Did you know that, when it comes to toughness, not all hard drives are created equal and that super-resistant versions are needed for use in modern car satellite-navigation systems? Toshiba does, apparently, having just announced a new line of car drives that is 50 per cent more resilient than the toughest current HDDs.
The new 2.5-inch drives double the capacity of Toshiba's previous offerings to 40GB and 80GB using perpendicular magnetic recording and include various other enhancements to make them more suitable for life on the road.
Predictive perfection
Vibration resistance is improved by using a more accurate system for positioning the read/write head. This includes an acceleration sensor that can predict how the drive platter is about to react and adjust the head accordingly.
On top of that, drivers of cars with Toshiba sat-nav systems will now be able to take their vehicles high into the mountains thanks to a cushion of air inside the drive that helps neutralise changes in atmospheric pressure due to altitude.
The new safety rating of 5,000m above sea level means they'll be able to take a spin around Lhasa in Tibet and still have almost 1,500m to play with. Now that's progress - as long as the navigator comes with maps of the Himalayas, of course.
