Lexus announced at the 2006 New York Auto Show that its new flagship sedan, the LS 600h L model, will be available with high-end Mark Levinson audio system that will integrate a hard drive to store audio files. A similar announcement was made last week by Infiniti, which said it will be offering a hard drive for its 2007 G35 sedan.

There were few details available about the capabilities of the Lexus system; however, the manufacturer said the hard drive will be able to "store up to 5000 music tracks," which leads us to believe that the company will use a 20 GB version. Just like we don't know for sure which company is supplying the drives to Infiniti, it is unclear who is providing the devices for Lexus.

The 9.5G shock rating of the Infiniti drive as well as the 20 GB capacity of the Lexus drive fit very well into the picture of Seagate's most recent campaign to quickly expand its reach into the automotive segment: The company currently offers 20, 30 and 40 GB versions of its EE25 2.5" drive.

In any case, 20 GB provides sufficient space to store enough music even for a drive from New York to San Francisco, but some customers may feel that Lexus could have spent a few more dollars for a 40 GB version, especially in a 430 horsepower car that is packed with gadgets and is likely to carry a price tag of of more than $80,000.

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2007 Infiniti G35 first to offer hard drive for storing digital music

Source : Tom's Hardware US