WD(R) Leads Market in Shipping Highest Areal Density 3.5-Inch Hard Drives

WD's 320 GB-per-platter Technology is the Basis for WD's Already-Shipping
2.5-inch Drives And the Result of Continued Investments in Technology

LAKE FOREST, Calif., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WD(R) (NYSE: WDC)
announced today that it is now shipping in volume its WD Caviar(R) family of
3.5-inch hard drives based on 320 GB-per-platter technology, the same
industry-leading storage areal density that the company has been shipping in
its 160 GB-per-platter (320 GB capacity) 2.5-inch WD Scorpio(TM) drives since
October 2007.
"Our technology investments and product roadmap execution have resulted in
WD shipping the industry's highest areal densities in the industry's two
highest volume markets," said Hossein Moghadam, chief technology officer of
WD. "Our 250 gigabits-per-square-inch technology already has been reliably
serving our 2.5-inch customers, and now it will benefit customers in the 3.5
inch desktop and other product areas."
An initial WD Caviar capacity point of 320 GB is available immediately.
The 320 GB-per-platter technology will be deployed across WD's desktop,
enterprise, CE and external hard drive product lines, including additional
capacity points, throughout this calendar year.
"Our technology leadership strengthens WD's position with customers as the
preferred hard drive supplier," said Richard E. Rutledge, senior vice
president of marketing for the company. "Delivering new technologies first and
within WD's high quality and reliability product standards, on time, in volume
and backed by top service gives our customers, partners and suppliers a
competitive advantage, as well."
The WD Caviar family of 3.5-inch desktop hard drives delivers high
performance with 300 MB/s transfer rate, cache sizes up to 16 MB, Native
Command Queuing (NCQ), and cool operating temperatures and quiet operation,
enabling customers to integrate WD products in the most demanding desktop and
external storage environments.
About WD
WD, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides
products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and
use digital information. The company produces reliable, high-performance hard
drives that keep users' data close-at-hand and secure from loss.
WD was founded in 1970. The company's storage products are marketed to
leading systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the
Western Digital and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the
company's Web site (http://www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of
financial and investor information.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements relating to the future deployment of 320 GB-per-platter technology
across WD's various product lines throughout calendar year 2008, and the
benefits that 3.5 inch desktop customers will derive from 250
gigabits-per-square-inch technology. These forward-looking statements are
based on current management expectations, and actual results may differ
materially as a result of several factors, including: technical and
manufacturing challenges; changes in technology; supply and demand conditions
in the hard drive industry; and business conditions generally; and other risks
and uncertainties listed in WD's recent SEC filings, including its Form 10-Q
for the first quarter of 2008. WD undertakes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events or for any
other reason.
Western Digital, WD, the WD logo and WD Caviar are registered trademarks
of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other brand and product names
mentioned herein are the property of their respective owner.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000711/WDCLOGO )
SOURCE Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

Heather Skinner, Public Relations, +1-949-672-7920, heather.skinner@wdc.com,
or Bob Blair, Investor Relations, +1-949-672-7834, robert.blair@wdc.com, both
for Western Digital Technologies, Inc.