Samsung promises 0.85-inch disk drive

Rethink IT, Nov, 2004

Trust Samsung to join in a monster market that is just about to take off, and it says that it is working on an 0.85 inch disk drive to include in consumer electronics devices and mobile phones.

Samsung told CNET that the device is still in the R&D stages and it doesn't know when the device might come to market. Samsung made history recently as the first company to launch a mobile phone with a microdrive installed in it, although this was a 1 inch drive with 1.5Gb of capacity.

This was obviously bought in from one of the other existing microdrive makers, most likely Hitachi, Toshiba or Cornice.

Earlier this year Hitachi said that it will double its low end disk drive manufacture to 60m, including 8m 1 inch drives. While Toshiba said in May that it had the world's first 0.85 inch drive, offering 2Gb and 4Gb versions going into production about now

China's GS Magicstor also promised a 0.85 inch devices at the Hannover Fair this year.