From:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/9903/99030201microdrive.asp
 

IBM CF Microdrive preview

 Digital Photography Review

Previously featured on this site in a news story, AGN Hardware have done quick preview of the Microdrive and published an interesting MSRP of $350 which makes the Microdrive only $1/MB, if that's the case I'll certainly be buying one for my Pro 70 when they come out!!

Read the AGN Hardware article here

My previously published news item (6/Jan/99):

If you've been following digital camera news at all for the last six months you have to have heard of the IBM Microdrive. It conforms to the new CompactFlash+ (or CF Type II) format which is only slightly thicker than the existing CF standard.

These drives will have capacities of either 170Mb or 340Mb, run at 4,500 RPM and yet have battery saving properties which should ensure that they're not big juice drainers.

In anyone's book 340Mb is a large amount of storage, but at what cost? Price is the only thing we can speculate on at the moment, and you can bet it's not going to be cheap.

Preliminary specifications:

Dimensions 42.8 x 36.4 x 5.0 mm
Capacities 170/340 MB
Disks 1
Data heads 1 or 2
Seek time (typical read) average 15 ms
Media transfer rate 34 - 49 Mbits/sec
Rotational speed 4500 RPM
Power supply voltage 3.3 V
Weight < 17g
Interface CompactFlash Type II
Key technologies IBM Enhanced Adaptive Battery Life Extender
IBM GMR technology
IBM load/unload technology

Watch a video of how the microdrive is constructed:
28kb/s RealVideo     56kb/s RealVideo     Download RealPlayer

Their sales pitch for digital cameras.
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