OREANDA-NEWS. Toshiba Corporation announced the launch of a new line of automotive-grade 2.5-inch HDD, the MQ01AADxxxC series, that includes a model with the world's largest capacity, the 320 GB "MQ01AAD032C". Developed to meet the auto industry demand for higher capacity HDDs, the drives support an improved in-vehicle user experience, and facilitate a growing range of on-board technological applications and functions. Mass production is scheduled to start in August.

The MQ01AADxxxC series offers 100GB, 200GB and 320GB storage capacities that address the needs of telematic infotainment applications, where proven reliability, performance and capacity are required. The drives have been designed to handle the most difficult environments, including altitudes of up to 5,650m—higher than any city in the world, and toleration of vibrations of up to 29.4m/s2 {3G} in magnitude. They have an operating temperature range of -30°C to +85°C and a non-operating temperature range of -40°C to +95°C. The MQ01AADxxxC series is also suitable for industrial applications where extended temperature tolerance is critical.

A closed loop servo control system enables a linear recording density of 62.6k bit/mm {1.59M BPI} - the highest ever for automotive-grade HDDs. The drives run at 4,200rpm and are fitted with a 3Gbit/s SATA interface, and can boast an internal data transfer rate of 976Mbit/s, a 28% improvement against existing Toshiba products. The new products are also environmentally conscious products, halogen- and antimony-free and RoHS compliant.

Toshiba, a pioneer in automotive storage, developed the world's first automotive-grade HDD in 2001. It remains the leading supplier in the industry with cumulative shipments surpassing 28 million units as of June 2013.