Eight major electronics companies have formed a consortium aimed at
standardising and popularising a new removable hard disc system
based around 2.5in drives for use in computer and consumer
electronics.
Members of the Information Versatile Disk for Removable (iVDR)
usage consortium include some of the biggest names in Japanese
electronics: Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Phoenix Technologies,
Pioneer, Sanyo, Sharp and JVC. Two manufacturing companies, FCI
Japan and Mitsumi Electric, are supporting the consortium but are
not members.
"The concept is that technology for hard discs is rising fast and
people are getting stuck with the capacity they have. The new
system will allow users to add extra capacity as they need it,"
said a source familiar with the consortium's plans.
As broadband Internet connectivity spreads and digital video and
audio become more popular, engineers are pushing the capacity of
hard discs higher. In January, Toshiba demonstrated a working
prototype of a 2.5in hard disc drive that packs 35.1Gbits of data
into one square inch of disc space.
A little further away from commercialisation, Fujitsu last year
provided a glimpse into the future when it announced its
researchers had achieved a data density of 100Gbits per square inch
in the laboratory.
The companies plan to officially unveil the consortium and their
work to date on 6 March.
They are not the only ones looking into such a system. At the same
time as demonstrating its higher capacity hard drive last month,
Toshiba researchers also demonstrated a prototype removable hard
drive and companion consumer video recorder.