SSD Drive LifeBook Only For High Rollers

Written by Adam Gosling

Wednesday, 21 March 2007

Get ready to hear a lot more about Solid State Disks as the new technology reaches a price point customers are willing to pay and vendors are able to justify, but maybe not quite yet. This Fujitsu announcement is squarely targeted at industries with fat wallets. New to the (very) shortlist of notebook manufacturers talking about replacing hard disk drives with silicon as the primary storage unit, Fujitsu has announced that its latest range of ultra-compact tablets is available with solid state disks. Only for special 'project' customers and only those that rate performance well above money. The two pen-enabled tablets are called the LifeBook P1610 and B6210. Both ultra-portables are available with the Solid State Disk (SSD) as an option. There are two Samsung-made, flash-based SSD drives available , 16GB or 32GB. Fujitsu seems to e concentrating on the durability of the disks asw a selling point. To back that concept up it has released an optional ruggedised case as an accessory for the convertible. With no moving parts, the SSD drives are far more stable than traditional spinning disks. Other advantages as listed by Fujtisu include: noise free, virtually no heat generation, and half the weight of a traditional 2.5-inch notebook hard drive. Fujitsu sees the notebooks heading for medium to large organisations in vertical markets, such as healthcare, aviation, and field service, which require a light and compact, but highly durable mobile computer. Wall Street floor traders have also been highlighted as a possible market. "On-your-feet workers need to protect their tools without interfering with the product's usability or adding significant cost," said Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product marketing, Fujitsu Computer Systems. "By offeringSSDs along with rugged cases, Fujitsu provides a superior solution for environments where rough handling of notebooks is inherent in the workplace." The LifeBook P1610 is a touchscreen with a 8.9-inch indoor/outdoor LCD designed more for filling out forms than traditional keyboard input. The largerLifeBook B6210 has a bright 12.1-inch XGA which is also a touch screen. The ruggedised casing is priced at US$139. Unfortunately, the Solid State Disk Options are not similarly priced. Reports on the pricing for Fujitsu's Ultra Portables indicate that the Samsung SSD options will add an unhealthy margin. Choosing a solid state disk will add US$650 for the 16GB drive and US$1,300 for the 32GB SSD drive. www.fujitsu.com Related news items Mobile Speakerphone From Jabra -30/08/2007 Fujitsu LifeBook - 12.1 inch; 11 hours; 1.53kg -21/08/2007 Telstra Offers $3 Million To Get Seniors Hooked on SMS -15/08/2007 HP Plans More iPaqs As PDAs Become Smartphones -12/08/2007 Consumer Electronics Takes Interest In 802.11n -12/08/2007 Newer news items Flash Giant Offers 1.8 inch SSD -25/06/2007 Spinning Disks Aren't Standing Still -14/05/2007 Lexar Express SSD Has Backup Intent -01/05/2007 Samsung's Announces 16Gb Flash -30/04/2007 Dell Drives Into Solid State Storage -29/04/2007 Older news items Solid State Drive Prices Falling Fast -16/03/2007 SanDisk Adds To SSD Trend -15/03/2007 Intel Targets Solid State Drives At Servers -13/03/2007 Hybrid Drive Reduces Crash Risk -07/03/2007 Solid State SanDisk Disc -04/01/2007 Tag This Now: