Samsung 32GB Solid State Disk
Pushing the limits on flash memory
Samsung has announced that its 32 Gigabyte solid-state disk will be used in upcoming mobile computing products, but it wasn't specified exactly which products would get the technology. The new storage technology was demonstrated at CeBIT, 2006: a consumer electronics trade show in Germany, where Samsung showed how far solid-state storage technology can go. The 32 Gig solid-state disk appeared in a laptop computer at CeBIT, marking Samsung's intention to use the new storage devices in mobile computing devices where they're most needed. This is the largest flash memory storage device we've seen so far.
It's really a flash memory card using EEPROM for storage, which is not much different than an SD card or Sony Memory Stick. At this capacity it's called a "Solid State Disk" (SSD) because, at this level of mass storage, it performs the job of a hard disk drive rather than only operating as portable storage. Samsung intends to market their new high-capacity storage cards as replacements for hard disk drives in notebook computers, or any portable device that will have to run on batteries.
What's so special about solid-state disks?
Why do we care if we have 32Gigs of solid state storage or old fashioned micro-hard drives that we usually find in notebook computers? It's true that if solid-state storage only offers the same amount of space as a hard drive it wouldn't matter; however, solid-state storage has several key advantages. The main advantage is power requirements.
A hard disk drive requires many times more power than solid-state storage. In fact, Samsung's 32Gig solid-state disk only uses 5% of the power used by a micro hard disk. The hard disk has moving parts that require a motor to spin up the disk. The solid-state device weighs less and has no moving parts. This is a huge advantage when you're using portable electronics running off of batteries. This means a single battery charge will last longer, hence batteries will have a longer life overall.
The other advantage is speed. Samsung's SSD reads data up to three times faster than a conventional micro hard drive and can write data 1.5 times faster. Mobile computing requires smaller space and SSD is the perfect candidate. It's easy to see why analysts predict a boom in the solid-state disk market. In 2006, the SSD market generated $540 million, but it is predicted to explode by 2010, when it should reach $4.5 billion.
At present, the hard drive for a laptop is the proving ground for the technology as they're still quite expensive. Cost per Gig for solid-state storage is still relatively cost prohibitive, but microprocessor's costs are on a downward spiral and soon solid-state storage with huge capacities will start turning up in unexpected places.