LONG BEACH, Calif. (Storage World Conference Booth #118), June 21, 2006 – Sony Electronics has expanded its Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) format to a fifth-generation, doubling the capacity of the previous generation to 400 GB while delivering backwards compatibility.

Offering a compact 3.5-inch drive form factor and a small 8mm media cassette, AIT-5 is the smallest tape technology to offer massive native capacity of 400 GB and sustained native transfer rate of up to 24 MB/second. With 2.6:1 data compression, the AIT-5 format will also enable stored capacity of up to 1.04 TB per cartridge and 225GB/hr performance.

The new format is backward read/write compatible with AIT-3, AIT-3Ex and AIT-4 media protecting businesses which have invested in these previous generations. AIT-5 also features ultra-low power, Magnetic Resistive Head, Dynamic Tracking, and WORM recording capabilities. 

“AIT-5 demonstrates our commitment to an aggressive product roadmap to double storage capacity from one AIT generation to the next,” said Alan Sund, general manager for Sony Electronics’ Tape Storage Division. “Our goal is to provide an extensive range of AIT products that are scalable through multiple generations and interface options, providing maximum choice and flexibility.”

The AIT-5 format will be implemented as internal and external drives available through tape automation OEMs, white box developers and Sony-branded storage solutions including the LIB-81 and LIB-162 slim rack-mount tape libraries.

Evaluation AIT-5 drives and media are shipping to OEM partners next month, while volume OEM shipments are scheduled for this fall. Sony-branded AIT-5 drive and autoloader models will also ship this fall.