Toshiba announced this week that Guinness World Records has certified its 0.85-inch hard disk drive (HDD) as the smallest HDD in the world, and will feature it in the 2005 edition, scheduled to be on sale in September 2004. The Guinness World Records Book is one of the world's most popular publications, the book most people reach for when they want to confirm outstanding achievements in all walks of life, Toshiba says.

Toshiba claims its 0.85-inch HDD, announced in January 2004, is the first HDD to deliver multi-gigabyte data storage in a sub-one-inch form factor. The 0.85-inch measurement refers to the diameter of the magnetic disk to which data is recorded. With initial capacities of 2 to 4 GB, the drive is capable of providing light weight, compact, high capacity storage to mobile phones, digital camcorders, and portable storage devices.

David Hawksett, Science & Technology editor at Guinness World Records, said: “Hard drive technology has come a long way since the introduction of the very first model in the US in 1956. That model needed fifty two-foot disks to store just 4.4 MB and the cost was astronomical. Data storage is rarely a topic that excites the public. However, Toshiba's innovation means that I could soon hold more information in my watch than I could on my desktop computer, just a few years ago.”

Toshiba says it expects to start sampling the drive in mid-2004, and to start mass production by the end of the year.

 
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