Toshiba today announced its first 2.5-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) featuring capacity up to 1 TB using 500 GB/platter technology in the industry-standard 9.5 mm high form factor. With an industry-leading areal density of 744 Gb/in², Toshiba has increased the quantity of data stored per square inch by over 37 percent compared to prior 2.5-inch models, enabling a significant boost in data transfer speed. Available in capacities ranging from 1 TB to 250 GB, the MQ01ABD series provides the capacity, performance, and power efficiency necessary for even the most data-intensive and energy-sensitive mainstream storage applications.

The MQ01ABD drives are ideal for high-end notebook and desktop PCs, mobile workstations, gaming consoles, DVR set-top boxes, external storage solutions, and other applications requiring high-capacity and cost-effective storage. In addition to delivering best-in-class storage density, which contributes directly to increased performance, Toshiba's MQ01ABD series HDDs have been engineered for superior energy efficiency - the series HDDs consume only 0.55 W during idle mode. The MQ01ABD drives also offer improved acoustic performance, emitting a maximum of 19 dB at idle and 24 dB during seek operations. This combination of areal density, power utilization, and acoustic performance enables PC and consumer electronics makers to build differentiated systems based on capacity, performance, heat dissipation, and power efficiency.

"Hard disk drives offer the best value for digital data storage by providing the highest combination of capacity, performance, cost and data reliability," said Joel Hagberg, vice president of product marketing, Storage Device Division of TAIS. "The creation of rich content by consumers and businesses continues to push the demand for storage capacity. The Toshiba MQ01ABD series provides not only the capacity and performance required by notebook and PC manufacturers, multimedia professionals, multi-room set-top-box and other power users, but also the benefits of a low-power, environmentally friendly drive."

The MQ01ABD series drives continue Toshiba Corporation's global commitment to design, develop, manufacture, and distribute Environmentally Conscious Products (ECPs) with minimal environmental impact.

ECPs are products that are designed to be environmentally conscious in all stages of their life cycle, including the procurement of materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, disposal, and recycling. The environmentally conscious product design has three aspects: mitigation of global warming, efficient use of resources, and management of chemicals. Toshiba Group will continue to create ECPs designed to be environmentally conscious in all these aspects through all stages of their life cycle by setting independent environmental standards (ECP standards) for each product. As a result of this voluntary initiative, Toshiba has eliminated or reduced multiple hazardous substances from all components in the MQ01ABD series drives.

Mass production of the MQ01ABD series will start in the middle of August. For more information on the Toshiba line of industry-leading small form factor HDDs, visit http://www.toshibastorage.com.