IDF: Intel outlines solid state roadmap

Intel has promised to deliver its first solid state drives (SSDs) within the next month.

The X18-M and X-25M drives will initially ship in 1.8in and 2.5in form factors for the laptop and desktop sectors respectively.

They will hold 80GB but Intel intends to offer 160GB versions by the first quarter of 2009.

"We want to make it clear that we are in the solid state business," said Troy Winslow, marketing manager for the NAND group at Intel, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Franciso.

"This is just the first iteration of our roadmap. We will be developing a range of products for a variety of [market] segments."

Winslow claimed that the SSDs delivered between 30 and 34 minutes extra battery life in tests, thanks to better management of activity settings.

The new drives have been designed to work well with existing operating systems, according to Winslow, and Vista performed better than XP on the devices.

Intel will also bring out an SSD aimed at the server sector. The X25-E Extreme will arrive as a 32GB capacity drive in the next three months, and the company plans to release a 64GB version by the first quarter of 2009.

See also:

Micron announces super fast SSD line

High data rates open market for server drives  06 Aug 2008

Japanese boffins develop long-life Flash

Low power chips could last hundreds of years  14 Jul 2008

Sun plans solid state server push

Pricier hard drives on the cards  04 Jun 2008

Intel and Micron double SSD density

34nm Nand device due later this year  30 May 2008

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!