Toshiba enters Guinness World Records Book with the world's smallest HDD

The Guinness World Records has certified Toshiba's 0.85-inch HDD as the smallest hard disk drive in the world and will feature it in the 2005 edition, scheduled to be on sale in September 2004.

Toshiba's 0.85-inch HDD, announced January 2004, is the first hard disk drive to deliver multi-gigabyte data storage in a sub-one-inch form factor. The 0.85-inch measurement refers to the diameter of the magnetic disk to which data is recorded. With initial capacities of 2 to 4 gigabytes (GB) the drive delivers enhanced storage to smaller, lighter, more efficient products, such as mobile phones, digital camcorders and portable storage devices. Toshiba expects to start sampling the drive in summer 2004 and to start mass production in autumn 2004.

The 0.85 inch HDD is expected to boost the functionality of a new generation of products, including mobile phones, digital audio players, PDAs, digital still cameras, camcorders and external storage devices.

The company notes that currently the 1.0 inch HDD is the smallest device commercially available.