A Stamp Sized HD In The Next iPod mini

messiahtoshmessiahtosh
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
http://www.macminute.com/2004/03/16/guinness



Would Apple be able to effectively use a stamp sized .85 inch HD in a functional iPod?



March 16, 2004 - 05:28 EST__ Toshiba today said that Guinness World Records has certified its "stamp-sized" hard disk drives (HDD) as the world's smallest, reports Reuters. The 0.85-inc HDD can store up to 4GB and the company hopes to begin production by the end of this year. The 1.8-inch version of this disk is used in Apple's iPod digital music players.







Toshiba's Website push the envelope on small form factor storage with its latest market introduction, a multi-gigabyte hard drive that is 0.85 inches in diameter.



Only a quarter the size of a 1.8-inch hard disk drive and about the size of

a postage stamp, the 0.85-inch HDD will boost the functionality of a new generation of products, including mobile phones, digital audio players, PDAs, digital still cameras, camcorders and more.



2.0/4.0 Gigabytes*

Small Size

Lightweight, less than 10 grams

Low Power Consumption__



*Toshiba defines a megabyte (MB) as 1,000,000 bytes and a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    I don't think the question is "could Apple use it?" because I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult.



    Rather, the question is "is this cost effective?" and "does the difference in price justify the change in size of an already tiny drive?" After all, the drive isn't what makes up the bulk of the current iPod mini anyway.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    It would be a huge mistake for Apple to eschew the tried and true Hitachi Microdrive for something barely smaller right now. Hitachi's Microdrives have been available in some form for 5+ years.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    messiahtoshmessiahtosh Posts: 1,754member
    The interesting thing to me is the fact that it comes in 2 and 4 gigs, meaning it is possible (though possibly as Brad said, potentially not cost effective) to have it be used. Maybe Apple will continue to use the Hitachi drives in the 4 gig model and then use a 2 gig Toshiba drive for the lower capacity, miniature mini?8)
  • Reply 4 of 16
    chris cuillachris cuilla Posts: 4,825member
    The most likely thing I would see is Apple using this (and other components) to build a variety of "iPod" form-factors and devices. iPod and an iPod Mini are likely just a start.
  • Reply 5 of 16
    macworkmacwork Posts: 57member
    http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/0...eut/index.html



    This may have already been posted but I just saw it on cnn.com
  • Reply 6 of 16
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    Holy high density data, Batman!



    I wouldn't have figured HDD bits/inch would catch up with RAM bits/inch so fast.



    Damn!



    Probably a lot cheaper than a 4GB DIMM, too.
  • Reply 7 of 16
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    That's a really big quarter...
  • Reply 8 of 16
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    I guess we know the mini's next size. 8GB...two of those suckers in.



    The add will read...



    Mini iPod, Mini Size, Mini RAID, BIG SOUND.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ast3r3x

    I guess we know the mini's next size. 8GB...two of those suckers in.



    The add will read...



    Mini iPod, Mini Size, Mini RAID, BIG SOUND.



    Have you seen the price tag for that drive yet?
  • Reply 10 of 16
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by LoCash

    Have you seen the price tag for that drive yet?



    No, but I wasn't serious either.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by LoCash

    Have you seen the price tag for that drive yet?



    Have you seen the price tag for the drive currently shipping in the mini? It's a lot higher than the price of the mini.



    I doubt we'll see it tomorrow, but you can bet Apple has their eyes on this drive.
  • Reply 12 of 16
    johnhenryjohnhenry Posts: 152member
    What I can't believe is that 1997 doesn't seem like that long ago, yet I remember thinking the 4gb HD that came with my spankin' new PC was HUGE! Wow how times change....the freakin' things are the size of a quarter.



    Amazing.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    johnhenryjohnhenry Posts: 152member
    It seems unlikely the ipod will get any smaller than the mini no matter what the technology. You need at least a certain size to hold and read the thing. The mini is the perfect size. The storage will increase but a "mini" mini won't happen.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    Have you seen the price tag for the drive currently shipping in the mini? It's a lot higher than the price of the mini.



    I doubt we'll see it tomorrow, but you can bet Apple has their eyes on this drive.



    Nope, I don't know how much this tiny drive costs either, I was actually curious since people seemed to have read the article, and I did not want to
  • Reply 15 of 16
    xxtitaniumxxxxtitaniumxx Posts: 21member
    think outside the mini for a second. If and when the drives become less costly, the smaller drive could allow for a small device to have more room for other components outside of the relm of just mp3 playback.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Threads merged and moved to Digital Hub.
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