Seagate announced that its 40GB, 60GB and 80GB LD25 Series Hard Drives have started to ship to a new generation of technology appliance manufacturers.

The LD25 Series drive provides an ideal combination of capacity and size for leading-edge game consoles, low-profile set-top boxes, home entertainment devices, small-form-factor computing applications, and other emerging fixed applications1.

Next generation gaming consoles will be the first-to-market with the new 60GB LD25 Series Hard Drive and are increasingly utilizing hard drive technology, to enable a more satisfying and exciting gaming experience. Gaming consoles with an embedded or attached hard drive are capable of delivering a more comprehensive set of features than those without hard drive storage. The LD25 Series drive allows gamers to download digital content - such as game levels, characters, maps, weapons and vehicles, game demos, video trailers and audio files; support their custom music playlists in every game; store video messages from friends; and save games. In addition, hard drives enable gamers to purchase digital content for a much richer and robust gaming experience.

According to In-Stat, worldwide console and handheld online gaming subscribers numbered 3.4 million in 2004, and could exceed 30 million by 2009.

"Hard drive storage has the ideal capacity, price and multi-stream capability needed to enable content-rich features, like video, photos and uncompressed music, in gaming, home entertainment centers, embedded DVRs and other CE applications," said Rob Pait, director of Global Consumer Electronics Marketing at Seagate. "The LD25 Series drives provide a unique combination of small size and media-focused design that will further promote and enable these new, creative designs."

Driving Video Games, New TVs, Small Form-factor PCs and Other Technology Appliances The LD25 Series drives are available in 40GB, 60GB and 80GB capacity points. The increase in capacity from the previous generation, made possible with Seagate perpendicular recording technology, is required for the wider variety of media being downloaded into new systems. For example, video game consoles are now centers for downloaded games, music and media; embedded DVR TVs are recording video content without an external box attached; and lower-profile set-top boxes are storing IPTV and other content being distributed in interesting new ways. The LD25 Series hard drives also feature Seagate's patented SoftSonic fluid dynamic bearing motors for super-quiet operation and high reliability. Seagate's industry leading DynaPlay technology optimizes the drive for media streaming, power consumption and content security and enables smaller, simpler, and more cost-effective applications.