Initial Release: January 16, 2002 
Revised: September 13, 2002

TOSHIBA INTRODUCES WORLD’S HIGHEST CAPACITY 1.8-INCH HARD DISK DRIVES

10GB And 20GB Embedded Drives Power Consumer, Commercial And PC Applications

IRVINE, Calif, Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) continues its leadership in the hard drive industry by today announcing its newest family of 1.8-inch embedded hard disk drives (HDDs) available in 10GB and 20GB capacities. The new mini drives offer consumer electronics and PC manufacturers the right combination of high-capacity storage with a compact, lightweight footprint for design into a wide variety of mobile and handheld products that require reliable storage solutions.

The tiny storage giants measure 54 mm wide and 78.5 mm deep, and weigh 51 and 62 grams respectively. Toshiba’s new 10GB (MK1003GAL) and 20GB (MK2003GAH) HDDs are smaller than a credit card and lighter than a traditional pager. The low-profile, lightweight drives offer data transfer rates of 100MB/sec, providing high-speed performance for both consumer electronics devices and notebook PCs.

"Our latest 1.8-inch HDD technology is enabling some of today’s most exciting, new small form factor mobile devices," said Amy Dalphy, manager, HDD business unit, Toshiba SDD. "Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDDs have the right mix of power consumption, shock tolerance and compact size for today’s capacity-hungry ‘biz-sumer’ mobile computing and digital gadgets – such as music players, handheld PCs, PDAs, wearable computers and laptops."

Built on Toshiba’s proven 2.5-inch HDD technology platform, the rugged design and reliability of Toshiba’s new 1.8-inch HDDs meets today’s increasingly diverse range of storage needs for a variety of new applications and environments. The drives can be easily designed and integrated into portable PCs, handheld mobile terminals, wearable computers, digital video cameras, automotive applications and audio/video players. In addition, Toshiba’s 1.8-inch HDD technology enables the use of complex data, business graphics and audio/visual applications for the growing mobile market, and enables PDA manufacturers to provide substantial photo archiving capabilities in their products.

Offering the industry’s highest areal density per platter in this form factor at 35.26 gigabits per square inch – and withstanding operational shock of up to 200g and non-operating shock of up to 1000g – the 20GB HDD will begin shipping in early February, while the 10GB will ship in early March. Toshiba’s HDD products can be ordered through industrial distributors, or for additional information please visit http://www.harddrives.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba Storage Device Division
Toshiba SDD, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., leads the market in the development, design and manufacturing of DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, slim CD-R/RW, combination CD-RW/DVD-ROM, 1.8-inch hard disk drives and 2.5-inch hard disk drives. Toshiba SDD markets high-quality peripherals to original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, value-added dealers, systems integrators and distributors in the United States. Inherent in the company’s product line is the high-quality engineering and manufacturing that has established Toshiba products as worldwide leaders. For more information, visit www.sdd.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with annual sales of approximately $2.5 billion, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. is comprised of six divisions, organized into two business groups, which manufacture, market and service a wide range of business and information-oriented products in the United States and Latin America. Products include portable and desktop computers, PC servers and storage subsystems; voice-mail systems; digital business telephone systems; interactive voice-response systems; network systems and digital cameras. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America Inc., a subsidiary of the $52 billion Toshiba Corp., the eighth-largest computer and electronics company and the world’s 26th largest industrial corporation in terms of sales. Toshiba Corp. is a world leader in high-technology products with more than 300 major subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.

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