Toshiba 1.8-inch Hard Drives Reach 160 GB

Toshiba has announced a 160 GB 1.8-inch hard drive, aimed at personal electronics and portable media players - you know, like the iPod.

If one of your lamentations about Apple’s new iPod lineup is that 120 GB just isn’t enough storage capacity for your portable media needs, Toshiba has some good news for you: the company has pushed the capacity of its 1.8-inch hard disk drives out to 160 GB (PDF)—a fact that surely won’t be lost on the good folks in Cupertino, or makers of other video-oriented media players and consumer electronics devices around the world.

The MK1626GCB 1.8-ich hard drive uses an 8mm, two-platter design and uses improved read/write heads to achieve an areal density of 353 megabits per square millimeter, or 228 gigabits per square inch. It also uses just 0.0002 Watts per gigabyte, which is about a third less power than the company’s earlier 100 GB model. Toshiba is also offering a 5mm, single-platter 80 GB model, the MK8022GAA.

"Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch HDDs build on our long-time leadership in this key product segment and gives CE manufacturers the tools to create smaller, lighter and more compelling handheld devices," said Scott Maccabe, vice president and general manager of Toshiba Storage Device Division, in a statement.

Expect to see the 160 GB drives turn up at the high end of consumer electronic devices hitting shelves for the upcoming end-of-year holidays.