Hitachi Global Storage Technologies this week announced new advancements to 100-year-old magnetic recording technology. The advancements could set the stage for ultra-high capacities, such a 20-GB microdrives or one terabyte 3.5-inch hard drives. As part of the announcement, Hitachi demonstrated what the company is calling "the industry's highest data density" for magnetic media -- 230 gigabits per square inch -- through a new kind of vertical-recording technology.
Hitachi believes the new storage capacity, which represents a doubling of today's highest longitudinal recording densities, will be implemented in commercial hard drive products in 2007.
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