SDK Ships 3.5-Inch 500GB HD Media

Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) has started commercial shipments of 3.5-inch hard disk (HD) media with storage capacity of 500 gigabytes per disk, using the fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology.

"To the best of our knowledge, our new 3.5-inch HD media have the world’s highest storage capacity for this size available on the market today," said the company.  SDK has already commercialized 1.89- and 2.5-inch fourth-generation PMR media.
 
Demand for high-capacity HD media is growing for such applications as HDD recorders that can record high-definition TV programs as well as PCs that enable storage/editing of moving pictures.  SDK has established a setup for ensuring speedy and stable deliveries of best-quality, high-capacity HD media based on the PMR technology.

Furthermore, SDK is making preparations for timely commercialization of its fifth-generation PMR media. As the world’s largest independent HD media supplier, SDK will continue meeting customer requirements both in terms of quality and quantity.

SDK’s HD media based on the PMR technology
(Unit: gigabytes per disk; as of February 5, 2009)

As for the products in parentheses, preparations are under way to start their commercial production.