HP Kittyhawk microdrive
Encyclopedia
Hewlett-Packard HP3013/3014, nicknamed Kittyhawk, was a hard disk
drive introduced by Hewlett-Packard
in June 1992.
It was the first ever commercially produced hard drive in a 1.3 inch form factor. The original implementation ( model 3013 ) had the capacity of 20 MB. A 40 MB model called Kittyhawk II ( model 3014 ) was eventually introduced, with the retail price of $499. Both models have IDE interfaces. It appears that some variations of the hard drive were produced with PC card
interface as well. The drive measured 0.4 in. by 2 in. by 1.44 in, and weighed about 1 ounce. It was manufactured by Citizen Corporation, at the time a leader in small device manufacturing. The drive featured a number of unique technologies, including a built-in accelerometer that protected the hard drive from falls. Kittyhawk was claimed to be able to survive a 3-foot drop onto concrete while operating without loss of data.
Despite its remarkable characteristics, Kittyhawk turned out to be a commercial failure. It was not in demand from notebook industry due to its inferior cost per megabyte and capacity. A few OEM suppliers adopted the drive, including an early pen based computer maker EO, which ran the GO operating system. The handheld market failed to take off in early 1990s as expected. Many potential markets, such as the video game console market, were missed due to hard drive's high production costs.
Kittyhawk was discontinued by HP in September 1994. Approximately 160 thousand units were actually sold ( compared to projected 2-year sales of 700 thousand units ). In 1996, largely due to Kittyhawk's failure, Hewlett Packard closed its Disk Memory Division and exited the disk drive business.
The story of HP Kittyhawk is described in a Harvard Business School
business case "Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk", and is a case study in the book The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
.
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
drive introduced by Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
in June 1992.
It was the first ever commercially produced hard drive in a 1.3 inch form factor. The original implementation ( model 3013 ) had the capacity of 20 MB. A 40 MB model called Kittyhawk II ( model 3014 ) was eventually introduced, with the retail price of $499. Both models have IDE interfaces. It appears that some variations of the hard drive were produced with PC card
PC card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...
interface as well. The drive measured 0.4 in. by 2 in. by 1.44 in, and weighed about 1 ounce. It was manufactured by Citizen Corporation, at the time a leader in small device manufacturing. The drive featured a number of unique technologies, including a built-in accelerometer that protected the hard drive from falls. Kittyhawk was claimed to be able to survive a 3-foot drop onto concrete while operating without loss of data.
Despite its remarkable characteristics, Kittyhawk turned out to be a commercial failure. It was not in demand from notebook industry due to its inferior cost per megabyte and capacity. A few OEM suppliers adopted the drive, including an early pen based computer maker EO, which ran the GO operating system. The handheld market failed to take off in early 1990s as expected. Many potential markets, such as the video game console market, were missed due to hard drive's high production costs.
Kittyhawk was discontinued by HP in September 1994. Approximately 160 thousand units were actually sold ( compared to projected 2-year sales of 700 thousand units ). In 1996, largely due to Kittyhawk's failure, Hewlett Packard closed its Disk Memory Division and exited the disk drive business.
The story of HP Kittyhawk is described in a Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
business case "Hewlett-Packard: The Flight of the Kittyhawk", and is a case study in the book The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
Clayton M. Christensen
Clayton M. Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in the Technology & Operations Management and General Management faculty groups. He is best known for his study of innovation in commercial enterprises...
.