The latest 2.5-inch hard disc drive from Toshiba stores more than any other laptop drive in its class, according to the company.
Toshiba's MK7559GSXP (PDF) stores 750 GB in a two-platter configuration, meaning it's slim enough to fit in the hard drive bays of most laptops at 9.5 mm tall. The drive edges out Western Digital's Scorpio Blue two-platter drive, whose highest capacity is 640 GB. Still, given Toshiba's claims that demand for this capacity will soar over the next two years, I don't think it'll be long before the competition catches up.
In addition to the two-platter drive, Toshiba announced the MKxx59GSM, a three-platter drive that measures 12.5 mm thick. It won't fit in most laptops, so Toshiba's eying it as an external storage or desktop solution. It comes in 750 GB and 1 TB flavors.
Both hard drives also boast extra density thanks to Advanced Sector Format technology, which we've covered here before (Western Digital calls it Advanced Format Structur, but the principle is the same). This new structure stores 4096 Bytes of data in each sector instead of 512 Bytes. With less overall data occupied by error correction and sync operations, these advanced drives can store more within a given capacity. It's a bold move by Toshiba to support format now given that Windows XP users can't install the drives without a special utility..
The Toshiba drives also boast "Silent Seek" technology, which is supposed to make the drive sound like it's idling all the time. Both drives rotate at 5,400 RPM.
Toshiba is sending samples of both drives to manufacturers next month, but they won't ship in quantity to PC manufacturers and distributors until the third quarter, so there's time for Western Digital to catch up. Pricing is unannounced.
