Seagate develops 12GB portable hard disk drive

Hard disk drive manufacturer Seagate has announced a tiny, high capacity portable drive that doubles the storage of current drives.

The ST1.3 is a 12GB 1in hard drive which is 23 per cent smaller than Seagate’s current 1in offering, but boosts more storage by 50 per cent, thanks to its use of perpendicular recording technology.

Designed for mobile phones, digital music and video players, the ST1.3 measures 4 x 3 x 0.5cm and boasts an optional drop sensor.

The technology, referred to as G-Force Protection, senses when the device is in free-fall and removes the heads from the platter and shuts the motor off in 3/10 of a second.

It has a shock resistance of 2,000Gs to help the device survive a 1.5m fall onto concrete. It is expected to appear in devices from the third quarter.

For more on the benefits of perpendicular recording, click here.