Last Tuesday, Toshiba announced it has developed a miniscule 1.8-inch, 100 GB hard drive, leading tech watchers like those at CNET to speculate that Apple will soon announce a 100 GB iPod. That's either the last tech boner of 2006 or the first one of 2007.

Toshiba will formally launch the MK1011GAH miniature hard drive next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 8-11), which happens at the same time as the San Francisco Macworld Expo (Jan. 8-12), so stay tuned for some drool-worthy new product releases.

Toshiba's MK1011GAH drive -- the first 1.8" drive to hold 100 GB -- spins at 4,200 RPM and has a data transfer rate of 100 MB/sec.

How does Toshiba to cram more data into ever smaller spaces? By using perpendicular recording technology, which "achieves higher storage densities by aligning the poles of the magnetic elements… perpendicularly to the surface of the disk platter" and involves "the use of a magnetically 'stronger' (higher coercivity) material as the storage medium." (Thanks Wikipedia! You know everything!)

Photo courtesy of CNET.