Toshiba claims another industry first by becoming the first hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturer to reach the 100GB milestone for small form factor, 1.8-inch hard disk drives.

The new drive, MK1011GAH, employs perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology and an improved error correction code to secure the highest areal density of any 1.8-inch HDD in the market, 240.8 megabits per square millimeter (155.3 gigabits per square inch). Utilising the new ATA-7 interface and delivering a data transfer rate of 100 MB/s, the drive can be used in video playback devices. Furthermore, the Low Insertion Force (LIF) connector supports the drives smaller form factor without inhibiting the performance of the hard disk drive to its hosting device.

Alongside capacity improvement, Toshiba has also improved power consumption to 0.003W/GB. The new drive also complies with the EU's RoHS directive, which came into force in July 2006.

Toshiba will feature the new drive at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 to 11, at booth 12832. Mass production of the drive will start from January 2007, the company said.