Samsung Developed 32GB SSD Laptop Hard Drive Replacement

Samsung Electronics has developed a 32GB version of its SSD (solid-state disk), a flash-memory-based replacement for hard disks.

PCWorld.com - CeBIT: Samsung Shows Flash-Disk-Based Laptop

The drive packs 32GB of flash memory into a case the same size as a 1.8-inch hard drive. That capacity is double the 16GB of a prototype device announced by Samsung last year and was made possible by the continuing miniaturization of flash-memory chip technology.

At CeBIT, the solid-state disk is being demonstrated inside a Samsung laptop computer. Because the SSD is the same size and shape as the computer’s hard drive it was relatively easy to replace the hard-disk drive with the SSD, said Yun Mini, a spokesperson for Samsung.

Benefits: Speed, Durability

The SSD technology has three major benefits over hard disks, said Yun. The first is that data access is faster. This could be seen when the SSD-based laptop was booted up alongside the same-model machine with a hard disk. The desktop appeared on the screen of the SSD laptop in about 18 seconds while the hard-drive-based computer took about 31 seconds to reach the same point.

The second advantage comes in durability. Because there are no moving parts in the SSD, it is much better at withstanding shock and much more unlikely that data will be lost if the laptop is dropped.