Thanks to Toshiba, geeks will soon have reason to try and get on Santa's 'Good' list this holiday shopping season. The company's Storage Device Division (SDD) today announced what it claims is the world's first dual-platter 240GB 1.8-inch hard drive for use in portable media players, camcorders, and other gadgets. Toshiba also introduced a single-platter 120GB model.The two new PATA hard drives take areal density up to an impressive 344 gigabits-per-square-inch. Toshiba said the feat was made possible using its fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which bodes well for future devices utilizing the 1.8-inch form factor.

In addition to offering a higher capacity, Toshiba said its 240GB drive comes optimized for power performance and offers a 33 percent overall improvement in energy consumption efficiency when compared to the company's previous generation two-platter 160GB drive.

No word yet on pricing or specific availability, though Toshiba did say its "new 1.8-inch HDDs will be incorporated into CE and mobile PC products shipping this holiday season."

YES has come out with a new portable DVD player, the PDV 91 Portable DVD Player, that features a 9" screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The player measures 234(L) ×185.5(W) ×35(H) mm and weighs about 1kg. The player can also function without the battery-pack by plugging the AC adapter cord into a standard domestic power outlet. The built-in Lithium Polymer Battery makes sure of uninterrupted viewing in case of a power cut. The support of SD/MMC/Memory Stick is a bonus. It also includes High Speed USB, Anti-Shock Function and a support for CD and MP3 data.Speaking at the launch, Vinayendra Singh, Brand Manager, YES, IDLDPL said," The company's products have always tended to be on the value-based side and things are no different with this model. The new enhanced features of the YES PDV 91 make the unit so versatile. It provides so much more than just DVD viewing. The affordable pricing makes it possible for more people to enjoy YES portable entertainment. The stylish DVD player has been utilized by business people and families alike in airplanes, trains, cars/minivans and even cruise ships since its introduction."

It will be available exclusively at IDLDPL for Rs. 10,999.

Cowon rolls out a new P5 portable media player. Sporting a luxury hairline metal body, it is also available in red, platinum and black colors. The P5 player measures 138.8 x 88.5 x 20.0 mm and weighs 380g. The device bundles up some amazing features.

The Cowon P5 features 5 inch touchscreen, 800×480px resolution, Bluetooth, FM radio, USB host, USB 2.0, Widget and Haptic User interface, T-DMB TV tuner, photo player and document viewer.The P5 runs on the RMI Alchemy AU1250 700 Mhz CPU. Its video and music player supports AVI, ASF, MPG, WMV, OGM, Xvid, DivX, MPEG4, WMV9, MP3, WMA and AC3 file formats. It is available w various storage options such as 40GB, 60GB and 80GB.

Though it does not come with integrated Wi-Fi, you can connect to the internet using the WiFi USB stick. The price is not yet revealed. The player is expected to hit the Korean markets on July 29.