A*STAR's Data Storage Institute Launches Next Generation 5mm Hybrid HDD

The “A-Drive”, one of the world’s thinnest 5mm hybrid hard drive in a 2.5-inch form factor, was officially launched by Mr. S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, to commemorate the Data Storage Institute’s (DSI) 20 years of R&D in the area of data storage capabilities.

The hybrid hard drive provides capacities of up to 1TB HDD with 32GB SSD, potentially allowing the "A-Drive" to store over 250,000 songs in its 5mm body. Aimed specifically for tablets, ultrabooks, and future data centers, it also addresses limitations of the popular, yet expensive, flash-based SSD, as well as the conventional HDD for the consumer and business industry.

With its slim form factor, the "A-Drive" could fit into tablet devices, not only extending the storage space, but its battery life by up to 30% as well. In addition, it can be extended for enterprise storage applications, reducing power consumption by up to 50%, resulting in greener and more efficient data centres with better optimization of the already limited rack space.

We've heard that hard drive manufacturers may license select companies from DSI's designs to incorporate into their own drives. Stay tuned for more updates.

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