Does anyone know if this impacts Ampex. Is Ampex technology being used her?
WESTERN DIGITAL LAUNCHES WD PORTFOLIO, A NEW 3-INCH FORM FACTOR FOR
PORTABLE COMPUTER MARKET - FORM FACTOR OFFERS 70% MORE RECORDING
AREA Than Existing
2.5-Inch Hard Drives
Initial Products To Be Offered in 2.16, 1.4 and 1 GB Capacities
IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Digital Corporation
(NYSE: WDC) today announced the introduction of the WD PortfolioTM
family of 3-inch Enhanced IDE (EIDE) hard drives from its Personal
Storage Group. As the form factor matures, it will allow up to 70% more
capacity per platter than 2.5-inch drives.
The higher capacity per platter and improved mechanical design provides
compelling reasons for the creation of the new 3-inch form factor. The
larger, more advanced LCD displays used in the notebooks are changing
the overall footprint of the notebook computer, making them thinner and
wider than previous designs. With a smaller number of platters required
to satisfy the increasing capacity demand, notebook manufacturers are
able to design in a thinner space for storage, with reduced volumetric
requirements.
The WD Portfolio family began shipping in late October, 1996 in the 1 GB
capacity. The 1.4 GB hard drive will be available in the first calendar
quarter of 1997. A 2-platter 1.6 GB and a 2-platter 2.16 GB drive will
be available in the 2nd quarter of 1997.
The WD Portfolio has gained support from numerous notebook
manufacturers. Two of the top ten notebook manufacturers have designs
with the 3-inch hard drive completed, with three more nearing
completion. Most designs accept either the WD Portfolio or a 12.5mm
2.5-inch hard drive during the transition period of the form factor.
"We are pleased with the response we have received on this innovative
new form factor," said John Burger, vice president of marketing for
Western Digital's Personal Storage Group. "This is a no compromise
drive -- with better capacity per platter, higher performance, and over
100% more megabytes per cubic inch than a 2.5-inch drive. We see great
potential for these products moving forward."
"Dataquest concludes that the 3-inch disk drive form factor has the
potential for long-term success in mobile and desktop computers," said
Phil Devin, vice president and chief analyst, storage technologies for
Dataquest. "It is manufactured from widely available parts, commonly
used in the high-volume 3.5-inch drives. Technologically, the 3-inch
products will not reach data rate limitations, and the trend is toward
smaller form factors."
The WD Portfolio has one of the industry's lowest profiles at 10.5mm
high, and weighs just 197 grams. The hard drive offers high-speed host
data transfers at 16.6 MB/s Mode 4 PIO. The WD Portfolio has an average
read seek time of 14ms and spindle latency of 6.61ms to provide fast
mechanical access to both cached and uncached data. The hard drive also
implements a password protection scheme for consumer data protection.
The WD Portfolio has a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of 300,000 hours,
and a 3-year warranty.
The WD Portfolio has the latest Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting
Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) features. S.M.A.R.T. is a technology that will
assist the user in preventing possible system down time by warning users
of the impending risk of data loss.
Western Digital Corporation is a leader in information storage products
and services. The company designs and manufactures hard drives for
personal and enterprise-wide computing, and markets them to leading
systems manufacturers and selected resellers under the Western Digital
brand name. Western Digital is the first U.S.-headquartered,
multinational company to have been awarded company-wide ISO 9001
registration, linking all WD organizations with a consistent global
standard for quality processes. The company was founded in 1970 and has
long been noted for its storage and end-market systems-level design
knowledge. The company's World Wide Web home page can be found at
http://www/wdc.com , on America Online by using the keyword Western
Digital or WDC, and on Microsoft Network by using the "go" word WDC.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on current
expectations; actual results could differ materially as a result of
several factors including: success in the ramp of volume production of
the WD Portfolio drives; successful qualification of such drives with
key OEM customers; business conditions and growth in the personal and
notebook computer industry; changes in customer order patterns,
competitive factors; availability of third party components at
reasonable prices; and other factors listed in the Company's Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended June 29, 1996 and its other SEC filings.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date
hereof.
NOTE: Western Digital is a registered trademark and WD Portfolio is a
trademark of Western Digital Corporation. All other brand and product
names mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.
SOURCE Western Digital Corp.
-0- 12/02/96 /CONTACT: Brenda Bennett of
Western Digital Corporation, 206-869-6467, or bennett_b@a1.wdc.com/
/Western Digital press releases available through Company News On-Call
by fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 963250, or at prnewswire.com |
