Toshiba Unveils 80GB 'iPod drive'

sushant_bhatia_progr writes "The Register has an article about a new 80GB drive from Toshiba. Toshiba says it will ship an 80GB 1.8in hard drive in Q3 2005 - a year after it introduced the 60GB version that can currently to be found inside the iPod Photo. The 80GB HDD - model number MK8007GAH - comes in a 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.8cm casing. Toshiba will ship a 40GB version - model number MK4007GAL - that's just 0.5cm thick in the second quarter. It's lighter, too: 51g to the 80GB HDD's 62g. Toshiba's current 40GB and 60GB (model numbers MK4004GAH and MK6006GAH, respectively) 1.8in HDDs are 0.8cm thick, so the new drive should make for thinner mid-range iPods. Both drives spin at 4200rpm, offer an average seek time of 15ms and operate across an Ultra DMA 100 interface. They can take 500G operating shock and 1500G non-operating shock."

Size Storage

[odano]

I think the shrinking of the 40hb hard drive from .8cm to .5cm is much more important than the creation of the 80gb model.

I think I would rather have a really thing 40gb model than a slightly larger 80gb model that probably will cost a lot more.

shock values

[Anonymous Coward]

I am not familiar with HDD tolerance levels. What does 500g and 1500g equate to? 3ft drop and 5ft drop? Can someone explain.

Re:Size Storage

[ISEENOEVIL]

This is a good point. From the time the iPods were first announced each iteration that came after continually became less thick and I think this is what really helped the iPod continue at its spot in #1. When you hand someone an iPod, they are first amazed by its dimensions and feel in their hand. As an owner of a 40gb iPod Photo, thickness went up considerably, and I think this would be the thickest portable harddrive/player that I would consider purchasing after owner the thinner previous models. Atleast with the size increase on the 40gb Photo the battery life went up instead of down, so this is probably what has to do with most of the thickness. Guess its a hard balance for Apple to find between thickness and battery life.

Re:I'd sooner see

[Morgahastu]

A thinner hard drive allows for a fatter battery.

Re:shock values

[TheKidWho]

500g, as in 500 times the acceleration of gravity. Ie, since the thing has a mass of 41g, using F=ma, it can stand a force of 196N while operating and 588N when it is not in use.

The Players should be able to withstand more then that much force though.

Re:The real question is...

[Overzeetop]

Actually, you probably can't. Assuming a 0.1" deformation of the bottom of your foot, you'd have to jump from 150" or 12.5 feet. If you landed without any other shock absorption (flex of your skeleton), you're almost certain to break somthing (you're ankles, most likely).

As a comparison, a typical dinner plate will survive about 100g, and most CRT computer monitors find their limit at about 75g. Highly sensitive inertial guidance system components are in the "extremely sensitive" range down around 15g.

Re:But why do they insist making Ipods of these?

[iantri]

There are a few issues with this idea, though:

1. The hard drive is only 4200 RPM. Not really fast enough for video capture/editing. Maybe doable if the camera has MPEG-2 compression on-board, or something, but it is cutting it close.

2. You can carry as many tapes as you want with you. If you need more storage, you stick in another tape. The same can't be said for hard drive based cameras.

and finally (you'll think I am mad for saying this)..
3. Editing is EASIER with a tape-based system. Sure, you can't do some advanced things (such as chopping out a segment, rearraging clips, etc.), but the sort of interface needed to do these complex tasks would be very difficult and out of place on a camcorder. With a tape based system, you just rewind and hit 'REC' again to record over something. More complex editing can be done by dubbing (which is extremely straightforward itself), or on a computer.

IPod? No, PDA!

[fireboy1919]

A PDA with this kind of drive in it could be used to store 120 or so movies (well...mine only gets 320x240 resolution, and I'm assuming good compression like DIVX).

They already have video units like this, but for some reason they think that if your PDA does this then it doesn't have to be able to do anything else.

Re:I'd sooner see

[Anonymous Coward]

Arrrrrgh!!! If you don't like the iPod, don't buy one, but please come up with some better excuses!!

* More colours, white sucks

Ever heard of the iPod mini?

* Better battery life

12 hours is not enough!? Really!? Do you have power in your house, or do you rely on solar power flash lights?

* No DRM

You have an issue with iTunes, NOT THE iPOD!!! The iPod plays DRM free mp3.

* Decent remote option

It's an iPod. It's small enough to hold in your hand. I never could quite understand why it had a remote in the first place! The iPod is roughly the size of most remote controllers! The only time I really appreciated a remote for the iPod was when they came out with the Burton iPod Jacket. I snowboard, and listen to my iPod while doing so. The jacket made life perfect.

* Digital I/O

You want digital I/O to play back compressed audio!? Why? If you plug the iPod into your Mac, and have a digital I/O USB interface (like I have) you can still get the digital I/O. A bit clunkly, but since I don't see the point in digital outputs for compressed audio, it's all the same.

Other applications?

[amichalo]

Focusing on the news of the smaller, lighter 40GB drive, coule there be other applications of this in a device such as the iPod mini or even an Apple branded cellphone [engadget.com]?

Or perhaps the 80GB will me a debut not in an iPod for music and photos, but in an iPod-like PDA/Table/Treo type device.

Re:Need 100GB+

[Nogami_Saeko]

Sure you can hear the difference, any audiophile will tell you that...

You just need your $300 ipod hooked to your $5000 stereo amplifier with $400 "monster" cables, making sure that your $8000 speakers are precisely tuned to your 600sq/f "luxury" yuppy downtown highrise condo's acoustics.

The true sound you hear is that of money being wasted... :) An audiophile and their money are soon parted!

N.

Re:Size Storage

[shotfeel]

Or there could be a lot of people like me who are looking forward to the day when I don't have to worry about what lossy codec sounds better than the other at a given bit rate.

Bring on big drives and lossless compression!

Re:HDD on digicam

[shotfeel]

Seems to me a hard drive would be a lot more efficient.

Another factor is that a major part of the cost and bulk of your basic camcorder is tied up in handling the tape. And those mechanical parts (and aligment) are usually what fails.

Would you rather...

[Atragon]

Natalie Portman pour hot grits down your pants in every single thread?

Re:Need 100GB+

[Twirlip of the Mists]

Audiophiles have plenty of other excuses for not buying iPods, most of them, as near as I can tell, made up out of thin air.

Re:Size Storage

[prichardson]

Nitpicking...

A CD is FAR from lossless.

I'm excited about the new formats on DVD media, but I haven't gotten around giving them a listen just yet.