Samsung Takes Flash to the Next Level with First NAND Disk

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Samsung on Monday announced that it has developed the first Solid State Disk (SSD) based on NAND flash memory technology. The NAND-based SSD is a low-power, lightweight storage media designed for notebook PCs, tablet PCs and other mobile electronics.

NAND technology is offered currently by only a few vendors. Intel, for example, has not developed its own NAND technology and -- according to news reports at the end of April and in stark contrast to its own NOR flash technology -- is procuring NAND chips from competitors for use in certain packaged offerings.

According to Samsung, the new SSDs have a power consumption rate less than five percent of today's hard disk drives, enabling mobile PCs to extend their battery life significantly. In addition to the low power consumption, the NAND-based SSD weighs less than half that of a comparably sized micro hard drive. Free of moving parts, the SSDs have minimal noise and heat emissions. Moreover, like other flash technologies -- which often can survive trips through the washing machine -- the SSD is a reliable storage media designed to endure well in environments with extreme temperatures and humidity.

Samsung also claims the SSD's performance rate exceeds that of a comparably sized disk drive by more than 150 percent. The storage disk reads data at 57 MB per second and writes it at 32 MB per second. To ensure compatibility, Samsung has designed the SSDs to look like micro disks from the outside.

The company has developed a full line of these SSDs, including two 2.5-inch SSDs that carry 16 NAND flash devices of 4 Gbit or 8 Gbit density for 8 GB and 16 GB of storage, respectively. Samsung also will offer a smaller 1.8-inch type SSD that will provide 4 GB or 8 GB of storage capacity.

Samsung expects NAND to help push flash storage beyond the current applications in digital still cameras, MP3 players and 3G mobile handsets as NAND flash becomes more widely recognized as a reliable medium.

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