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This page is about the miniature hard drive format. For the unrelated storage devices from Sinclair and other uses, see NickW1129/sandbox (disambiguation).
NickW1129/sandbox
1 GB IBM Microdrive
Media typeHard disk drive
EncodingRLL
Capacity170 MB - 16 GB
StandardCompactFlash Type II
Developed byIBM, Hitachi
Manufactured by
Dimensions42.0 mm × 36.0 mm × 5.0 mm
UsagePortable devices, notebooks, digital cameras
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1998
Discontinued2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBNQHh3MAcM RESOURCES

https://www.pcworld.com/article/447531/the-astounding-evolution-of-the-hard-drive.html

https://www.eetimes.com/drive-makers-look-to-steal-wind-from-ibm-in-microdrive-segment/

https://www.eetimes.com/improved-ibm-microdrive-hunts-for-broader-use/

https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/shaping-the-evolution-of-the-pc/

development

https://www.eetimes.com/one-inch-no-cinch-for-ibm-storage-gurus/

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2783479/ibm-claims-world-s-tiniest-disk-drive.html

https://www.pctechguide.com/hard-disks/hard-disk-microdrives

https://research.ibm.com/publications/micro-drive-a-pluggable-one-inch-disk-drive-for-portable-devices

https://www.usenix.org/legacy/publications/library/proceedings/fast03/tech/full_papers/zedlewski/zedlewski_html/paper.html

kittyhawk

https://nathanlamontagne.wordpress.com/case-study-a/

release sources

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/8248476086/microtech

https://money.cnn.com/2000/06/20/technology/ibm_drive/

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/ibm-to-ship-4gb-microdrive/

https://www.hpcwire.com/1998/09/11/ibm-intros-worlds-smallest-hard-disk-drive/

https://www.pocketpcfaq.com/wce/microdrive.htm

https://www.usenix.org/legacy/publications/library/proceedings/fast03/tech/full_papers/zedlewski/zedlewski_html/paper.html

space

https://spacenews.com/ibm-microdrive-is-out-of-this-world-worlds-smallest-hard-disk-drive-completes-two-successful-nasa-shuttle-missions/

CF stuff

https://www.fastcompany.com/1000253/sandisk-announces-32gb-compactflash-cards

Samsung SpinPoint A

http://www.hjreggel.net/hdtechdat/hd-samsung.html

http://www.hjreggel.net/hdtechdat/hd-ibm.html

paid resources

https://wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=production&url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=2238280&site=eds-live&scope=site

https://wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=production&url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aci&AN=500556380&site=eds-live&scope=site

The Microdrive is a miniature, 1-inch hard disk drive released in 1998 by IBM. It was created by duo Timothy J. Riley and Thomas Albrecht at the Almaden Research Center in San Jose. A team of engineers and designers at IBM's Fujisawa, Japan facility helped make it possible.

Due to the failure of the Kittyhawk, a 1.3-inch hard disk drive created by Hewlett Packard in 1992, initial support for it was reluctant. Despite that, it didn't have much opposition and development persisted. The Microdrive ended up being albeit limited, a success. This was largely due to its advantages over and compatibility with CompactFlash technology at the time. It caused the creation of and used the CompactFlash Type II format, which is slightly bigger (5 mm vs 3.3 mm), and allowed a much higher power draw (500 mA vs 70 mA). Type II became the de facto standard for devices utilizing the technology. Additionally the Microdrive offered higher storage capacities, more durability, and was cheaper per MB compared to flash at the time.

Although a niche for a while, the Microdrive market later became very competitive. Many companies began producing miniature hard disk drives also referred to as Microdrives.[1] Some offered much more storage capacity or were even more smaller in physical size to the original Microdrive. This did not last long however. By the mid to late 2000s, miniature hard disk drives were being viewed as obsolete with flash media such as CompactFlash, SD, and USB flash surpassing them in speed, capacity, durability, and pricing. By mid 2007, it was discontinued by most if not all manufacturers.

History

[edit]

Precursor

[edit]
HP Kittyhawk (right) next to a CompactFlash card, with quarter for comparison.

In June of 1992, prior to the Microdrive, a 1.3-inch hard disk drive nicknamed the "Kittyhawk" was launched. It was a collaboration creation by Hewlett Packard and AT&T. It was the smallest hard drive in the world at the time, being 2.0" × 1.44" × 0.414" (50.8mm × 36.5mm × 10.5mm) in size while offering 20, then later 40 MB of storage capacity.[2] The Kittyhawk was a colossal failure, with HP leaving the disk-drive industry shortly after in 1994.[3][4]

Development

[edit]

The original idea of the Microdrive was created in 1992 by Timothy J. Riley and Thomas Albrecht, IBM researchers that were working at the Almaden Center in San Jose, California. At the time, they were working on a funded project to examine micromechanic drive technology. They originally were trying to find a way to read increasingly smaller tracks on a disk surface using tiny motors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. They found it would be better to use that technology in a mini disk drive rather than a large drive.[5]



The original idea by Timothy was to simply make a tiny disk drive with Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS),[6] but there was an increased technical risk and cost. The main issue was the size limit. Even if a tiny drive could be made, it's capacity would be very limited due to the diameter of the magnetic media and so the cost would be much higher, making the drive very expensive to produce.

IBM and Hitachi Microdrives, with an American quarter for size comparison.

It was then decided to stick with a conventional disk drive and all it's systems, but make it much smaller.

The leader of mobile drive development at IBM's Fujisawa facility at the time, Hideya Ino, highly sought the potential of a 1-inch disk drive. He decided that the Microdrive should become a real product, and had a team collaborate with Timothy and Thomas to create working prototypes.[6]

There were many challenges to overcome in creating a working Microdrive, such as the design, the load/unload system, the spindle motor, and the weight.

The load/unload system could not retract the head into the parking ramp when the drive was powered off, but this was fixed by using a small capacitor and some clever engineering to get enough energy for the actuator to park. Rather than using a traditional ball-bearing spindle motor for the platters, the Microdrive used a fluid-type spindle motor.

Having all the necessary ICs fit for the drive to work was an even greater challenge. The original design used components on one side of the main-board of the drive, but an engineer came up with a way to use direct chip attach, which allowed components on both sides of the board.

Getting support and marketing for the Microdrive was another difficult process due to the Kittyhawk's failure. Many ploys were used to get support, such as chart's that implied the Kittyhawk failed due to it's huge size reduction at the time.[5]

The form factor that ended up being chosen was CompactFlash, as that's what digital camera manufacturers were using. The CompactFlash interface was essentially IDE but scaled down. The original CompactFlash form factor was 3.3mm thick. Microdrive prototypes made in the 3.3mm size failed to work, however they did work in 5mm size.

Thomas/IBM visited the CompactFlash association and asked them to make a 5mm variant, which would then become CompactFlash Type II. It was the same as the original form factor, but just thicker. Because of this, camera manufacturers began making the slots on their cameras Type II and Type I compatible. This then became the Microdrive's main market.

It had a spindle speed of 4500 RPM, and drew 300 mA of current.

Announcements/Launch

[edit]

In September 1998, IBM officially announced the Microdrive, a year before the expected launch.[7]

“For IBM Disk Drives, this was an uncharacteristically early announcement. We normally would never announce a product a year in advance of shipments,” Albrecht said. “Everyone agreed that it was necessary. People needed to design Type II slots, and there were also questions whether we were serious about this.”[5]

It was advertised by marketers in varying ways. One source claimed it was about the size of a large coin, weighing less than an AA battery, and had the capacity of over 200 floppy disks. Another said it weighed half as much as a golf ball, and had a capacity of 300 novels.[8] And a manager at Sanyo said it could store 1,500 1.5 mega-pixel images or 10 minutes of VGA-quality video.[9] The Microdrive was expected to be launched by mid-1999, and would be a competitor to CompactFlash, which was originally released in 1994.[10] On June 24, 1999, IBM Japan announced the IBM Microdrive 340 MB for ¥58,000 or $475 USD.[11]

In June 1999, IBM officially launched the first generation 1-inch Microdrive. It had storage capacities of 170MB and 340MB at a price of $499. The drive was initially ordered by several companies such as Compaq, Casio, Minolta, Nikon, and more.[12]

The first generation of the Microdrive was a partial success, having a few products released using the drive. Such as the Sanyo VPC-SX500,[9] and the Casio QV2000UX.

Second Generation

[edit]

A second generation of Microdrive was announced by IBM the following year in June 2000.[13] These models would draw less power with a spindle speed reduction to 3600 RPM and have a higher bit density of 15.2 gigabit-per-square-inch. They would have increased capacities at 512 MB and 1 GB. The 512 MB model would cost $399 and the 1 GB model $499 upon release, with the original 340 MB microdrive decreasing to $299.[14] The initial microdrive models had limited-success due to their price tag. It was hoped with the improved models use could be expanded to other products such as audio players and handheld computers.[15][16]

The microdrive was much more expensive than conventional drives at the time, but less expensive than CompactFlash. The microdrive cost $0.50 per MB while CompactFlash was $2 per MB.[17]

Microdrive in Space

[edit]
Image taken on the STS-102 mission showing Discovery's payload bay

The 1GB microdrive was successfully used to store and bring back digital images from NASA's STS98 and STS102 shuttle missions in 2001. The microdrive was first tested with high doses of radiation and durability in a weightless environment before being used on the missions. It was put in a Kodak DCS 660 camera and was used to take hundreds of photograph on the missions.[18]

Portable Audio Players

[edit]

One of the main use cases of the Microdrive considered was portable audio players. The current capacity at the time was limited due to the cost of solid-state storage, and so only about 30 minutes of audio was available on consumer devices. With the Microdrive, this space could be expanded much larger although adding a bit to the price.

A portable CD player from the early 2000s

Timothy & Thomas along with some of IBM's marketing and development team went to various companies to advertise the Microdrive. They visited Sony, Panasonic, Phillips, and more. They however refused to use the Microdrive, and went with other formats such as record-able CD-ROM.

In 2004 Apple unexpectedly chose to use the Microdrive in their iPod Mini. This was surprising to the microdrive team.

Hitachi Merge

[edit]

Following the merger of IBM and Hitachi HDD business units, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies continued the development and marketing of the Microdrive. In 2003, 2GB and 4GB models were announced by Hitachi & IBM.[19][20] The 4 GB model was first available on February 20, 2004 for a price of $499.[21] This was followed by a 6GB capacity model in February 2005 for a price of $299, with the 4 GB model dropping to $199.[22][23] Hitachi additionally planned an even smaller 1-inch hard drive with a capacity of 8-10 GB under the code-name "Mikey" for late 2005 with a weight of 14 grams and a size of 40 mm × 30 mm × 5 mm.[24][25]

The iPod Mini (1st gen shown) uses a Microdrive to store data

Discontinuation

[edit]

In 2006, flash-based CompactFlash cards began to surpass Microdrives in capacity and lower costs, which made the Microdrive technology obsolete.[10] CompactFlash began in 1994 released by SanDisk with capacities of 2, 4, 10, and 15 MB at a cost of . By 2006, capacities reached 12 and 16 GB with a price of

In 2008, capacity reached 32 GB with a price of just $220 versus the $199 for a 4 GB microdrive.

By 2007, sales and profit of the Microdrive were dwindling so Hitachi discontinued production of 1 inch hard disk drives. Sales of 1-inch drives were only about 3,000 in a three-month period in 2007, while 560,000 units of 1-1.8-inch drives were sold throughout July to September 2007. Hitachi wanted to shift over to bigger 2.5 and 3.5-inch hard disk drives, rather than retain focus on the small hard disk drive business.[26]

Other Manufacturers & Sizes

[edit]

Seagate

[edit]
Seagate 2.5 GB ST1

In 2004, Seagate launched 2.5 and 5GB hard disk drives in the same small physical form-factor as IBM Microdrive and referred to them as either 1-inch hard drives or CompactFlash hard drives due to the trademark issue. These drives were also commonly known as the Seagate ST1, and we're made entirely by Seagate themselves. Seagate also sold a standalone consumer product based on these drives with a product known as the Pocket Hard Drive. These devices came in the shape of a hockey puck with an integrated USB 2.0 cable.

Seagate launched their 6 GB mini drive on the same day as Hitachi, in February 2005.[27]

Western Digital

[edit]

In early 2005 Western Digital announced they would be joining the mini hard drive market with their own drives. These would be available by the second half of 2005 and reach capacities up to 6 GB.[28]

Western Digital launched a 6 GB external USB 2.0 microdrive as a part of the Passport Pocket brand in March 2006. This was made as a competitor to the Seagate Pocket Hard Drive. The unit had 2 MB of cache, 11 ms seek, spun at 3,600 RPM, and was 60 × 45 × 9 mm. The price for the unit was $130 upon release. [29]

GS Magicstor

[edit]

On July 16, 2003, a Chinese manufacturer called GS Magicstor, Inc. (subsidiary of GS Magic, Inc.) announced it had produced 1-inch hard disk drive with capacity of 2.4GB at the beginning of the year 2003, originally marketed as an alternative to Microdrive by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. It was to be followed by 2.2 and 4.8GB 1-inch HDD that was unveiled in 2004 International CES, with 0.8-inch HDD. On December 28, 2004, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announced it had filed lawsuit against GS Magicstor, Inc., GS Magic, Inc., and Riospring, Inc. for infringement of multiple Hitachi GST's patents relating to hard disk drives, after GS Magic Inc. had started promoting mini-HDD (small form factor hard disk drive).

Samsung

[edit]

In 2008 Samsung released a 1.3 inch hard disk drive line named "Spinpoint A1" with capacities of 30 and 40 GB. They were only slightly larger than the original microdrive, at a size of 42.8 x 36.4 x 5mm.

Toshiba

[edit]

In January 2004 Toshiba released an even smaller hard disk drive than the Microdrive, being 0.85" (24 mm × 5 mm × 32 mm). It had a capacity of 4 and 8 GB available, and it holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest HDD.[30][31] The drive had a proprietary interface and was made to be used for cell-phones, mp3 players, and other small devices.[32]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hachman, Mark (10 September 1999). "Drive makers look to steal wind from IBM in microdrive segment". EE Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  2. ^ "The Kittyhawk Hard Drive: A Small Wonder". Hewlett-Packard Company Archives Virtual Vault. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  3. ^ "History (1992): HP Kittyhawk". Storage Newsletter. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  4. ^ Maleval, Jean (21 Jan 2021). "History (1994): End of 1.3-Inch HDD Kittyhawk From HP". Storage Newsletter. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Costlow, Terry (7 July 1999). "One inch no cinch for IBM storage gurus". EE Times. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b "1999: IBM Microdrive, First One-Inch HDD" (PDF). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  7. ^ Farrance, Rex (11 September 1998). "IBM unveils smallest-ever hard drive". CNN. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. ^ Markoff, John (9 September 1998). "I.B.M. to Introduce Disk Drive Of Tiny Size and Big Capacity". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b Olenick, Doug (24 January 2000). "Sanyo will ship new model with IBM's microdrive". This Week in Consumer Electronics. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b "25 Years of CompactFlash: A Look Back at the Pioneering Format". PCMAG.
  11. ^ "The World's Smallest Hard Drive; IBM Japan pulls a tiny surprise out of its pocket". IGN. 24 June 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  12. ^ Knowles, Anne (28 June 1999). "IBM EMBRACES A WIDE RANGE OF DISK DRIVES". PC Week. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  13. ^ "IBM makes 512MB and 1GB Microdrive official". Digital Photography Review. 21 June 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  14. ^ "IBM unveils 1GB mini drive; New Microdrive triples capacity of miniature hard disk drive for portables". CNN. 20 June 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  15. ^ Murray, Charles (20 June 2000). "Improved IBM Microdrive hunts for broader use". EE Times. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  16. ^ "IBM pumps up Microdrive". DesignNews. 24 September 2000. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ Brown, Bruce (2 October 2000). "IBM 1 GB Microdrive - Looking for an easy way to carry 2,500 .JPG images?". ZD Net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2023. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 24 April 2023 suggested (help)
  18. ^ "IBM Microdrive Is Out Of This World – World's Smallest Hard Disk Drive Completes Two Successful NASA Shuttle Missions". SpaceRef. 30 April 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  19. ^ "HITACHI GLOBAL : News Releases from Headquarters : Jan 6, 2003". www.hitachi.com. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  20. ^ Bennett, Amy (26 August 2003). "Hitachi to ship 2GB, 4GB Microdrives this year". Computerworld. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  21. ^ Frauenheim, Ed (11 February 2004). "IBM to ship 4GB microdrive; Big Blue unveils tiny hard drive made by Hitachi, targeting laptop users". ZDnet. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  22. ^ Williams, Martyn (23 February 2005). "Hitachi slashes Microdrive prices, debuts 6GB model". Computerworld. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  23. ^ "Hitachi 6GB Microdrive sells for just $299". Digital Photography Review. 24 February 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  24. ^ Kanellos, Michael (7 January 2005). "Hitachi drives get bigger--and smaller; Company cuts some fat from its diminutive devices, to squeeze them into cell phones, while upping the capacity of PC drives". Cnet. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Announces New Hard Drives". Videomaker. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Hitachi to phase out small hard drives". Reuters. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  27. ^ Hachman, Mark (23 February 2005). "Seagate, Hitachi Announce 6-GB 1-Inch Drives". Extreme Tech. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  28. ^ Shim, Richard (19 January 2005). "Western Digital to enter minidrive arena; Hard drive maker plans to start shipping a one-inch product in the second quarter". Cnet. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  29. ^ Smith, Tony (29 March 2006). "WD unveils 6GB pocket drive". The Register. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Toshiba Enters Guinness World Records Book with the World's Smallest Hard Disk Drive". Toshiba. 16 March 2004. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  31. ^ Ojo, Bolaji (17 March 2004). "Toshiba 0.85-inch HDD enters Guinness World Records Book". EETimes. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  32. ^ Wu, Dan (30 September 2004). "Toshiba says 0.85-inch hard disk drives by end of 2004". Engadget. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
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