World's smallest hard-disk drive developed

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has developed the world's smallest hard-disk drive, a coin-sized device measuring about 2.1cm in diameter.

The drive, which is small enough to be used in mobile phones, can store up to two hours of high-definition moving images and just under 60 hours of music.

The Toshiba HDD is initially expected to be priced at around 30,000 yen ($440).

Global HDD sales this year are expected to total about 220 million units, with most of those mainly United States-made larger disk drives.

Japanese makers dominate the market for small HDDs used in cellular phones, digital home appliances and car navigation systems, it added.*