Apple iBook and PowerBook might get solid-state drive

Samsung said last week that flash-memory will become cheaper and cheaper, making it possible to replace hard drives with solid-state memory in future mobile devices such as Apple PowerBooks and iBooks.

A 16GB solid-state disk was recently launched by Samsung. Solid-state disks (SSDs) have a few advantages over hard disk drives (HDDs). A SSD consumes less power, is more resistance to shocks, more reliable because it has no moving parts, writes and reads data faster and produces no noice. The only major disadvantage is its huge price, the 16GB SSD is expected to have a $900 price tag.

Hwang Chang-Gyu, president and CEO of Samsung's semiconductor business, believes the price difference will erode if double-digit percentage price drops in the flash-memory market continue. Last year the price of flash-memory chips dropped with about 40 percent.

Hwang says consumers will enjoy the faster and more convenient solid-state drives and says Samsung is planning to launch a 100GB version within a couple of years. The 16GB solid-state drive has the same size as a 2.5-inch HDD and the company also plans 4GB and 8GB 1.8-inch drives.

Source: Appleinsider