Microdrive is firstly developed by IBM. It is a kind of super mini hardware. At the beginning it has the capacity of 340MB and 512MB. Now it is 8GB, 16GB and 30GB, etc. compared to the past, the present Microdrive has decreased its revolving speed (4200rpm to 3600rpm), so that it has a lower consumption and a higher stability now.

Introduction
Micro hard drives
At the age of persuing larger capacity and smaller size, Flash Memory (small capacity) and traditional hardware (big size) either can satisfy the requirement of market. Developed from mini Notebook and DC field, Microdrive has taken the relay baton from the former two.
Most of the devices that support CF card can use Microdrive directly, such as DC, Notebook, MP3, etc. Notebook uses a PCMCIA adaptor to connect with a Microdrive. As Microdrive is thicker than CF card, the device should satisfy the CF II standard, and large capacity Mirodrive (4GB) requires the device to support FAT32 file system. Compared to CF card, the biggest advantage of Microdrive is that the price of unit storage capacity is lower. Microdrive uses hardware technology and has a feature of low cost but high capacity. It can be the alternative of solid storage unit.
At present, Kodak, Sanyo, Fujitsu, Epson and other firms have started to develop DC that support Microdrive. It is predictable that peripheral products of computer including DC and others will join in the team of supporting Microdrive in the future.

Advantages
(1) Large capacity
Above all the area of Microdrive's disc is only 1 inch, and the whole area is only 1/3 of phone card. The main capacity is 1-4 GB. This year 15GB and 60GB have debuted. No matter using it for saving pictures or data storage, it is more than sufficient.
(2) Long service life
It is made with higher technology than hardware, and that guaranteed it a long service life. It can be rewritten for 300 thousand times and work for 5 years stably.
(3) With cache
This is not only for the need of suspension, but also for the promotion of data transmission. Suspension can be done by the internal storage, but without cache, the speed of Microdrive will be slower. Generally it is equipped with 128KB data cache.
(4) No need external power
The consumption of Microdrvie is very small and it only needs to be connected with a USB. If one port cannot give the enough power, then two ports will do. It solves the trouble of adding external power for hardware. So probably the hardware type MP3 in the future can be connected to the computer without power.
(5) High speed of transmission
Saving more electricity, and the smaller size makes users doubt the Microdrive's data transmission rate. But there is no need to worry. The revolving speed of Microdrive is 3600-4200RPM (Rotation Per Minute), and the fastest can be 4500 RPM. Of course, as the disc is small, with the speed of revolving, transmission rate slower than normal hardware. Although the small size of it makes it hard to dissipate heat, it has the function of automatically saving energy and reducing the heat productivity. That makes the high speed lasting.
(6) Great compatibility of the port
Similar to normal hardware, Microdrive is compatible with all kinds of hardware ports of industrial standard. That is decided by the control chips, which makes it suitable for various mobile devices. Therefore we can see CF, PCMCIA, USB 2.0, ATA parallel port Microdrive. There may be ATA or SCSI serial port in the future.
(7) USB 2.0 high speed external transmission
When you are using this large capacity Microdrive to save music, images, videos, application, and files, you will meet the situation of data exchange with others. At this time, a fast transmission channel is necessary. USB 2.0 is the most widely used external port standard. It can realize a 480 Mbps speed of transmission. That is 60 MB/S. Even though USB 1.1 can be used but think about the large capacity data storage and the large transmission flow. It is better to choose USB 2.0 Microdrive MP3.
(8) High shockproof
Because of the special design of Microdrive, its shockproof is higher than normal Notebook hardware. The special magnetic load in and out technology makes the shock resistance to 1500G (off working state) and 175G (working state) high. Even coordinate with low specification read-write devices, the double protection of reader and hardware avoids striking of inside. Not only Microdrive MP3, it also provides DC, Notebook, GPS, and other portable device with reliable memory property.

Notes
Firstly, keep away from magnetic substances or high magnetic fields. Keep it within the temperature from -40℃ to 65℃. Keep it dry (if it is wet, wipe the water as soon as possible). Avoid be squeezed by heavy things. Do not make it fall from high position. If you needn't to use it for a long time, you should put it back to the plastic packing box.
When you take the Microdrive, you should take it by the two sides instead of pinching the two surfaces. Handle it with care. Release the static of your hands and then pick up the Microdrive, especially in autumn and winter.
Besides, with the growing capacity of Microdrive, you should pay attention to that if the products support FAT32 file system when buying 4GB Microdrive. Most of the DC uses FAT16 in the memory card file system. The largest capacity it can identify is 2GB. If you want to use 4GB Microdrive you need a product that supports FAT32.
September 13, 2007, the biggest hardware producer, Seagate Technology, announced in Beijing that its forth generation DB35 series hardware, which is used by most of DVR and family media center in the world, has a capacity of 1TB (1000GB) and can record 200 hours' high definition TV content.