Hard disk drive

A hard drive (or hard disk drive) is a digitally-encoded, non volatile storage device which stores data upon rapidly-rotating platters that possess magnetic surfaces.

Other tradenames or nicknames include kinetic drive, or kinetic hard drive, or motive hard drive, so as to emphasize the spinning characteristic of these devices.

The iPod model line employs a 1.8" form factor drive, typically manufactured by Toshiba. While this allows for relatively large storage space (currently up to 80 GBs), two qualities of the iPod are affected: battery life and physical robustness. In order to keep the hard drive spinning, the battery must supply a constant stream of power to the micro-motor. Battery design must take this into account. Also, while most iPods are fairly tough on their own, and owners often encase them in protective cases, there is a limit as to how great of a physical shock the unit can survive. It is unfortunately less than flash memory units, which also benefit on greater battery life because of the lack of motor-driven parts.

Further Resources

 * 'Hard Drive on Wikipedia''