Perpendicular hard drives, the kind where the bits are much smaller and can hold more data, are popping in and out of our “Gizmodo Hearts” radar, but this is interesting news. Toshiba has shipped a 1.8-inch 40GB drive that will end up in their new Gigabeat F41 MP3 player. While 40GB isn’t much, this is a 1.8-inch drive we’re talking about here, meaning that the iPod Mini could soon contain 80GB of hardcore music while the iPod Photo can sport a few terabytes. I don’t think that’s wishful thinking, either, which is scary.
Toshiba Ships First 40GB 1.8-inch Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Drive [Physorg]
Toshiba Ships ‘Perpendicular’ Disk Drive [InformationWeek]
