The 4Mb – 2.88Mb formatted – 3.5 floppy disk drive is one of those IBM Corp products that get the tag of imminent for two or three years before it’s finally announced, but Torrance, California-based Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc is so convinced that it will be included in the next set of PS/2 announcements from IBM that it is rushing out its own OEM 4Mb drive so that micromakers can be ready to match the new standard when IBM does announce. The Extended Density drive provides read and write interchangeability with 2.88Mb, 1.44Mb or 720Kb capacity floppies; called the MF356C, it has a high-precision stepping motor and lead screw system to ensure accurate position within existing systems. It transfers data at 1Mbps, has a no-maintenance, brushless, direct drive DC motor and uses conventional 1Mb or 2Mb media and the new 4Mb barium ferrite medium, automatically sensing the density mode. The MF356C is available now in the US; no indication of price.
