Toshiba’s new 7mm solid state hybrid drive is ideally suited to improve response time and performance in ultrathin and standard-sized notebooks

IRVINE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 19, 2013 — Toshiba’s Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed technology leader, announces the slim, 7mm MQ01ABFH solid state hybrid drive (SSHD) series. Equipped with Toshiba’s NAND flash and available in 500GB¹ and 320GB capacities, the MQ01ABFH series is the first Toshiba SSHD drive family in 7 mm. The series continues Toshiba’s legacy of providing world-class storage products, and offers customers a complete lineup of 2.5-inch solid state hybrid drives with the previously announced 1TB¹ and 750GB MQ01ABDH series 9.5mm SSHDs for ultrathin and thin and light notebook PCs, multimedia and gaming applications, and traditional laptop PCs.

Toshiba's MQ01ABFH Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD) series (Photo: Business Wire)

Drawing upon its knowledge and experience in NAND flash, Toshiba optimized the NAND flash performance into a tiered-storage approach that uses the speed of the DRAM and NAND components with the high-capacity of rotating media. The SSHD delivers SSD-like performance without dependence on external drivers or assistance from the host system. The PCMark Vantage Average HDD Score, the established industry method for measuring SSHD read/write performance and responsiveness, for the MQ01ABF500H is approximately 20,000, surpassing the 16,000 industry standard result.

“The MQ01ABFH series fulfills users’ desire for thin and light notebook PCs with fast response times that can keep up with their demanding gaming and multimedia applications,” said Don Jeanette, director of product marketing at Toshiba’s Storage Products Business Unit. “This addition to our SSHD lineup demonstrates Toshiba’s continued focus on delivering a wide range of storage devices that enhances the computing experience for our customers.”

The MQ01ABFH series underwent multiple performance and compatibility tests with a variety of host PCs, including the PC Mark Vantage test. Testing for compatibility on a variety of PC systems including high-end notebook PCs, thin and light, and ultrathins, the drive proved compatible with 175 PC systems.

Similar to Toshiba’s other SSHD offerings, the 7mm model uses self-learning algorithms to optimize performance based on users’ data access patterns which can enhance their computing experience. The self-learning, caching algorithms manage what data is stored in the NAND flash storage for the fastest responsiveness, as well as how the data in the drive is updated based on intelligent access pattern learning.

Toshiba’s new 500GB¹ MQ01ABF050H model and 320GB MQ01ABF032H model will be featured in various notebook PCs. Samples will be available June 28. For more information on Toshiba’s line of industry-leading SSDs, HDDs and SSHDs, visit www.toshibastorage.com. To connect with Toshiba Storage, visit the corporate blog at http://storage.toshiba.com/corporateblog/ and follow @ToshibaStorage on Twitter.

1. One Terabyte (1 TB) means 10¹²= 1,000,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1 TB = 2⁴⁰ = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system, such as Microsoft operating system and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.

About Toshiba Storage Products

Toshiba Corporation and its affiliates offer one-of-a-kind global storage solutions, offering hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs) and NAND flash memories — technologies that drive a wide range of consumer electronics, computer and automotive applications, as well as enterprise solutions for the global marketplace. Toshiba is a leader in the development, design and manufacture of mobile, consumer and enterprise hard disk drives and solid state drives. In North America, the Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., markets high-quality storage peripherals to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, value-added resellers, value-added dealers, systems integrators and distributors worldwide. Inherent in the Toshiba storage family are the high-quality engineering and manufacturing capabilities that have established Toshiba products as innovation leaders worldwide. For more information, visit www.toshibastorage.com.

About Toshiba Corp. and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)

Through proven commitment, lasting relationships and advanced, reliable electronic components, Toshiba enables its customers to create market-leading designs. Toshiba is the heartbeat within product breakthroughs from OEMs, ODMs, CMs, VARs, distributors and fabless chip companies worldwide. A committed electronic components leader, Toshiba designs and manufactures high-quality flash memory-based storage solutions, solid state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), discrete devices, advanced materials, medical tubes, custom SoCs/ASICs, imaging products, microcontrollers and wireless components that make possible today’s leading smartphones, tablets, MP3 players, cameras, medical devices, automotive electronics, enterprise solutions and more.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and the world’s fifth largest semiconductor manufacturer (Gartner, 2012 Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue, April, 2013). Toshiba Corporation was founded in 1875 and today has over 554 subsidiaries and affiliates, with 210,000 employees worldwide. Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm .