toshiba have decreased or eliminated the use of hazardous or controversial chemical substances, such as antimony trioxide, BFR (brominated flame retardant), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), red phosphorous as well as chlorine and bromine. Toshiba also curtailed usage of all chemicals listed under the European RoHS(5) directive, achieving RoHS compliance across its full product line before mandatory restrictions came into effect.

SATA-Certified LogoThe SATA-certified logo is a program designed by the SATA-IO consortium to easily identify products that adhere to the Serial ATA standard and provide seamless integration across other SATA-compliant components. Products carrying the SATA-certified logo have passed extensive testing for compliance to the SATA specification. The 250GB-per-platter, 7200 RPM, MKxx56GSY series successfully completed the SATA testing and is certified at both the 3Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s interface transfer rates. The MKxx56GSY will be displayed in the SATA-certified section of the SATA-IO booth at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco September 22-24.

"Compliance with the SATA interface specification and other industry standards is of key importance to Toshiba storage products, as standards establish the foundation on which mainstream solutions can be built," Brzeski said. "Standards reduce the risk of integration for our customers and provide the best criteria for interoperability available for the products we design and market."

Information and Availability

Toshiba's new 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch HDD series began shipment to PC manufacturers in limited quantities in the third quarter and is scheduled to enter volume production in the fourth quarter of 2009. For more information on Toshiba's line of industry-leading small form factor hard drives, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

  Product Specifications  Model Number                                      MKXX56GSY
  Maximum Capacity (Formatted)(1)        500GB / 320GB //250GB / 160GB(1)
  Number of platters                                 2 // 1
  Areal density (max)                             395 Gb/in(2)
  Media transfer rate (max)                        1,255 Mbps
  Average seek time                                  11 ms
  Rotational speed                                 7,200 RPM
  Buffer memory                                       16MB
  Interface                             SATA 3.0Gb/s (and SATA 1.5Gb/s)
                                        Serial ATA Revision 2.6 (ATA-8)
  Interface transfer rate                          3.0 Gb/sec
  External dimensions  (WxDxH; mm)        69.85mm x 100.0mm x 9.5mm
  Weight (g)                                   115 // 98 g (max)
  Energy consumption efficiency     0.0020 / 0.0031 // 0.0040 / 0.0063 W/GB
  Shock resistance:
         Operating                         3,185 m/s(2) (325 G, 2ms)
     Non-operating                         8,820 m/s(2) (900 G, 1ms)

  About Toshiba Storage Device DivisionToshiba SDD, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., leads the market in the development, design and manufacturing of small form factor 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch hard disk drives for original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, value-added dealers, systems integrators, distributors and retailers in the United States. The company also offers a line of high-quality personal storage devices that enable consumers to quickly and easily back-up personal digital content and entertainment libraries. Inherent in the Toshiba storage family are the high-quality engineering and manufacturing capabilities that have established Toshiba products as worldwide leaders. For more information, visit www.toshibastorage.com.
About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS)
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry-leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. Toshiba Corporation is a world leader and innovator in high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products. These products span from information and communication systems: digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; as well as power systems including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances. Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 730 companies, with 199,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing U.S. $67 billion (FY2008). For more information on Toshiba's leading innovations, visit the company's Web site at www.toshiba.com.

2009 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice.

(1) One Gigabyte (1 GB) means 109 =1,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1 GB = 230= 1,073,741,824 bytes, and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system. Examples of the number of photos, songs, movies, and any other files that can be stored on a hard drive are provided for illustrative purposes only. Your results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, operating system, software and other factors.

(2) Maximum areal density supported on the 500 and 250GB models.(3) Examples of the number of photos, songs, movies, and any other files that can be stored on a hard drive are provided for illustrative purposes only. Results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, operating system, software and other factors.

(4) IDC, U.S. Quarterly PC Tracker report, October 2008.

(5) RoHS Compatible: This product is compatible with European Union Directive 2002/95/EC. Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS), which restricts use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and ploybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE).