Desk topics: time for disk drive debuts

Electronic News, June 8, 1992 by Gerry Khermouch

Time for Disk Drive Debuts

Summer's on the way, PC and notebook computer sales seem to be clipping along nicely again, and Taiwanese computer makers are hosting a big show in Taipei. What better time for disk drive builders, who've been restrained on the pricing front, to inject a little more heat into their lives with a raft of introductions in the burgeoning 1.8-inch and the high-capacity 2.5-inch segments?

On the 1.8-inch front, the big news is Seagate--and maybe Conner. Seagate last week became the first major vendor to formally roll out a 1.8-inch unit, with models in the 40-, 65- and 80MB (formatted) range. Indeed, the 65MB Model ST7075 is already shipping in evaluation quantity at $495, although the Scotts Valley, Calif., manufacturer is staying flexible about when volume deliveries will commence, and at what price. Right now, Seagate says, it looks like the fourth quarter. The 40s and 80s will be released "to meet the other application needs as they evolve," the company says.

The 65MB thus represents something of a milestone for trade show attendees who've grown accustomed to recognizing disk drive vendors by their bulging shirt pockets. They looked like heavyish cigarette lighters, but often turned out to be mockups of not-yet-ready-for-prime-time 1.8-inch drives.

Which is not the same as actually bringing out a model and putting it on the table, which is what Seagate has done. Some other drive executives, not yet ready to reveal their own 1.8-inch plans, say the Seagate drive confirms their own still-conditional conclusions about the potential market.

"We expect, like Seagate, that 60MB is the minimum that people will want to see," said John Klonick, a product-line manager at Milpitas-based Quantum Corp. The Seagate drive's high shock resistance--up to 20Gs of operating shock--meets another clear dictate of the market. He noted, though, that Seagate obtains that capacity with a two-disk, two-head product--"so there's a cost factor, there."

The pioneer of the form factor, Integral Peripherals, seems to have reached the same conclusion. Last week, it bumped up the capacity of its own offering to 60MB, using the mechanics of its existing 40MB Stingray model in the new Maverick, priced in quantity at $375 and slated to ship in volume early in the third quarter. The Maverick also is available in a PCMCIA-standard format for use as a removable drive, a feature that Seagate president Al Shugart said he plans to show by the fall Comdex expo. Another small firm, MiniStor, was first to offer one of those.

The next major into the fray? Perhaps Conner, which tries not to be third into too many markets. Observers expect to see a gamut of drives later this month, probably including a gigabyte-range 3.5-inch unit, and maybe a 1.8-inch.

Meanwhile, activity is also intense for high-capacity 2.5-inch drives. Quantum, as anticipated, has brought out a single-disk, 80MB model and two-disk 160. That represents a doubling in disk capacity in less than a year, and probably a per-platter capacity record for a conventional 2.5-inch drive.

The 80MB unit, running $395 in evaluation quantity, can support notebook computers that run Windows--a segment that has grown to nearly half the total market, Mr. Klonick believes. The two-disk, 160MB version, at $595, is targeted at 486-based notebooks and those with active-matrix displays, a segment Mr. Klonick is first to admit is hard to get a read on these days.

Seagate beefed up its own 2.5-inch line with a 210MB unit, but used three platters to do it. Like the Quantum units, the $795 Seagate drive offers low power consumption that prolongs notebook battery life. A recently introduced 2.5-inch drive from Digital Equipment offers 220MB on three platters, but at such high power consumption that it is generally limited to desktop applications.

Quantum's Mr. Klonick says higher capacities already are realizable, but warns it's too soon to get carried away. Right now, "The volume producers in the notebook market are clearly driven by lowering their costs" to the $1,000 range, he said.