News Blog

If there was any doubt about the state of solid-state drives, Computex seems to be putting it to rest.

SanDisk, TDK, and Intel, among others, are announcing new solid-state drives while Asus is launching the Eee PC 1000 with a larger-capacity drive.

SanDisk pSSD solid-state drive

(Credit: SanDisk)

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are used increasingly instead of hard disk drives in small computers like the Asus Eee PC and devices like the Apple iPhone because SSDs use less power and are generally more rugged--due to the fact that they have no moving parts.

The Asus Eee PC 1000, for example, will be offered with SSDs up to 40GB in capacity, beating the 20GB SSD offered in the Eee PC 901.

With this market segment in mind, SanDisk introduced a line of solid-state drives that are designed for "netbooks"--a category of compact, low-cost notebook PCs best exemplified by the Eee PC.

The SanDisk "pSSD" (Parallel ATA solid state drive) is available in 4-, 8-, and 16-GB capacities. The device can achieve a "streaming read" speed of 39 megabytes per second and a streaming write (record) of 17MBps, according to SanDisk. These speeds compare favorably with the low-performance 1.8-inch hard disk drives used in small notebooks.

The pSSD solid-state drives are expected to be available starting in August when pricing will be announced.

TDK also launched new solid-state drives. The "HS1" series is a line of 1.8-inch solid-state drives with the Micro Serial-ATA (SATA) interface. The Micro SATA specification provides for a smaller connector for the high-speed SATA interface used widely in PCs today.

The HS1 series offers capacities of 16, 32, and 64 gigabytes, respectively. The product uses SLC (single-level cell) NAND flash memory. SLC-based solid-state drives are used widely, today but many SSD manufacturers are planning to move to more advanced multilevel cell (MLC) technology later this year.

Burst performance is 100MBps for reading data and 50MBps for writing data. These speeds compare favorably with 2.5-inch hard disk drives.

TDK's SSDs are now available for volume shipment at sample prices of about $1,900 for a 64GB model and about $1,400 for the 32GB model.

On Tuesday, Intel will introduce the Z-P230 Parallel ATA (PATA) series of solid-state drives. The Z-P230 "is a cost-effective storage solution designed to replace traditional hard disk drives in netbook and nettop systems, yet is four times smaller and lighter than a standard 1.8-inch hard disk drive," Intel said. The drives come in 4GB and 8GB capacities.

The Intel SSDs are being launched along with low-power Atom processors that include the N270 for netbooks and the 230 for low-cost desktops--what Intel calls nettops. The chips run at up to 1.6 GHz with an average power consumption of 2.5 watts.

Intel will also announce high-capacity solid-state drives in the second half of this year that have capacities of 80GB and 160GB.

In the wake of a series of technical announcements from flash memory supplier SanDisk, larger-capacity solid-state drives are on the way.

SanDisk 72GB solid state drive

(Credit: SanDisk)

Flash memory is gaining as a replacement for hard drives in ultra-thin, ultra-small notebooks such as the MacBook Air and Asus Eee PC. Why? Flash uses less power, generates less heat, and has faster access times than hard drives. The Air, for example, offers a 64GB flash-based SSD as an option while the Eee PC is sold standard with flash storage.

There is a big catch, though. High-capacity SSDs are expensive. Prohibitively so. The flash drive in the pricier $3,098 Air is the main culprit in the gaping $1,300 price difference with the lower-cost hard-drive model ($1,799).

Update: Historically, flash memory has had limited write cycles. That is, flash can eventually "wear out" after hundreds of thousands of write cycles--though firmware that spreads the writes over different sectors can extend the write cycles. It remains to be seen if this is an issue with SSDs used in the newest notebooks such as the Air.

The low power and high speed, however, make a flash drive almost irresistible for some users. A SanDisk SSD 1.8-inch drive achieves a sustained read rate of 66MB/sec and a random read rate of over 7,000 inputs/outputs per second for a 512-byte transfer, many times the speed of a hard drive--which must move an arm across a spinning platter to find data, the so-called seek time of a hard drive.

SanDisk will not discuss future pricing but as larger-capacity SSDs hit the market, prices are certain to fall. And eventually these will be steep price drops. For example, an 8GB SanDisk flash card now sells for about $80 at resellers. A few years ago consumers would have paid this much (or more) for a 1GB drive. (And a 1GB card was originally priced at $500 in 2004!)

SanDisk and Toshiba will start making flash memory on a new 43-nanometer manufacturing process that will result in SSDs later this year with capacities that should approach those of today's mainstream 2.5-inch hard drives, ranging between 120GB and 160GB.

The two companies recently achieved 32-gigabit (Gb) density, according to Khandker N. Quader, SanDisk's senior vice president of flash memory design and product development. The 32Gb die combined with multilevel cell (MLC) technology--which uses multiple levels per cell to allow more bits to be stored--"doubles the SSD capacity points," Quader said in a written response to questions.

Flash based on "X3" technology is another new development, Quader said. "This is an important milestone (and) allows us to do 3bits/cell as opposed to 2bits/cell thereby providing improved manufacturing efficiency," he said. "So a combination of technology scaling (i.e., 56nm to 43nm) and the bit scaling (i.e. 2bits/cell to 3bits/cell) is extremely powerful for manufacturing efficiency and for increasing capacities of flash memories."

But there are challenges. Moving to X3 can affect performance. "One very important point to take into consideration is that X3 is not a simple memory to manage," Quader said. "This is the first generation X3. We expect this to evolve in 2008."

SanDisk has also developed a 43nm 16Gb MLC for MicroSD, according to Quader. MicroSD is a tiny flash chip used in mobile phones. The new technology will double the capacity of current 8GB MicroSD, he said.

If consumers and businesses are going to be convinced to switch to solid-state drives over hard disks, it's going to take something more compelling than 16GB.

On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a new version of its Compaq DC7800 series desktop PC. The product line was initially introduced last September, but now has an option of adding a 16GB solid-state drive (SSD) from SanDisk.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)

Sure, fewer moving parts when storing data is more reliable and saves power, but when an audience is conditioned to expect 80GB minimum in a desktop, 16GB appears a bit puny. (That's like running your office from an iPod, but a desktop-size iPod. It's limiting.) The software image--a load of software that includes the Windows Vista operating system and other software that corporate customers use--takes up roughly half of the available space, or 8GB, leaving the other 8GB for productivity apps like Microsoft Office and storage.

"This is not a mainstream product," said Kirk Godkin, HP's senior product manager for business PCs. The option is aimed at commercial customers, like those in the hospitality industry, who have limited space and run a single application repeatedly. Godkin said he believes SSD in desktops won't be mainstream until at least 2010. Eventually HP will move to a 32GB and perhaps even a 64GB SSD, he said, but did not give a specific target date.

The biggest reason is cost. Right now solid state is more expensive than a hard disk drive (HDD)--a 16GB SSD costs about $300, compared with $120 for an 80GB HDD, Godkin said.

Solid-state drives in desktops are new. The option for a solid-state drive in notebook PCs is still relatively rare, and is usually reserved for a PC maker's higher-end mobility products. Some hard drive makers, like Seagate and Samsung, are beginning to offer hybrid drives for notebooks, which combine the use of flash memory chips with a hard disk, but even those have been slow in gaining any sort of mass appeal among the top PC makers.

SanDisk is suing 25 companies for infringing on its patents on removable flash storage devices.

The flash memory maker filed a suit with a U.S. District Court in Wisconsin and another with the U.S. International Trade Commission Wednesday evening, seeking damages, a permanent injunction and an order from the ITC banning the importation of the products.

SanDisk is suing other memory vendors that make products like this CompactFlash card.

(Credit: SanDisk)

The roll call of the companies is a long one, but here goes: ACP-EP Memory, A-Data, Apacer, Behavior Computer, Buffalo, Chipsbank, Corsair Memory, Dane-Elec, Edge, Imation/Memorex, Interactive Media, Kaser, Kingston, LG Electronics, Phison Electronics, PNY, PQI, Silicon Motion, Skymedi, Transcend, TSR, USBest, Verbatim, Welldone Company and Zotek/Zodata.

SanDisk says it's just enforcing its patents to be "fair" to the companies that already license its technology for flash storage devices. "Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program," said E. Earle Thompson, SanDisk's chief intellectual property counsel, in a statement. If the 25 companies don't get on board and pay SanDisk to license the patents in question, Thompson promises to "aggressively pursue" legal damages and a ban on the importation of the named companies' products.

TakeTV offers a cheaper, easier alternative to streaming videos from a PC.

(Credit: SanDisk)

It was first shown at January's Consumer Electronics Show--and then leaked on Buy.com just days ago--but the Sansa TakeTV is now official. It's not the first device designed to put PC-based digital videos on the TV, but what sets SanDisk's TakeTV apart is its simplicity: just drag and drop videos to the flash drive from your PC, and then plug it into the included video dock to watch them on your TV. The straightforward operation is a notable counterpoint to most other PC-to-TV digital video alternatives, which involve either cumbersome direct hook-ups (video and audio runs from a PC to a TV); installing digital media adapters (such as the Apple TV or Xbox 360), which require some knowledge of home networking; or burning video files to disc for playback on compatible DVD players.

Concurrent with the TakeTV launch, SanDisk is also debuting Fanfare, a premium video download service. TakeTV is the first device that can play back Fanfare content, but SanDisk is aiming to expand compatibility to other products in its Sansa line. Currently in beta, Fanfare is little more than a proof of concept, but the addition of content partners beyond CBS and Showtime could certainly position it as a worthwhile alternative to Apple's iTunes Store.

For a more in-depth look at the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV--including a first look at the Fanfare service--check out CNET's complete hands-on review and the accompanying photo gallery.

According to a report yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo's restructuring plan will likely involve significant cutbacks at Yahoo Music, including the shutdown of one or more of its subscription-based services.

In fact, it looks like Yahoo has already removed all links to its Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go service. The service, priced at $11.99 per month, allows users to transfer files to a compatible portable device. The service now can be found only by conducting a search, and I'm not sure if Yahoo is accepting new customers for it. That leaves Yahoo Music Unlimited, which offers PC-only downloads for $5.99 per month, with an option to buy CD-burnable downloads for an extra $0.79 apiece.

This could cause some trouble for manufacturers of portable music players that don't have their own stores. I'm thinking particularly of SanDisk, which has the No. 2 position fairly well locked up at this point, with around 10 percent of the market, mostly at the low end. (Microsoft hopes to be in this position by next year, but so far hasn't officially announced any low-cost flash-based players, so it isn't in the same market category.) Today, SanDisk's Sansa Connect player is the only one offering a Wi-Fi-enabled device with a subscription-based service--that is, anytime, anywhere access to millions of songs. But that product relies on Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go. So SanDisk will either have to find another partner (Rhapsody?), build its own store, or fundamentally change the Connect--perhaps offering downloads only, as Apple's going to do with its iTunes Wi-Fi Store.

The decision to cut back on Yahoo Music also illustrates a point I made yesterday: online music stores generally exist to sell some other product. According to an Insider estimate from April by PacificCrest's Andy Hargreaves, Apple pays about 70 percent of the cost of each download back to the content owner. (Anecdotally, this matches up with the cut that independent musicians receive when they sell their songs on iTunes via CD Baby--see the end of this post on Digital Audio Insider.) After that, Apple has to cover various other costs (delivery, transaction fees to payment processors) and probably ends up keeping about 10 percent. Compare this with the estimated profit margins on Apple hardware like the iPhone (50 percent before the recent price cut) and iPod Shuffle (around 40 percent when it launched in early 2005), and it's clear that iTunes is meant to drive hardware sales, not the other way around.

Microsoft and Nokia are following a similar tack, building their own music stores in hopes of selling more devices. But for companies with no adjacent business, selling online music is tough. I imagine large retailers like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart Stores do OK because of their huge scale, and RealNetworks is making a go of it with Rhapsody, but smaller online retailers face a tight squeeze.

Wednesday morning I visited the new Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters of Zonbu, makers of the low-cost, service-supported Linux computer I mentioned last month (here). I met with Zonbu CEO Grégoire Gentil, who gave me an overview of the company's business plan and a demo of the system. He also offered ... Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Flash memory will take over the world, if the laws of physics don't get it first, according to one of the technology's biggest backers.

On one hand, NAND flash--the kind of flash found inside digital cameras and MP3 players--is crushing the competition, Eli Harari, CEO of SanDisk, said on Wednesday at the Flash Memory Summit here.

Eli Harari, CEO, SanDisk

(Credit: SanDisk)

NAND has made 1-inch hard drives obsolete. Then it's on to 1.8-inch hard drives and possibly larger 2.5-inch notebook hard drives, Harari said.

"The next big market will be video. You should expect next year to see video cameras and video camera phones that use more flash," he said. More flash notebooks will start appearing next year too.

NAND will also start replacing DRAM, the main memory used in PCs, over the next five to seven years. Because of rapid improvements, NAND has gone from being more expensive--in cost per memory bit--than DRAM in 2001 to being significantly cheaper than DRAM in 2007.

IBM and others are already working on solid-state servers that rely on NAND.

Now the bad news: it's going to become much harder to continue to improve NAND chips.

"NAND is definitely going to slow down. There are some fundamental practical limits and some fundamental physics limits," Harari said. "We have three or four generations, five at most. Beyond that, we may need a different technology."

The problem is that the different subcomponents inside these chips can't be shrunk much further. One layer, called a tunnel oxide, can probably be shrunk to about 80 angstroms. In other types of chips, this layer can be shrunk to 12 angstroms.

Data corruption is another problem. Flash memory records data by storing electrons in cells. "At 32 nanometers, you can't afford to lose more than 30 electrons" before data corruption becomes an elevated risk, he said. "Thirty electrons sounds like a lot, but it is very small." The debut of 32-nanometer chips will be sometime toward the turn of the decade.

The turning point may come with the 20-nanometer generation of chips, which will start coming out a few years later. At that point, NAND chips will be capable of holding 256 gigabits of data, and the cost per bit will be about a tenth what it is today, but it will be extremely difficult with current manufacturing technologies and materials to go further.

What are some of the alternatives? SanDisk will try to stack transistors in 3D arrays. "When land is expensive, you go up in skyscrapers," he said. The company bought Matrix Semiconductor, which invented a 3D memory chip, a few years ago. Matrix's chips, however, are not rewritable--you can't erase old data and put new stuff on it. Solving that problem will be a focus of the company's research.

Manufacturers will also put more bits in each cell. Right now, the densest chips have two memory bits in each cell. Chips with three bits per cell will probably come out in the next two to three years, and four bits after that. To date, most manufacturers haven't talked much, if at all, about three bits of memory per cell.

Other companies are also working on things like phase change memory, or mechanical actuators.

Cost will become another major issue. Fabs cost about $5 billion, and nearly 50 percent of the world's NAND factory capacity will have to be replaced in the next two years, Harari said. NAND makers thus will have to put a lot of money into construction.

The new fabs will let the most efficient manufacturers cut prices by 30 percent to 45 percent a year, he said. Unfortunately, prices have declined by 60 percent annually in the last two years.

"If the best you can do is 40 percent cost reduction, you can't have 60 percent reductions in price," he said. Consolidation may become inevitable.

Memory makers, of course, have overcome or at least postponed these problems before. Back in 2003, flash executives said the industry would start running out of tricks with 45-nanometer chips--which will start coming out in the relatively near future.

If there's one buzz topic that has laptop fans excited right now, it's the transition from traditional platter-based hard drives to solid state drives (like the one in your iPod Nano). These drives, like that flash memory stick hanging off your keychain, have no moving parts, give off less heat, and require less power to run--all good things if you're packing a few thousand dollars worth of battery-powered technology into your carry on bag.

The ultramobile Latitude D420 and semi-rugged D620 ATG laptops are the first systems in the Dell line to get these 32GB 1.8-inch drives from SanDisk. Swapping one in will cost an extra $549, which isn't that bad a markup, considering you can buy these 32GB drives off the shelf for around $350 (and certain other vendors want $700 for the same thing).