Toshiba 1.8-inch hard drive hits the 240GB mark

The internal of Toshiba's new dual-platter 1.8-inch hard drive

(Credit: Toshiba)

Toshiba announced on Tuesday two new 1.8-inch hard drives, including the single-platter 120GB (MKxx31GAL series) and the world's first dual-platter 240GB (MK2431GAH) internal hard drives. The single-platter version also includes an 80GB offering.

Generally speaking, 1.8-inch hard drives are small form factor portable hard drives, where the regular size is 2.5-inch--and used mostly in portable media players, camcorders and compact ultramobile PCs.

These two new hard drives use the Parallel ATA interface and feature the industry's highest area density at 344 gigabits per square inch. They incorporate the fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which Toshiba first introduced in 2005.

The new 1.8-inch HDD series uses a new mechanical and firmware design for enhanced durability, well-suited for slim mobile gadgets as well as PC applications. The new dual-platter 240GB product is especially suitable for lightweight mobile PC devices and high-end digital video camcorders.

Both new hard drives are designed to use up to 33 percent less energy than previous model and also spin faster at 4,200rpm (up from 3,600rpm). They also comes with 8MB of cache for better write and read performance.

While you might have no need to buy these new hard drives on your own, you will find likely find them incorporated into CE and mobile products shipping this holiday season. Maybe it's time you can start expecting a 240GB iPod. Now that would be really nice.