Cheap New 1 Inch HDD Holds 1.5GB

SlightlyMadman writes "Cornice, Inc. has unveiled a new alternative for small devices requiring large amounts of storage. With an expected OEM price of about $100, it blows the smaller microdrive out of the water (at least until this fall). The days of cramming bulky 2.5" disks into mp3 players may finally be over."

Comments

Affordable?

[osPDAproject]

I don't really call $100 "affordable" for 1.5GB. What I would like to see is a cheap mini-drive for my PDA. Yummy.

Re:Affordable?

[ackthpt]

I don't really call $100 "affordable" for 1.5GB. What I would like to see is a cheap mini-drive for my PDA.

What makes you think you wont? Seems the most logical first adoption.

Re:Affordable?

[muyuubyou]

If this thing is as slow as IBM's microdrive, $100 for a slow 1.5GB CF is nothing spectacular against $200 for a fast 1GB CF.

May have a niche, but save your pyrotechnics for another occasion.

Re:Affordable?

[cpeterso]

If this thing is as slow as IBM's microdrive, $100 for a slow 1.5GB CF is nothing spectacular against $200 for a fast 1GB CF.


So 150% the storage for 50% is not interesting? There are some price/performance points where price and size are more important than raw speed.

Interface

[rf0]

Well if you look at the Microdrive its takes a standard interface, in the form of CF which allows me to plug it into my camera, PC or whatever I want.

However from the article

"It does not employ common interfaces such as CompactFlash and ATA to connect a HDD and a host device, but uses a simple and original interface."

So basically its a propriatory interface. Its cool don't get me wrong but I don't think IBM will be scared just yet. For it to make an impact the interface it uses will have to become wide spread and I don't think that will happen taking the current number of different formats in a similar space such as SD Cards, Memory sticks etc. I'm sure it has it uses but prehaps not in the public field.

Rus

$100/gig?

[Junior J. Junior III]

For $100, I can get around 100-120GB in a 3.5" hard drive. I can't think of too many reasons I'd want to be lugging around 1.5 GB of portable storage. Music is nice I guess, but it's not worth $100 for me to have a decent-sized MP3 library I can carry around with me.

Think twice...

[dekashizl]

OK so the drive is really cute, especially next to that coin. But I drop my phone about once a month, in haste I've slammed my Palm into a phone booth wall, and I keep my MP3 player in my sweaty pocket at the gym. Is it just me, or does little moving parts and sensitive magnetic equipment not seem to mesh well with these environments?

SD/CF/MemoryStick

[barnaclebarnes]

Considering you can already get 512MB (1GB maybe?) on an SD, CF, or MemoryStick which is 1/4 of the size why would you want one with moving parts if it is only 1.5GB? Price would be the only reason so it is really not anything special. If it was 15GB then it would be something to write about. /b

Re:SD/CF/MemoryStick

[markclong]

Consider using it in an embedded type device. Say a network appliance. Using Compact Flash is difficult, as you need to write to the disk and not only read. Writing to Compact Flash or any other form of memory using flash or EEPROM is hard on the memory. There are a finite number of writes before the memory device fails and placing a operating system swap file on one can kill it in a hurry.

I see this as geared more towards the network appliance, a PDA, or an embedded system that requires a real hard drive. Digital cameras and other devices needing removable media would probably still use Compact Flash, Secure Digital, or Smart Media and they are not as write intensive, at least not to the extent that a OS swap file is.

Re:Linux Loser Saddam Loving Slahdotters

[sk8king]

"Bush is the most popular"

Just a thought.....so was his father..93% popularity during the Gulf War and then he lost to Bill.

microdrive

[Xunker]

It may very well blow the IBM Microdrive out of the water, but please keep in mind that the Microdrive is, in fact, a five-year-old design and with something of that age a new advancement is bound to come along.

It's all evolutionary, not neccessarily revolutionary. Revolutionary would be, uhm, I don't know, using lazors to etch bit patters in my Raspberry Jello.

Re:Benefit?

[WindBourne]

The nice thing about CF is that you can switch to something bigger in the future, be it Flash Card or a HD. This drive has a propreitary interface which makes upgrading less likely and almost certainly expensive.

Re:Video iPod...

[Keighvin]

Right - common sense, make sure any product fits your actual needs before you plunk down the cash. For me, it was to be able to transfer files from portable media (Smart Media, Compact Flash) to this gadget on the go. I use it to record video in some cases, but only for transfer to computer or playback on a larger device afterward.

I wouldn't recommend it for watching anything over about 20 minutes on its built-in screen.

Re:Consider the alternative

[levik]

If you need 100GB for MP3s, you probably have the "Write-Only Syndrome" where you download music/movies/programs to add them to your collection, but never actually listen/use/watch them (well maybe once). While it's your right to do this, you have to admit that you don't really *NEED* all that space.

Blown out of the water?

[foxtrot]

it blows the smaller microdrive out of the water

I'll consider my Microdrive blown out of the water when this new thing fits in my Canon Powershot G1.

It sounds like they're two very different markets. This thing requires a proprietary interface; the Microdrive (and similar devices like the 5 or 10GB PCMCIA hard disks) use standard well-published and darned near ubiquitous interfaces. This new thing sounds like it could be built into something easily, but not as useful as removable storage. I get to thinking there's room for one of these in my car stereo, for example...

well if the RIAA get it's way..

[azcoffeehabit]

"The days of cramming bulky 2.5" disks into mp3 players may finally be over."

yeah if the RIAA gets their way this will be is the understatement of the year.

Re:The days of cramming 2.5" disks was over in 200

[b_pretender]

Don't limit yourself to MP3 players. Think about what a embedded tiny 1.5 GB drive would do for digital cameras, PDA's, you name it!!

Re:Consider the alternative

[TheRaven64]

And if it isn't, use QEMM to put some TSR proggies in UMB and HMA space.

QEMM? Pah! Some of us manually editied out config.sys files and autoexec.bat files to load drivers into UMB and HMA space in the optimum order.

Run mem, hack start-up files, reboot and repeat. Ah, those were the days...

It's amazing, computers get less irritating, and we get nostalgic for the 'good old days' when we could be properly elitist. I guess that's what people use Linux for nowdays.

Re:No replacement yet

[afidel]

Nope, the 1.8" Toshiba HDD that's in the iPod is not cheap at all. If bought in a PC Card form factor it costs around $210 for the 5GB model, so only about 1/2X the cost/GB. Basically it's the same old story size/cost/capacity choose two.

Slashdot Rule Nbr 93.

[SomeOtherGuy]

If the linked page requires Japanese text support, the chances of ever seeing these puppies on American soil, let alone your local Best Buy is slim to none.

Re:Forget MP3 Players

[levik]

Then you probably don't talk on your cell phone too much. As long as you keep using your PDAs as often as you do your cell phone, I don't think you will have any problems.