Despite Competing Technology, HDD Sales Expected to Remain Strong Through 2010

InStat: The hard disk drive (HDD) will be a key component in more and more consumer electronics products through the rest of the decade. HDD worldwide shipments will increase from 380 million in 2005 to 748 million in 2010, with the Consumer Electronic (CE) segment continuing to be one of the fastest growing applications for HDDs. While hard drives have become small enough to embed in most portable CE devices, competitive storage solutions, such as increasing Flash capacities, continue to threaten this market. However, at multi-gigabyte capacities, Flash becomes cost-prohibitive. HDDs will more effectively address portable multimedia devices that offer a wide range of capabilities requiring higher storage capacities.

• By 2010, approximately 38% of all HDDs shipped worldwide will go into CE devices.

• Video-capable MP3 players and Portable Media Players are expected to drive continued demand for small form factor HDDs.

• The Personal Video Recorder market is the largest CE application for HDDs today.

In-Depth Analysis: Hard Disk Drives in Consumer Electronics: Demand Remains Strong for Small Form Factor HDDs Publ 20061010