Toshiba’s Storage Device Division announced its latest 1.8″ hard disk drives.

For more information visit: www.toshibastorage.com

Unedited press release follows:

Toshiba Expands 1.8” HDD Leadership with Smaller, Larger Capacity Drives

Tablets, Consumer Electronics Devices, External Drives Will All Benefit From LIF SATA Connectivity, Vibration Robustness, Up to 220GB Capacity in 5mmH Form Factor

IRVINE, Calif.–Extending its innovation in the 1.8” hard disk drive (HDD) category, Toshiba Storage Device Division announces the industry’s first 1.8” drives with low-insertion force (LIF) SATA (Serial ATA) connectors, enabling a 10% smaller footprint compared to standard 1.8” drives using microSATA connectors. Developed for use in multiple devices, including tablets, consumer electronics devices and external HDDs, the new MKxx39GSL series offers three models, at 160GB (MK1639GSL), 200GB (MK2039GSL) and 220GB (MK2239GSL) capacities. The MK2239GSL features the largest capacity 1.8” single-platter HDD (5mmH) available. The MK2239GSL, MK2039GSL, and the MK1639GSL are designed for the most demanding mobile computing applications, surpassing 2.5” HDDs in terms of vibration robustness, low power consumption, and quiet operation. Samples will be available for customer qualification in February.

“These new drives build on Toshiba’s history of innovation and leadership in the 1.8” drive segment,” said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of mobile marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Designers of next-generation consumer electronics, tablets, and mobile devices need disk drives that will stand up to the demands of day-to-day usage in a world increasingly defined by mobility and connectivity to all forms of content. These newest members of our 1.8” family are designed to meet those demands.”

The MKxx39GSL family is designed for applications requiring not only the smaller, lighter footprint of 1.8” drives, but also the highest possible storage capacities. Both feature a 16MB buffer for improved performance. The drives are capable of withstanding the demands of mobility usage, tolerating up to 1,500Gs of non-operational shock and 600Gs of operational shock, compared to 900G of non-operational shock and 400G of operational shock for the most robust 2.5-inch HDDs currently available. The drives are also exceptionally quiet, operating at 14dB at idle and 15dB at seek, and require only 0.35 Watts of power at low power idle, the smallest power consumption levels for any SATA drive. All of this performance is delivered in a form factor of just 48g/5x54x71mm.

Toshiba has pioneered the development and advancement of 1.8” drives, starting with the industry’s first volume 1.8” drives in 2000. Industry analyst firm IDC reported that Toshiba shipped more than 92% of all 1.8” drives on a global basis in the third quarter of 2010.

“The proliferation of devices targeted at media-savvy and media-hungry consumers and businesses have been a major factor in the continued demand for higher-capacity mobile hard disk drives,” said John Rydning, research director, IDC. “Regardless of the device, customers expect to be able to store and access their favorite content, applications, and key data wherever they are.”

For more information on the Toshiba line of industry-leading enterprise-class small form factor SSDs and HDDs, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

Product specifications:

About Toshiba Storage
Toshiba is a one-of-a-kind global storage company, offering hard disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives (ODDs), solid state drives (SSDs) and NAND flash memories – technologies that drive a wide range of consumer electronics, computer and automotive applications, as well as enterprise solutions for the global marketplace. Toshiba leads in the development, design and manufacture of mobile, retail and enterprise hard disk drives. In North America, the Storage Device Division of Toshiba markets high-quality storage peripherals to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, value-added resellers, value-added dealers, systems integrators, distributors and retailers worldwide. Inherent in the Toshiba storage family are the high-quality engineering and manufacturing capabilities that have established Toshiba products as innovation leaders worldwide. For more information, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

About Toshiba
Toshiba is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; 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 204,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.2 trillion yen (US$75 billion). Visit Toshiba’s web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.

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; televisions, TV/DVD Combination products, Blu-ray Disc and DVD products and portable devices; 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 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 is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information and communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; 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 740 companies, with 204,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.3 trillion yen (US$68 billion). For more information on Toshiba leading innovations, visit the company’s web site at www.toshiba.com.

1. One Gigabyte (1GB) means 109 = 1,000,000,000 bytes, one Terabyte (TB) means 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, and one Petabyte means 1015 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB = 230 = 1,073,741,824 bytes, 1TB = 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, and 1PB = 250 = 1,125,899,906,842,624 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, such as Microsoft Operating System and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.