100 Years of Magnetic Recording; IBM Announces the World's Highest Capacity Desktop PC Hard Drive.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 1998--To mark the 100th anniversary of magnetic recording, IBM has extended the legacy of this technology today with the announcement of the world's highest capacity hard drive for desktop PCs.

The IBM Deskstar 25GP is the latest product in the century-long evolution of inventions that owe their existence to the principles of magnetic recording. The first magnetic recording device introduced in 1898 was an early telephone answering machine called the Telegraphone, an invention of Danish scientist, Valdemar Poulsen.

Since then, devices based on magnetic recording technology have had a dramatic impact(a) on our lives.

Several other household inventions would not exist without magnetic recording, including the tape recorder, the video cassette recorder (VCR), and of course, storage devices for computers. IBM introduced the first hard disk drive in 1956 and without this technology, the computer as we know it would probably not exist.

"Magnetic recording has had a major impact on every aspect of our lives, from the way we entertain to how we do our jobs," said Greg Puhalla, IBM's director of Desktop Hard Disk Drives. "The new high capacity drives we are introducing today will have a similar impact."

That first hard disk drive in 1956 had a capacity of 5 megabytes. Now in 1998, IBM's Deskstar 25GP 25-gigabyte (GB) drive has 5,000 times the capacity of that first drive. It holds either the double-spaced typed text on a stack of paper more than 4,000 feet high, more than six full-length feature films or 20,000 digital images.

IBM also introduced the fastest(b) desktop PC hard drive shipping. At 22 GB, Deskstar 22GXP is also the highest capacity desktop PC 7,200 RPM drive. It targets video editors, engineers, scientists and other extreme performance PC and workstation users. The 5,400 RPM 25 GB drive is designed more for the consumer or "pleasure" PC user that wants very high capacity with good performance.

"Home or hobbyist PC users can now access the massive storage formerly available only in data centers. Professionals PC users can now use an unprecedented level of desktop storage performance to do their jobs faster and better," said Puhalla.

Both drives are ideal for storage-intensive applications such as multimedia, video streaming, 3D graphics, digital photo albums and storing large images downloaded from the Internet or intranets.

Capacity and rotational speed are not the only factors enhancing the performance of these drives. These are among the first drives to feature Ultra ATA/66, an interface that doubles the rate which the computer can exchange data with the drive.

"The leadership areal density, RPM and interface speed we have incorporated into these desktop drives makes the launch of these products a fitting way for IBM to usher in the second century of magnetic recording," said Dr. Michael Workman, vice president of IBM Hard Disk Drive Development and Launch.

Deskstar 25GP also has the world's highest areal density (3.74 billion bits) or bits per square inch of any desktop PC hard drive. This high areal density contributes to its high reliability and performance.

Both drives feature IBM's advanced giant magnetoresistive (GMR) heads which contribute to this record. IBM has the most experience integrating and manufacturing GMR heads, having introduced the first GMR hard drive a year ago.

These new devices are also the first desktop PC drives in the world to incorporate IBM's new Drive Fitness Test (DFT) technology. DFT lets users easily and quickly test the health of their IBM hard drives.

Research shows that the majority of the time when hard drives are sent in for replacement because a problem is suspected, the drives are fine. DFT can reduce this unnecessary inconvenience of returning a healthy drive. It is stored in a "secret compartment" on the drive, and can be invoked even if the PC's system software is not working properly.

IBM is shipping limited quantities of these drives to PC manufacturers worldwide. Distributor and reseller distribution is scheduled for first quarter 1999.

The top PC manufacturers including Gateway, Hewlett-Packard Company, Micron Electronics, and IBM Personal Systems Group plan to integrate one or both of these drives in future PCs.

SPECIFICATIONS

Deskstar 25GP

5,400 RPM, 25.0 GB/20.3 GB, 2 MB buffer size, 5.56 ms average latency, 195.6 Mbits/sec maximum media data transfer rate, 9.0 ms average seek time, 10/8 GMR heads, 5/4 disk platters, 3.74 billion bits per square inch areal density, S.M.A.R.T. 3, ATA-4 with Ultra ATA/66, 630 grams.

Deskstar 22GXP

7,200 RPM, 22.0 GB/18.0 GB, 2 MB buffer size, 4.17 ms average latency, 223.4 Mbits/sec maximum media data transfer rate, 9.0 ms average seek time, 10/8 GMR heads, 5/4 disk platters, 3.43 billion bits per square inch areal density, S.M.A.R.T. 3, ATA-4 with Ultra ATA/66, 630 grams.

(a) For a fact sheet on the 100th Anniversary of Magnetic Recording and more information about IBM hard drives go to "http://www.ibm.com/harddrive". IBM can be reached at 1-888-IBM-5214.

(b) This is based on the WinBench 98 benchmark test.

Note to Editors: Deskstar and Drive Fitness Test are trademarks and IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

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FACT SHEET
                   100 Years of Magnetic Recording
                       Milestones: 1898 to 1998

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1998 IBM introduced the world's highest capacity hard drives for notebook and desktop PCs at 14 gigabytes (GB) and 25 GB, respectively. The 25 GB drive is 5,000 times the capacity of the first hard drive product, introduced by IBM in 1956.

1998 IBM announced the microdrive, the world's smallest and lightest hard drive revolutionizing the handheld PC, digital camera and other industries.

1998 IBM introduced the fastest hard drive (10,020 RPM) shipping for video streaming, for use with servers.

1998 Desktop PC hard drives average 4 cents per megabyte (MB), down from $10,000 per megabyte in 1956 when the first hard drive product was introduced. (Disk/Trend)

1997 IBM introduced the first hard drive with giant magnetoresistive (GMR) heads, the most advanced recording head.

1996 IBM was first to achieve one billion bits per square inch on a hard drive platter.

1996 IBM launched its first OEM magnetoresistive (MR) head business unit.

1991 IBM introduced the first hard disk drive with MR recording heads.

1980s Eight-track tapes are discontinued.

1984 The thin-film magnetoresistive (MR) recording head is first used in a storage device, an IBM tape drive.

1978 Sony introduced the first digital recorders for studios.

1976 Panasonic and JVC introduced a competitor to Betamax, the VHS system.

1975 Sony introduced the Betamax home video system.

1973 IBM announced the first modern-day fixed Winchester hard drive, the 3340.

1971 IBM introduced the first flexible "floppy" disk drive.

1966 IBM introduced the first disk drive with a wound-coil ferrite recording head.

1965 Ford and Mercury, in conjunction with Motorola and RCA-Victor records, introduced "Stereo-8" or "eight-track" format tape players as an option in certain luxury cars.

1963 The Philips compact audio cassette is introduced. This became the most successful audio magnetic recording product.

1956 IBM was the first company to ship a computer hard drive, RAMAC 305. It stored 5 MB, was the size of two large refrigerators and cost $10,000 per megabyte.

1956 The first successful TV recorder was built by Ampex. The first taped TV broadcast took place on November 30, and featured Douglas Edwards reporting the news on CBS-TV.

1953 IBM made its first tape drive, the 726.

1951 Mincom, a division of 3M Co., demonstrated television recording, followed by RCA in 1953.

1950 The first catalog of recorded music on tape appeared in the United States.

1948 Ampex started delivering audio tape recorders.

1947 Rangertone, Inc., of New Jersey introduced a professional tape recorder. (Source: Rutger's.)

1944 The American Telegraphone Co. went out of business.

1940s Bing Crosby funded work to dramatically advance audio recording technology. This helped revolutionize the radio and later the TV industries.

1935 AEG announced the development of the Magnetophon, an audio recording device. The same year, the German radio authority begins to use this device for broadcasting.

1903 The American Telegraphone Co. was formed to manufacture the Telegraphone.

1900 Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph's voice is recorded on the Telegraphone at the Paris International Exhibition.

1898 Danish inventor and engineer Valdemar Poulsen unveiled the first magnetic recording device, the Telegraphone, the first telephone answering machine. On Dec. 1, Poulsen applied for the patent.

-- IBM Hard Disk Drive media relations can be reached at 408/256-7589 or 408-256-7573.

-- For more information about IBM storage go to "http://www.ibm.com/harddrive" or "www.ibm.com/storage".

-- Sources: "Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years," edited by Eric D. Daniel, C. Denis Mee (IBM Fellow) and Mark H. Clark, copyright 1999, IEEE Press. To order this book, go to "http://www.amazon.com" or fax IEEE at 732/981-9334. Other sources include the Rutger's University web site, the IBM brochure, copyright 1996, "Forty Years of Storage Innovation", and Disk/Trend, a research firm.

-- IBM is a resistered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.