Cornice creates new mini storage device

• Micro hard-drive startup Cornice has created new mini storage devices to help digital-media fans rack up large amounts of data on their MP3 players, smartphones and handheld computers.
• The Longmont, Calif., company, less than a month removed from receiving a $97 million infusion of cash to continue innovating, introduced the Dragon series hard drive at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today.
• The gadgets are 40 percent smaller than Cornice's previous micro drive, Storage Elements, as well as mini-storage machines from rivals Hitachi, Toshiba Iomega and others.
• But don't be fooled by the size.
• Offered in 8 gigabyte capacities -- and later expanding to 10 gigabytes -- the one-inch storage drives will allow device manufacturers to offer thinner and higher-capacity consumer electronics devices, including audio and video players, mobile phones and personal storage devices.
• This size decrease and generous memory capacity are important at a time when consumers require more storage on their mobile phones, MP3 players and smartphones, which are all getting smaller.
• Cornice said in a statement it made the machines smaller by narrowing the casing around the disk and shrinking the height.
• "The market opportunity for this type of storage is growing rapidly, and Cornice is in a prime position to capture a large long-term market share," said Camillo Martino, Cornice's president and chief executive officer.
• Martino may be right about that, according to recent data from IDC, which said small form factor and mobile PC hard disk drives (HDD) will represent a full quarter of worldwide semiconductor sales through 2009, thanks to snowballing interest in MP3 players, handheld computers and some smartphones.
• However, micro drives face stiff competition from the growing popularity of NAND Flash (define) memory storage, which is being used in products such as the iPod Nano and USB drives.