All of Toshiba's new models only revolve at 3,600 RPM, and come with zero cache memory and a proprietary interface. Yet performance should be good enough for a large number of consumer applications. The first product we were shown is a USB drive that has the size and shape of a cigarette lighter. Second was an Imation-brand model which works pretty similarly, has better quality, but looks like a large key fob or keychain, which not everyone will like. A compact DV camera, for instance, can use the 4 Gb 0.85" model to store a few hours of video at medium quality. Price-wise, the drive should be very competitive compared with conventional Flash memory, although most Flash solutions should perform a bit better. However, the drive cannot yet be purchased retail, and for now is available to OEMs.
