Toshiba today announced that its 2GB 0.85-inch hard disk drive (HDD) will begin shipping at the end of January 2005 with the company's 4GB 0.85-inch drive planned for shipment in mid-2005.

Toshiba's 0.85-inch HDD, the first drive to provide multi-gigabyte storage capacity in a sub-one-inch form factor, will enable unprecedented functionality for next-generation mobile digital devices, including mobile phones, digital audio players, PDAs, digital still cameras, camcorders and external storage devices by providing a high-capacity storage solution in a compact design. As Toshiba begins to incorporate Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology into its hard disk drives, the company is planning for capacities of 6GB to 8GB in the 0.85-inch HDD by 2006.

"As portable digital devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the demand for high-performance, small form factor HDDs has given the storage industry a tremendous challenge," said Scott Maccabe, vice president and general manager, Toshiba SDD. "Toshiba has pushed the envelope of HDD technology with this thumb-sized drive to give the consumer electronics industry a powerful tool for turning mobile gadgets into more compelling entertainment and personal productivity tools."

For more information about Toshiba's 0.85-inch HDDs, visit: www.harddrives.toshiba.com.