Toshiba delays 1.8-inch hard drives

Toshiba will be releasing its 30GB and 60GB 1.8-inch hard drives later than expected. The company announced Wednesday it will be offering the drives in the fourth quarter. Earlier this year, the company said the drives would be released in late summer or early fall. A company representative said the drives wouldn't be available in high quantities until late in the fourth quarter.

While other types of storage, such as removable flash memory, have their advantages, such as being more portable or being less likely to skip, hard drives are an attractive storage medium for manufacturers because, in cost-per-byte point, they are one of the more affordable options in the market. Apple Computer uses Toshiba's drives in its hard drive-based iPod digital audio players. The company has used higher capacities drives as they have become available. iPods currently top out at 40GB.