Apple may have chosen to limit its latest iPod Classic to 120GB, but Toshiba's already announced a mini hard drive with twice that capacity.

The 240GB 1.8in MK2431GAH drive will go into mass production by the end of the month, Toshiba promised - plenty of time to get into the new iPods had Apple so wished.

Toshiba's HDD: highest density 1.8in drive?

Actually, Toshiba also announced today a 120GB version, the MK1231GAL, which is a one-platter version of the two-platter 240GB model.

Toshiba claimed the platters deliver the industry's highest data density in a 1.8in drive: 344Gb per square inch.

Both spin at 4200rpm and connect across a parallel ATA interconnect - so they're ideal for MacBook Air owners looking for a drive upgrade too, assuming it'll take an 8mm-high drive. If not, the 120GB model is only 5mm high.