Cornice introduces new 8GB and 10GB micro hard drives
Cornice has announced the availability of ultra thin 8GB and 10GB micro hard drives as part of their Cornice Dragon series. These new drives will allow hardware OEMs to offer thinner and smaller consumer devices that require less power while offering more storage capacities.
The new 8GB and 10GB Cornice Dragon have smaller form factors than ever before. Cornice narrowed the casing around the disk and also reduced the depth of the drive making the overall unit smaller. The Dragon series drives are up to 40 percent smaller than their predecessor drives.
Another innovation on the new Dragon Series is the reduced power consumption. Cornice has lowered the power requirements by over half which means the drives usually consume only five percent of the battery life on an MP3 player.
Cornice also includes Crash Guard technology to ensure that the drives stand up to punishment. Crash Guard includes features such as Active Latch, Skip Contol, and Drop Safe. The drives will be available for $85 a unit in quantities of 10,000.
You know what this means of course - newer and smaller higher capacity drives means you can expect mobile phones with 8 to 10GB capacities in the next year. How cool is that? Expect the drives during Q1 of this year. Check out the Press Release for additional information.
CORNICE INTRODUCES ULTRA-THIN 8GB AND 10GB MICRO HARD DRIVE; ENABLES SMALLER AND THINNER CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DEVICES
Small Form Factor Storage Innovator Launches Its First Two-Headed Storage Product And Decreases Its Size By 40 Percent
LONGMONT, CO, January 2, 2006 — Cornice Inc. —an innovator in consumer storage solutions — today announced the expansion of its storage offerings with the addition of an ultra thin, high-capacity personal storage device. The Cornice Dragon series micro hard drives, available in 8- and 10-gigabytes and will allow OEMs to offer thinner and highercapacity consumer electronics (CE) devices while featuring industry-leading robustness, durability, and low power requirements for everyday consumer use. Audio/video players, mobile phones and personal storage devices will all be enhanced by the Dragon series micro hard drive.
Thinner and Smaller
By narrowing the casing around the disk and by shrinking the “z” height, Cornice was able to produce the smallest and thinnest drive on the market – a necessity for next-generation, high-capacity mobile phones, audio/video players and personal storage devices. The Dragon series drives are 40-percent smaller than its predecessor Storage Elements, as well as current competitive drives.
Higher Capacities and Lower Power
Cornice’s unique architecture is designed from the ground up and exclusively for CE devices. By focusing only on components required for the CE market, Cornice has created a disk drive solution that is streamlined specifically for these pocket-able products. At 8-gigabytes today, and 10-gigabytes in the near future, Cornice is firmly in the leadership position for storage density. In response to end-user endurance demands, Cornice has decreased the power of Dragon by half, and now represents only five percent of the total battery consumption within a typical MP3 player system.
“Through our strong strategic customer relationships, we’ve learned that portable consumer storage markets not only require a very small and thin form-factor, but they also require low power storage solutions rugged enough to meet the stringent consumer usability requirements,” said Camillo Martino, Cornice’s president and chief executive officer. “The Dragon series micro hard drive is Cornice’s answer to our customers’ needs and demands and a result of focusing our storage solutions for portable consumer electronics. The market opportunity for this type of storage is growing rapidly and Cornice is in a prime position to capture a large long-term market share.”
Durable for an Active Lifestyle
Cornice technology ensures that consumer electronics devices will provide continuous and uninterrupted playback even during today’s most active lifestyles. The new Dragon series drives are protected by Cornice’s ruggedness design, Crash GuardTM, and can withstand excessive shaking, extreme drops, and other abuse without skipping, stopping, or crashing.
Crash Guard TM consists of:
Active Latch – When dropped, the most common damage to a hard drive occurs when the head scrapes across the surface of the disk (not unlike the needle scratching across an old vinyl LP record when the turntable was bumped). Cornice securely locks the head in place with an active latch mechanism.
Skip Control – Hard drives are going places they have never been before – jogging, 4-wheel driving, skydiving – and are expected to operate even with excessive and repetitive motion. Cornice designed the Dragon series drives from the ground up to withstand the most extreme conditions while providing continuous playback without skipping or restarting.
Drop Safe – This feature in the Crash Guard family allows the drive to actually sense being dropped. This means that even if the drive is in the middle of reading or writing data to the disk, it can immediately react and place the head safety under the active latch well before the unit actually strikes the ground.
Meet Cornice At CES
Cornice will be showcasing the new Dragon Series storage at the International Consumer Electronics Show from January 5 - 8, 2006, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (South 4 Hall, booth 35579).
Price And Availability
The Dragon Series drive is available in volume quantities in Q1. List price is $85 per unit in quantities of 10,000 per year. Email Cornice’s sales staff at sales@corniceco.com or call (303) 651-7291.
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