<s>
The	O
Microdrive	B-Device
is	O
a	O
registered	O
trademark	O
for	O
miniature	O
,	O
1-inch	O
hard	B-Device
disks	I-Device
produced	O
by	O
IBM	O
and	O
Hitachi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
rotational	B-Device
media	I-Device
storage	O
devices	O
were	O
designed	O
to	O
fit	O
in	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
(	O
CF	B-Device
)	O
Type	O
II	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
release	O
of	O
similar	O
drives	O
by	O
other	O
makers	O
led	O
to	O
them	O
often	O
being	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
microdrives	B-Device
"	O
too	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2010	O
,	O
Microdrives	B-Device
were	O
viewed	O
as	O
obsolete	O
,	O
having	O
been	O
overtaken	O
by	O
solid-state	O
flash	O
media	O
in	O
read/write	O
performance	O
,	O
storage	O
capacity	O
,	O
durability	O
,	O
and	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
1-inch	O
Microdrive	B-Device
,	O
a	O
1.3-inch	O
HDD	B-Device
nicknamed	O
the	O
"	O
Kittyhawk	B-Device
"	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
launched	O
in	O
June	O
1992	O
by	O
Hewlett	O
Packard	O
with	O
a	O
capacity	O
of	O
20	O
,	O
then	O
later	O
40	O
MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
units	O
weighed	O
about	O
28g	O
(	O
1oz	O
)	O
,	O
with	O
dimensions	O
of	O
2.0	O
"	O
×	O
1.44	O
"	O
×	O
0.414	O
"	O
(	O
50.8mm	O
×	O
36.5mm	O
×	O
10.5mm	O
)	O
and	O
were	O
the	O
physically	O
smallest	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
in	O
the	O
world	O
before	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Kittyhawk	B-Device
was	O
a	O
failure	O
however	O
,	O
and	O
did	O
n't	O
last	O
long	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
of	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
was	O
created	O
by	O
IBM	O
researcher	O
who	O
was	O
working	O
at	O
the	O
Almaden	O
Research	O
Center	O
in	O
San	O
Jose	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
small	O
form	O
factor	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
with	O
high	O
capacity	O
storage	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
mobile	O
devices	O
,	O
after	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
to	O
look	O
at	O
Micromechanics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
Timothy	O
planned	O
for	O
the	O
drive	O
to	O
use	O
Microelectromechanical	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
for	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
drive	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
spindle	O
motor	O
and	O
head	O
actuator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thomas	O
changed	O
the	O
drive	O
technology	O
to	O
miniaturized	O
conventional	O
technologies	O
instead	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
increased	O
technical	O
risk	O
and	O
costs	O
of	O
using	O
microelectromechanical	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bill	O
Healey	O
and	O
John	O
Osterhout	O
worked	O
at	O
the	O
storage	O
technology	O
division	O
in	O
San	O
Jose	O
and	O
were	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
business	O
development	O
and	O
marketing	O
of	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1998	O
,	O
IBM	O
announced	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
in	O
North	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microdrive	B-Device
was	O
expected	O
to	O
be	O
available	O
by	O
mid-1999	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
24	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
IBM	O
Japan	O
announced	O
the	O
IBM	O
Microdrive	B-Device
340	O
MB	O
for	O
¥	O
58,000	O
or	O
$475	O
USD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
storage	O
device	O
for	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
and	O
other	O
handheld	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
1999	O
,	O
Microtech	O
International	O
announced	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
North	O
American	O
distributor	O
of	O
the	O
340	O
MB	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
1999	O
,	O
IBM	O
launched	O
the	O
first	O
generation	O
1-inch	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
physical	O
dimensions	O
of	O
Microdrive	B-Device
were	O
1.65	O
"	O
×	O
1.42	O
"	O
×	O
0.197	O
"	O
(	O
42.0mm	O
×	O
36.0mm	O
×	O
5.0mm	O
)	O
and	O
conformed	O
to	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
Type	O
II	O
card	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
generation	O
of	O
Microdrive	B-Device
was	O
announced	O
by	O
IBM	O
in	O
June	O
2000	O
with	O
increased	O
capacities	O
at	O
512MB	O
and	O
1GB	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
512	O
MB	O
model	O
costing	O
$399	O
and	O
the	O
1	O
GB	O
model	O
costing	O
$499	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
merger	O
of	O
IBM	O
and	O
Hitachi	O
HDD	B-Device
business	O
units	O
,	O
Hitachi	O
Global	O
Storage	O
Technologies	O
continued	O
the	O
development	O
and	O
marketing	O
of	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hitachi	O
additionally	O
planned	O
an	O
even	O
smaller	O
1-inch	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
with	O
a	O
capacity	O
of	O
8-10	O
GB	O
under	O
the	O
code-name	O
"	O
Mikey	O
"	O
for	O
late	O
2005	O
with	O
a	O
weight	O
of	O
14	O
grams	O
and	O
a	O
size	O
of	O
40	O
mm	O
×	O
30	O
mm	O
×	O
5	O
mm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2007	O
,	O
sales	O
and	O
profit	O
of	O
the	O
Microdrive	B-Device
were	O
dwindling	O
so	O
Hitachi	O
discontinued	O
production	O
of	O
1	O
inch	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hitachi	O
wanted	O
to	O
shift	O
over	O
to	O
bigger	O
2.5	O
and	O
3.5-inch	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
rather	O
than	O
retain	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
small	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2004	O
,	O
Seagate	O
launched	O
2.5	O
and	O
5GB	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
in	O
the	O
same	O
small	O
physical	O
form-factor	O
as	O
IBM	O
Microdrive	B-Device
and	O
referred	O
to	O
them	O
as	O
either	O
1-inch	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
or	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
due	O
to	O
the	O
trademark	O
issue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
drives	O
were	O
also	O
commonly	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Seagate	B-Device
ST1	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seagate	O
also	O
sold	O
a	O
standalone	O
consumer	O
product	O
based	O
on	O
these	O
drives	O
with	O
a	O
product	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Pocket	O
Hard	B-Device
Drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
devices	O
came	O
in	O
the	O
shape	O
of	O
a	O
hockey	O
puck	O
with	O
an	O
integrated	O
USB	B-Protocol
2.0	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2005	O
Western	O
Digital	O
announced	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
joining	O
the	O
mini	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
market	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Western	O
Digital	O
launched	O
a	O
6	O
GB	O
external	O
USB	B-Protocol
2.0	O
microdrive	B-Device
as	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Passport	O
Pocket	O
brand	O
in	O
March	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
made	O
as	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
the	O
Seagate	O
Pocket	O
Hard	B-Device
Drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
16	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
a	O
Chinese	O
manufacturer	O
called	O
GS	O
Magicstor	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
GS	O
Magic	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
)	O
announced	O
it	O
had	O
produced	O
1-inch	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
with	O
capacity	O
of	O
2.4GB	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
2003	O
,	O
originally	O
marketed	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
Microdrive	B-Device
by	O
Hitachi	O
Global	O
Storage	O
Technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
followed	O
by	O
2.2	O
and	O
4.8GB	O
1-inch	O
HDD	B-Device
that	O
was	O
unveiled	O
in	O
2004	O
International	O
CES	O
,	O
with	O
0.8-inch	O
HDD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
28	O
,	O
2004	O
,	O
Hitachi	O
Global	O
Storage	O
Technologies	O
announced	O
it	O
had	O
filed	O
lawsuit	O
against	O
GS	O
Magicstor	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
GS	O
Magic	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
and	O
Riospring	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
for	O
infringement	O
of	O
multiple	O
Hitachi	O
GST	O
's	O
patents	O
relating	O
to	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
after	O
GS	O
Magic	O
Inc	O
.	O
had	O
started	O
promoting	O
mini-HDD	O
(	O
small	O
form	O
factor	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2006	O
,	O
flash-based	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
cards	I-Device
surpassed	O
Microdrives	B-Device
in	O
maximum	O
size	O
and	O
over	O
time	O
became	O
less	O
expensive	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
which	O
rendered	O
the	O
technology	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
July	O
2012	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
known	O
manufacturers	O
of	O
1-inch	O
form-factor	O
harddisk	B-Device
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hitachi	O
had	O
also	O
stopped	O
production	O
of	O
its	O
trademarked	O
Microdrive	B-Device
product	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
2006	O
,	O
Microdrives	B-Device
had	O
higher	O
capacity	O
than	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microdrives	B-Device
allowed	O
more	O
write	O
cycles	O
,	O
making	O
them	O
suitable	O
for	O
use	O
as	O
swap	O
space	O
in	O
embedded	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microdrives	B-Device
were	O
better	O
at	O
handling	O
power	O
loss	O
in	O
the	O
middle	O
of	O
writing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flash	O
storage	O
always	O
needs	O
to	O
move	O
some	O
old	O
data	O
around	O
while	O
writing	O
,	O
to	O
ensure	O
the	O
flash	O
's	O
finite	O
write	O
life	O
is	O
consumed	O
equally	O
;	O
a	O
bug	O
in	O
the	O
wear	B-Application
levelling	I-Application
algorithm	O
would	O
cause	O
data	O
loss	O
if	O
the	O
card	O
were	O
unplugged	O
at	O
the	O
exact	O
wrong	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
on	O
rotational	O
disks	O
is	O
modified	O
in	O
place	O
,	O
and	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
algorithms	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
were	O
much	O
more	O
advanced	O
than	O
those	O
of	O
flash	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
4GB	O
Microdrive	B-Device
is	O
around	O
2700	O
1.44	O
MB	O
floppy	O
disks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2006	O
,	O
Microdrive	B-Device
's	O
capacity	O
advantages	O
were	O
exceeded	O
by	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
cards	I-Device
(	O
which	O
are	O
the	O
same	O
size	O
and	O
are	O
often	O
compatible	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
flash	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
5	O
July	O
2015	O
,	O
512GB	O
CF	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
available	O
,	O
offering	O
42	O
times	O
the	O
storage	O
space	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
microdrive	B-Device
will	O
generally	O
not	O
survive	O
a	O
4-foot	O
(	O
1.2-meter	O
)	O
drop	O
onto	O
a	O
hard	O
surface	O
whereas	O
CF	B-Device
cards	I-Device
can	O
survive	O
much	O
higher	O
falls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microdrives	B-Device
are	O
not	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
the	O
high-end	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
cards	I-Device
;	O
they	O
generally	O
operate	O
at	O
around	O
4	O
–	O
6	O
megabytes	O
per	O
second	O
while	O
high-end	O
CF	B-Device
cards	I-Device
can	O
operate	O
at	O
45	O
megabytes	O
per	O
second	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
high-capacity	O
models	O
are	O
manufactured	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
profitable	O
to	O
make	O
low-capacity	O
Microdrives	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2005	O
only	O
capacities	O
above	O
2GB	O
are	O
manufactured	O
while	O
256MB	O
and	O
512MB	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
cards	I-Device
were	O
still	O
in	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lower	O
capacities	O
are	O
still	O
readily	O
available	O
second	O
hand	O
on	O
eBay	B-Application
but	O
these	O
are	O
usually	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
as	O
CF	B-Device
cards	I-Device
of	O
the	O
same	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
flash	O
storage	O
,	O
Microdrives	B-Device
require	O
power	O
even	O
when	O
no	O
data	O
is	O
being	O
transferred	O
to	O
or	O
read	O
from	O
them	O
,	O
just	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
disk	O
spinning	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
maintain	O
quick	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microdrives	B-Device
will	O
switch	O
off	O
after	O
idling	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
few	O
seconds	O
to	O
counter	O
this	O
problem	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
means	O
that	O
it	O
needs	O
to	O
spin	O
up	O
for	O
the	O
next	O
access	O
,	O
which	O
takes	O
about	O
1s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
effect	O
would	O
be	O
particularly	O
problematic	O
if	O
an	O
operating	O
system	O
is	O
being	O
run	O
from	O
the	O
drive	O
,	O
as	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
the	O
Palm	B-Application
LifeDrive	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
they	O
are	O
thicker	O
than	O
flash-based	O
CF	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
Microdrives	B-Device
require	O
a	O
Type	O
II	O
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
newer	O
compact	O
cameras	O
only	O
have	O
a	O
Type	O
I	O
slot	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
increasing	O
popularity	O
of	O
flash-based	O
cards	O
,	O
so	O
Microdrives	B-Device
have	O
limited	O
popularity	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
professional	O
photography	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Certain	O
bus-powered	O
CF	B-Device
card	I-Device
readers	O
lack	O
the	O
power	O
needed	O
to	O
run	O
a	O
Microdrive	B-Device
although	O
they	O
do	O
take	O
CF	B-Device
II	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
"	O
OEM	O
Only	O
"	O
drives	O
use	O
the	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
form	O
factor	O
but	O
only	O
provide	O
a	O
5V	O
IDE/ATA	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
will	O
not	O
work	O
in	O
readers	O
or	O
devices	O
which	O
expect	O
a	O
3.3V	O
interface	O
and	O
full	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
physical	O
examples	O
of	O
Microdrives	B-Device
are	O
held	O
by	O
the	O
Computer	O
History	O
Museum	O
.	O
</s>
