Back to HITACHI GLOBAL top page
News Releases from Headquarters Corporate Profiles
Listed by release date

PDF DOWNLOAD


Hitachi Drives Mobile Solution for Automotive Applications
 
 
Travelstar A4K20
Travelstar A4K20

SAN JOSE, www.hgst.com, January 6, 2003 - Hitachi Global Storage Technologies today announced a new 2.5-inch hard disk drive designed specifically for automotive applications.

Applying high-density recording technology used in mobile PCs, the new Hitachi Travelstar A4K20 HDD will make various mobile applications available to the automotive industry, including car navigation and car audio products. With this innovative storage component, Hitachi enters a new high-demand market for HDDs in the near future. The Travelstar A4K20 will be available in the second quarter of 2003.

2.5-inch HDD A4K20
The A4K20 provides storage capacity of 20 GB in a 9.5mm height and standard 2.5-inch HDD interface connector. It is configured on a one-disk, two-head design. The new Travelstar provides an excellent solution for automotive applications that require high robustness and a wider operating temperature range (-20°C to +85°C) than standard HDD applications.

"Emerging applications in hard disk drives, such as those for automobiles, take advantage of Hitachi's strengths in high reliability and high performance," said Dr. Tsuyoshi Takahashi, general manager, Emerging Market Business Unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "With our new automotive hard drives, Hitachi continues to raise the standard in the storage industry and meet the increasing demands of our new customers. This new product demonstrates our commitment to grow the emerging markets for hard disk drives."

The new Travelstar model features glass media and load/unload technology in addition to shock sensor technology, which cushions the drive in less than ideal shock or vibration conditions. The A4K20 incorporates fluid dynamic bearings (FDB) in the spindle motor, re-designed to support a wider temperature range. The new FDB allows the same quiet operation and improved shock characteristics as with PC models, but offers even higher reliability for automotive environments. These features enable the A4K20 to employ a non-operating shock tolerance of 800G at 1m/s, and an operating shock tolerance of 100G at 11m/s.

Technical Specifications
Travelstar A4K20

20 GB capacity
70mm width, 100mm depth, 9.5mm height, 107 grams weight
4,200 rpm
1 glass disk platter
2 GMR recording heads
-20 degree Celsius to 85 degree Celsius operating temperature
-40 degree Celsius to 85 degree Celsius non-operating temperature
100G/11ms operating shock
800G/1ms non-operating shock
2.4 Bels acoustic noise at idle
ATA-5 (ATA 100) pin compatible

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was founded in 2003 as a result of the strategic combination of IBM and Hitachi's storage technology businesses. The company's vision is to enable users to fully engage in the digital lifestyle by providing access to large amounts of storage capacity in formats suitable for the office, on the road and in the home.

The company offers customers worldwide a comprehensive range of storage products for desktop computers, high-performance servers and mobile devices. For more information on Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, please visit the company's Web site at http://www.hgst.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.

 

Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.


top of this page
WRITTEN BY Corporate Communications Division
(C) Hitachi,Ltd. 1994,2003. All rights reserved.