Revealed at the Samsung Mobile Solution Forum in Taipei the 2.5-inch, 256 gigabyte (GB), multi-level cell (MLC)-based SSD uses a SATA II interface, and is the world's fastest SSD, according to the company.
According to the Samsung press release the new SSD card is the thinnest drive with the largest capacity offering a SATA II interface.
Samsung expects to begin production of the 2.5-inch SSD by the end of 2008. According to TechWorld a 1.8-inch version of the 256GB SSD is expected during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Based upon technology found in flash memory chips, SSDs have no moving parts, unlike hard disk drives (HDDs) and their spinning magnetic disks with read-write heads suspended above them. The absence of moving parts makes SSDs generally more reliable and able to offer better performance than HDDs.
"SSDs typically have faster read performance, the endurance can be an advantage because of no moving parts -- more power efficient, noiseless, no heat dissipation, etc.," Unsworth noted.
