Software

SSDs Get Ready for a Late 2009 Boost.

As the market for NAND Flash stabilizes in the latter half of the year, consumer and enterprise demand for solid-state drives is expected to surpass hard drives. Sound familiar?Т  The topsy-turvy world of predictions surrounding the storage market has swung back from peril to optimism.Т  Industry research firm DRAMeXchange is reporting that the oversupply of NAND flash weakening the global solid-state-storage market is scheduled to balance out toward the latter half of 2009.Т  This will allow the price gap between traditional hard drives and their expensive, solid-state counterparts to narrow, ultimately launching the HD-to-SSD replacement cycle that was delayed as a result of the worldwide economic crises. Computer manufacturers have been foreshadowing the transition, especially in the context of this yearтЂ™s Consumer Electronics Show.Т  Not only have we seen the usual flurry of SSD price cuts and size increases, but thereтЂ™s been more talk about the enterprise market and its use of solid-state technology.Т  SanDisk expects flash-based laptops to penetrate the market in 2009, and has launched its third-generation line of SSDs to be ready to meet the expected demand.Т  According to the company, these drives would allow a business to convert a standard, Windows XP-based laptop to a 60GB тЂњflashtop,тЂќ as theyтЂ™re being branded, for only $150. Rival Samsung is pushing its new SSDs toward the server markets, rather than portable computing.Т  But company representatives also agree that 2009 is going to be a big year for SSD-only business notebooks. Seagate has also given some insight as to how flash-based storage plays a role in the companyтЂ™s storage roadmap. According to Seagate CTO Robert Whitmore, the company plans to launch its first solid-state enterprise drive later in 2009.Т  Industry critics are doubtfully responding with, тЂњabout timeтЂќ to the announcement.Т  SeagateтЂ™s been dragging its heels with flash-based technology compared to its peers, offering more conjectures тЂ“ the growth of hybrid storage in 2009 and potential SLC and MLC combination SSDs тЂ“ than tangible products.Т  Although the company has been busy with the SSD market in one context: Suing solid-state drive manufacturers for alleged patent violations.

james braselton commented:

hi there your right ssd bost is not in 2009 but 2010 with apples new ipad tablet windows tablet pc and intels new ssd line 300 gb 400 gb and 600 gb ssd wow a intel 60 gb ssd in a imac would be so alwsume

19.02.2010

Add your comment:

Name:
Site address:	http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits (spam protection):