The Seagate ST1 is a miniature 1-inch hard drive with the CompactFlash

CompactFlash

CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...

 Type II form factor, much like IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

's Microdrive

Microdrive

Microdrive is a brand name for a miniature, 1-inch hard disk designed to fit in a CompactFlash Type II slot. The release of similar drives by other makers has led to them often being referred to as 'microdrives'...

. Unlike Sony

Sony

, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

 and Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd.

is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...

 and allegedly GS Magic branded drives, Seagate

Seagate Technology

Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...

 developed their technology from scratch.
Although many of Seagate's hard drives have model numbers starting with ST-1 this is the only model that lacks another brand name. It is likely that Seagate would have liked to brand them as Microdrives but were not allowed due to trademark

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

 issues.

As of 2005 most 5 gigabyte mp3 players in production have ST1 drives embedded in them.
Notable improvements over IBM's design include

• 2 megabyte
  Megabyte
  The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
  
   data buffer
• A mechanism to hold the read-write head
  Disk read-and-write head
  Disk read/write heads are the small parts of a disk drive, that move above the disk platter and transform platter's magnetic field into electrical current or vice versa – transform electrical current into magnetic field...
  
   in place when the drive is not in use

All ST1 drives have "For Embedded Application Only" printed on the back of them, which has led some people to think that the CF mode required for use in digital camera

Digital camera

A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...

s is disabled. This is in fact not true and was most likely put there to remind the user that the drive was not designed for continuous use in a desktop computer.

ST1 Models

• 2.5 gigabyte (2004)
• 4 gigabyte (2005)
• 5 gigabyte (2004)
• 6 gigabyte (2006)
• 8 gigabyte (2005)
• 12 gigabyte (2006)

External links

• Seagate ST1 Series Product Overview