HDDs make the automotive grade

Drives offer in-car entertainment and information systems the vital storage capacity boost required for 3D GPS navigation, mp3 playback, digital video and gaming.

Two new hard disk drives for automotive applications reinforce Toshiba's position in the automotive storage market.

The single platter 80Gbyte MK8050GAC and 40Gbyte MK4050GAC drives will offer in-car entertainment and information systems the vital storage capacity boost required for 3D GPS navigation, mp3 playback, digital video and gaming.

High performance HDDs have become a pivotal component for next generation automotive electronic systems.

According to research firm IDC, the market for automotive HDDs will reach 8.5 million units sold by 2009.

Automotive-grade HDDs offer substantial advantages for OEM system designers compared with solid state memory.

Although solid state memory delivers a durable storage solution in resilient small form factors, it becomes a highly expensive solution when capacity demand hits double digit figures.

In-car systems are required to operate efficiently and effectively in extreme environments in order to avoid system downtime and data loss.

Toshiba's new HDDs can operate at altitudes up to 5500m, where air is often thin thanks to improvements in the aerodynamic technology used on the magnetic head slider.

In addition, to ensure the disc spindle operates in subzero and high temperatures, the operating temperature range of Toshiba's automotive drives range between -30 and +85C with the spindle motor running at 4200rev/min.

Toshiba has more than 10 years experience working within the automotive sector and to date has shipped over seven million units worldwide claiming 85% market share.

In Germany, where a high%age of Europe's leading automotive manufacturers are based and where the provision of quality components is fundamental, Toshiba automotive grade hard disk drives have been qualified for implementation in almost all of the major car manufacturers' high-end models.

Many of these models will be available for purchase throughout 2008.

"Car navigation systems built around fast, high capacity HDD are getting more popular in the Japanese and European market, a trend that is soon expected to come to North America, the world's largest automotive market", explains Toshio Magome, Senior Director, Techno Research.

"Toshiba entered the market in 2001, and soon established leadership by drawing on advanced HDD technologies cultivated over the years".

"We can expect to see more innovation in navigation system, and can expect new drives developed by Toshiba to play an important role in technology advances".

"The expansion of infotainment in vehicles is just the tip of the iceberg and we expect the storage demand of automotive multimedia systems to grow exponentially as an increased number of vehicles come to market with the capabilities to receive and store substantial amounts of data", says Martin Larsson, General Manager, Toshiba Europe Storage Device Division.

"We are committed to working very closely with our head unit manufacturing partners to ensure that our automotive grade hard disk drives continue to deliver the exact specifications expected by leading automobile manufacturers".

"We spend substantial time and resources listening to the needs of our customers and only through this approach can you be guaranteed that we can turn those demands into a tangible product".

Toshiba will also launch two separate 80 and 40Gbyte HDD models for the after sales market.

The MK8050GACE and MK4050GACE will be specifically incorporated into stand-alone devices such as GPS systems and for implementation in industrial and commercial applications such as automated machinery, retail point of sale machines and CCTV security cameras.

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