Flash Memory Drives For Laptops

By Gene Bisbee

If you've ever shot a picture with a digital camera, saved a number on a cell phone, or downloaded a song onto an MP3 player, then you've used flash memory.

The lightning-quick data storage technology on those devices serves the same function as a hard-disk drive on a computer, but the flash memory technology is so much faster and more efficient because it works without moving parts.

Recent developments are driving down the cost of flash memory and improving its rewrite capabilities. These changes mean that computer makers are eyeing solid-state drives -- based on flash memory technology -- as an alternative to hard-drive data storage in laptop computers.

What does this mean for the business traveler? Computer makers will begin offering smaller, lighter, more durable laptop machines that can operate longer between battery recharges, boot up more quickly, and store and access data faster than today's hard-drive laptops.

The standard hard-disk drive stores data onto a fast-spinning magnetic platter with a read-write head. A small motor spins the platter, the head is poised less than a hair's thickness above the disk, and the whole is semi-encased to keep out dirt and moisture.

By comparison, solid-state drives electrically store information on a configuration of chips. Think of USB memory cards and you can quickly realize the advantages of SSDs, which use the same technology:

• There are no motors, which add weight, bulk and operating noise to a laptop as they suck down the battery and heat up the machine.
• Flash memory units can be dropped on the floor, doused in water, or dirtied up with dust and debris without adverse effects.
• Digital storage on SSD chips means faster read-write speeds than hard disk drives; an obvious benefit on boot up or opening software.

There are drawbacks. SSDs cost anywhere from five to eight times more than a comparable hard-disk drive, but those prices are expected to fall over the next couple of years as their use expands.

Flash-drive makers are working on another shortcoming, capacity. SSD storage space tops out at 128 gigabytes today, although 32 gigs is standard.

With so many benefits, SSD-equipped laptops are already beginning to trickle onto the market, although at a premium price. By 2010, however, competitively priced flash-drive alternatives to standard hard-disk laptops are expected to garner 20% of laptop sales.

One of the first on the market is Dell. Its Latitude D420 comes with a 60 GB standard hard drive, but can be upgraded to a 32 GB solid-state drive for an additional $480. Fujitsu has been selling a 32 GB SSD option on some laptops to corporate users for a $1,399 markup. Sony and Hewlett-Packard also are said to be designing laptops using the flash storage technology.

In spite of the higher costs, these laptops are expected to make an impact in the defense and construction industries, where on-site durability is critical. In just few years, however, they'll be commonplace for business travelers willing to pay a little more for a lighter, faster, less power-hungry laptop.