Apple’s iPad Catalyzes $4.3 Billion Hard Disk Drive Maker Deal

Forbes’ Brian Caulfield says the Apple iPad phenomenon appears to be one of the factors catalyzing Western Digital’s acquisition of Hitachis Global Storage Technologies unit for $4.3 billion, noting that last week tech market research firm iSuppli reported that surging tablet computer sales are hurting notebook PC sales, resulting in a sales decline for traditional hard disk drives, and an accelerating a shift towards solid state disk drives in other markets.

That would include Apple’s new all-SSD MacBook Airs which represented some 40 percent (1.1 million units) of Apple notebook sales in Q4 2010, during which they weren’t even available for the first three weeks of October.