History (1994): First PCMCIA III HDD by Maxtor

Since Hewlett-Packard stopped the 1.3-inch Kittyhawk, the new MobileMax Lite from Maxtor is the smallest hard disk drive in the world.

Form factor: 1.8 inches. Height: 5mm. Capacity: 85 or 121MB.

The Kittyhawk was about the same size as a small matchbox. The MobileMax Lite is the size of four stacked credit cards. The volume of the first (10.5×50.8×36.5mm) was only slightly less than that of the second (5×85.6x54mm), as is true for its weight (32 vs. 38 grams). The first no longer exists; the second has become the smallest HDD in the world.

“Not only have we developed the world’s thinnest 1.8-inch disk drives, but we also developed the first 3.3V drive and the industry’s highest non operating shock specification (1,000G).”

Operating shock is 180G.

These figures are achieved through low mass head suspension, fluid-filled spindle motor and shock sensor.

To save on power, there is an automatic standby mode that activates in 5s if no read/write command is detected.

To succeed in placing a glass disk and 2 heads inside a 5mm thick device, Maxtor used DSP technology known for its other MobileMax with which all of the electronics fit in alongside an individual platter. The Lite has a capacity of 85 or 121MB depending on the areal density.

OEM evaluation units of the MobileMax Lite 85 and 121, priced at $449 and $499 respectively, will be available 1995, with volume production expected for 1995.

Maxtor is counting on a wide range of compact systems to use its drives, such as hand-held and palmtop computers, that often have no more than a PCMCIA II slot, electronic entertainment or automative information systems.

Maxtor’s announcement also revives the debate between flash cards and HDDs.

This article is an abstract of news published on the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter on issue 81, published on October 1994.