They've been executing their strategy very well, and it's been evident in their profitability.

265

As the demand for portable digital music and video grows, mobile device manufacturers will need ample storage capacities. Small form factor drives such as Seagate's ST1.3 provide a cost-effective, high-capacity storage solution for these device manufacturers compared to other storage alternatives.

253

Consumers want their content portable, and the 79 percent increase in shipments of mobile disk drives into consumer devices in 2005 over 2004 is evidence of this dynamic. IDC attributes this growth to a combination of innovative disk drive designs and effective integration of HDD technology into consumer devices by companies like Toshiba.

199

(Mergers are) good for the industry. Just the fact that there are fewer companies in the industry should help stabilize pricing in the long term. In the near term, there could be some benefit to Western Digital. There probably will be some merger-related losses. Western Digital is in a good position to pick up share.

157

It will be challenging for Toshiba to maintain its market share with new entrants, but overall unit growth for these two categories of (hard drives) over the next few years will provide Toshiba with an opportunity to grow its volumes even as competitors enter its space.

101