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Fuzzy Logic Sandisk says SSD at 64GB for you and me
Fuzzy Logic Sandisk says SSD at 64GB for you and me | Sandisk says SSD at 64GB for you and me |
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| Written by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 05 June 2007 | |
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Page 1 of 2
Compatible as drop-in replacements for hard disk drives in most mainstream notebook computers, flash SSDs or solid state drives are a ‘hard disk’ version of that USB memory thumb drive you’re likely carrying, coming in the same shape and size as traditional hard drives with the necessary connector, with the only thing stopping them from widespread adoption being price. That’s where hard drives also have an edge – in price, not just the much larger capacities, although once again, flash drives are slowly, but surely, catching up. Flash drives also have power and performance advantages which we’ll look at in a moment. Back in the middle of March, SanDisk announced its 32Gb 2.5-inch hard drive, at a cost of US $350 for orders in volume, i.e. to notebook manufacturers, with the 1.8-inch version launched in January and destined for ultra notebooks and possibly future iPods. Naturally, the consumer price for the 32Gb SSD would be higher, but with the release of the two flavors of 64GB SSD from SanDisk, as yet without pricing but likely at least double the cost of the 32GB model to start with, the price pressure on smaller capacities is coming even as the inevitable jump to 128GB and larger models surely comes by the end of the year or early next. But before we start dreaming of terabyte sized SSD devices, the reality we live in today is 64GB, which is much more appealing to ultra notebook users than the previous 32GB incarnation. Doreet Oren, SanDisk director of SSD product marketing said that “Laptop manufacturers have requested more memory capacity for systems that use the Microsoft Vista platform, which can require a number of preloaded accessories and security suites. Also, there is interest in developing laptops for gaming, and the SSD is well-suited for the performance and memory requirements of those users. Thus, by offering greater capacities on our SSD products, we are making our products more appealing to a wider customer base.”
So, what makes SSD drives so much better than hard drives? The reasons SanDisk give are quite compelling... and are on page 2. Please read on for the conclusion! |
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