Samsung's new 1.8-inch, 64-GB SSD has analysts buzzing. "Once you hit a 64-GB size," said Samir Bhavnani, research director at Current Analysis West, "you've hit a size that you can deploy to notebooks and ultramobiles." For an ultraportable laptop, he added, 64 GB is "certainly sufficient" for most business applications and documents.
Solid state storage for mobile devices entered a new chapter on Monday, with Samsung's new 1.8-inch, 64-GB solid state drive (SSD) now rolling off the production line.
The new SSDs are among the highest storage capacity of flash media yet available for mobile computing products. In a statement announcing the new drives, Samsung said it sees demand for "premium, SSD-based notebooks," especially in the new, ultramobile category that falls between a smartphone and a laptop.
The new SSDs are among the highest storage capacity of flash media yet available for mobile computing products. In a statement announcing the new drives, Samsung said it sees demand for "premium, SSD-based notebooks," especially in the new, ultramobile category that falls between a smartphone and a laptop.
Advantages, Disadvantages
SSDs have several advantages over traditional hard drives. With no moving parts, they are more durable and can last up to six times longer between failures than standard hard drives. In addition, they move data in and out as much as 100 times more quickly than standard hard drives. For a large operating system such as Vista, this can make a big difference.
Beyond reliability and speed, SSDs are more efficient. Samsung said that its 64-GB SSD can improve battery life by up to 20 percent, and they are as silent as USB memory sticks and other flash-based storage media. Hard drives, however, still have the dominant edge in price-per-GB and in total capacity.
But that pricing edge is now moving into a head-to-head competition, as the new capacities begin to make solid state drives useful for business.
Once you hit a 64-GB size," said Samir Bhavnani, research director at Current Analysis West, "you've hit a size that you can deploy to notebooks and ultramobiles." On average, he said, notebook computers for the enterprise have drives about 80 GB, although for consumers it's generally larger.
For an ultraportable laptop, he added, 64 GB is "certainly sufficient" for most business applications and documents.
Sami Clarisse T. Juanico
4 Graviton
June 26, 2007
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