
Shame
This is a pity, as Toshiba HDD's have a much better reputation for reliability than either Seagate or WD.
Giant Japanese conglomerate Toshiba, currently restructuring in the wake of a huge accounting scandal, has denied media reports that it intends to pursue a flash foundry spin-off. The Japan Times has reported (citing sources) that the flash foundry business could be set up as a separate subsidiary owning the Yokkaichi plant in …
Where did you get this idea that Toshiba HDDs have a better reputation, let alone much better?
There is nothing upon which to base such a claim, aside from personal experience. There are a couple large studies like Google's, but they omitted the manufacturer's name and even then there is a lot of variability over time as different models and even different lots within the same model can have widely diverging results.
I don't think it matters all that much if we went to only a choice between Seagate and WD, and it is difficult to see who would want to buy a hard drive business in 2016 aside from those two even if Toshiba practically gives it away. The average person will probably buy only one more hard drive in their life, and the biggest market for hard drives for consumer use will soon be DVRs. PC makers probably start including SSDs in all models within two years.
I recently bought two (pair of 1TB 2.5" drives to be mirrored for bulk storage on a new PC I'm building - using existing 80GB SSDs for OS & home dir) and I expect they will be the last hard drives I ever purchase.