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Fujitsu launches silent, rugged 2.5 Mobile Hard Disk Drive range

Announcement posted by Fujitsu Australia Limited 16 Aug 2001

Fujitsu Australia Limited, one of the world's leading suppliers of hard disk drives (HDD) and computer peripherals, has today launched the industrys first low profile 2.5 HDD to incorporate both head load/unload and FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) technology. With up to 15GB per platter, the new series drives are offered with capacities of 10GB, 20GB and 30GB and available in a super-slim 9.5mm form factor.

The new MHN2xxx series is the first of its kind to feature the Ultra ATA 100 interface and offer increased performance over previous generations. Coupled with their ruggedness, small size and low power consumption these drives are ideal for a wide variety of applications including; industrial control systems, in-car systems, MP3 players, games machines and video applications as well as notebook and compact desktop PC systems.

All models in the series have a rotational speed of 4200rpm, 12ms average access time and a 2MB cache to take full advantage of the 30.7MB/s internal transfer rate. The new 2.5 mobile drives offer both the capacity and the performance demanded by traditional notebook PC customers as well as new areas such as industrial applications and consumer electronics.

The MHN series utilise the Silent HDD technology, FDB and feature a staggering 800G shock tolerance, making them ideal for all mobile applications where ruggedness is essential. These drives also feature run-out compensation, which electronically adjusts to unwanted mechanical movement when in operation. Reliability is further assured with a 300,000-hour MTBF rating and 300,000 load/unload cycles.

By supporting the latest Ultra ATA 100 interface which is fully backward compatible with Ultra ATA 66 or even Ultra ATA 33, these drives have the performance to be used in the most demanding applications and give the widest possible compatibility.

Fujitsu has pioneered the use of Fluid Dynamic Bearings for the spindle motors of HDD for three generations of 3.5 desktop drives and was the first to offer this technology as standard on the latest models. With the combination of a special silent seek function and denoted Silent HDD technology, customers will benefit from vastly improved acoustic performance achieving virtually silent operation. At the same time, the drives offer greater reliability in extreme environments, better tolerance to shock, and improved seek performance by eliminating errors due to Non-Repeatable Run-out (NRRO) when compared with old style Ball Bearing versions. Now, Fujitsu claims another first and incorporates Silent HDD technology into a 2.5 drive where customers can take full advantage of the improved features.

Fujitsu has an excellent track record in developing technologies to improve the Head/Disk Interface (HDI), in particular CAPS, Cable Patterned Suspension. All are key technologies, which are unique to Fujitsu and have made Fujitsu drives some of the most reliable on the market.

Now Fujitsu combines both of these technologies with a head load/unload system whereby the heads are lifted off the media when the drive experiences extreme shock or is powered down. This makes the drives even more rugged, and has the added advantage of reducing the power consumption during spin up.

Fujitsu has made a huge breakthrough in bringing the worlds first 2.5 HDD with Silent HDD Technology to market, commented Anthony Rixon, Fujitsu Australias Product Manager Storage Products. These drives will open up new business areas with their silent operation coupled with rugged characteristics. The combination of head load/unload technology with the Silent HDD feature is sure to find favour with our traditional notebook and desktop PC customers too.

With capacities of 10GB, 20GB and 30GB, these drives are big enough to hold large multimedia presentations, fast enough to run them, and small enough to fit in todays compact mobile computers, notebooks and consumer electronic devices.



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Notes to Editors

Fujitsu Australia Limited

Fujitsu is one of the world's leading e-services organisations. Fujitsu technology solutions, from servers to e-Business applications, are powering the new Internet economy. In Australia and New Zealand Fujitsu is helping corporate and government customers to design, build and operate solutions which offer competitive advantage in the internet world, from state-of-the-art infrastructure through to complex e-Business solutions. Our portfolio of IT services includes consulting, systems integration, prime contracting and a full range of professional services.

Fujitsu Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited of Japan.

About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001.