Hitachi Presents "Mikey" and "Slim" Hard Drives

HGST today presented new 1" and 1.8" hard drives introduced in concept earlier this year under the monikers "Mikey" and "Slim".

Hitachi expects these two hard drives to be used in high-capacity smart phones, multi-function audio/video players and other handheld consumer devices. CE manufacturers across these segments have already designed Mikey and Slim into prototype consumer devices, the earliest of which are expected out this year.

The new drives feature higher capacity on smaller footprints, easier integration with a ZIF connector, industry-first CE-ATA interface, lower power consumption and shock protection through a number of technologies, including a new drop sensor.

Mikey, which is officially called the Hitachi Microdrive 3K8, will be available with 6GB and 8GB of storage capacity and, is said to be nearly 20% smaller and consumes 40% less power than its predecessor. The 3K8 is also the first hard drive to offer the CE-ATA interface, which is designed to support the specific relationship between small-form-factor hard drives and the handheld consumer electronic devices in which they are embedded.

Hitachi is also deploying a drop-sensor technology on the new Microdrive, which protects against data loss in the event of a drop. Hitachi’s Extra Sensory Protection technology works by immediately parking the read-write head safely away from the surface of the disk when it detects a fall, preventing head/disk contact which may cause data loss. ESP is activated during a drop of as little as four inches (10 cm) and allows the operating-shock tolerance to mimic non-operating-shock tolerance, which in the 3K8 equates to 2000 Gs.

Another novelty, Hitachi’s newest 1.8" Travelstar C4K60 Slim, is 30% thinner than its predecessor, measuring 5mm on the one-disk model. Slim offers an upper capacity of 30GB and 60GB of storage on the one- and two-disk model, respectively. Slim, like Mikey, features a ZIF connector for ease of integration in consumer electronic devices. Both drives are using femto slider technology for improved shock performance and power consumption.

The new CE-ATA interface, along with parallel ATA, will be available on all capacities of the Microdrive 3K8. Hitachi is also making the 3K8 available in the ATA on MMC interface. In addition, Hitachi plans future support for CE-ATA on its 1.8-inch Travelstar product line.

The 6GB and 8GB versions of the Microdrive 3K8 are now shipping in limited quantities, with volume shipment planned for October. Hitachi’s ESP technology and support for the CE-ATA and ATA-on-MMC interfaces will be available starting in December.

The Travelstar C4K60 Slim will begin volume shipment of the 30GB version at the end of this month. The 2-disk, 60GB Slim model will ship in the first quarter of 2006.

Microdrive 3K8 "Mikey":

• 6/8 GB (PATA/CE-ATA/ATA on MMC)
• 5 mm in height
• 13 grams maximum weight
• 3600 rpm
• 8.33 ms average latency
• 105 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
• 1 glass disk platter
• 2 GMR recording heads
• 2000 G/1ms non-operating shock
• 400 G/2ms operating shock
• 12 ms average seek time
• 190 mA current read/write for +3.3VDC
• 20 mA current standby for +3.3VDC
• MB/sec maximum interface transfer rate 33 Ultra DMA mode-2
• 1.8 Bels typical idle acoustics
• 1.8 Bels typical operating acoustics

Travelstar C4K60 "Slim":

• 20, 30, 40, 60 GB
• 5/5/8/8 mm in height
• 46/46/57/57 grams maximum weight
• 4200 rpm
• 7.1ms average latency
• 101 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
• 1/1/2/2glass disk platter(s)
• 2/2/4/4 GMR recording head(s)
• 1500 G/1ms non-operating shock
• 600 G/2ms operating shock
• 15 ms average seek time
• 1.0 W active read/write
• 0.4 W active idle
• 0.08 W standby
• MB/sec maximum interface transfer rate 100 Ultra DMA mode-5
• 1.6/1.6/1.8/1.8 Bels typical idle acoustics
• 2.2/2.2/2.4/2.4 Bels typical operating acoustics

Source: HGST

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