On Tuesday Apple introduced a refreshed video iPod, with 30GB and 80GB storage capacities. It’s no coincidence that Toshiba Storage Device Division also used the day to introduce its new 1.8-inch 80GB hard disk drive, the MK8009GAH.
Neither Apple nor Toshiba will talk about what’s inside of the iPod — Apple routinely doesn’t discuss the iPod’s internal components, and Toshiba said that confidentiality agreements with its vendors prohibit it from saying who uses the drives. But a Toshiba spokesperson told Macworld that this new 1.8-inch drive is the only 80GB model currently in production — and 1.8 drives are what the larger iPod model uses.
The drive uses Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology to squeeze 80GB onto a mechanism that actually features a 10 percent smaller footprint than first generation 1.8 PMR drives. The drive features an areal density of 134 gigabits per square inch. It spins at 4,200 revolutions per minute (RPM) and is a single-platter design. It offers an 8MB buffer.