64 GB flash device threatens the existence of a hard drive

A number of manufacturers have demonstrated large-capacity solid-state storage (flash) storage in the Computex exhibition, taking place in Taiwan from June 6 to June 10. These products are lighter, more energy-efficient and more durable than traditional hard drives with magnetic rotating discs.

PQI 64 GB flash drive. ( Photo: MobiMag ) The largest version introduced in the exhibition is Taiwanese PQI 64 GB drive. The 2.5-inch device for this laptop will be mass produced in August. Meanwhile, the 32 GB product of Apacer (Taiwan) has been on the market for $ 1,700.

The biggest drawback of solid-state storage technology is still too expensive. But economists say the price of integrated memory chips in the flash drive will drop sharply as output increases in tandem with the popularity of devices like iPod and mobile phones.

Even Samsung Electronics predicts prices will fall 40% annually. The high cost makes the flash market still confined in some areas that require toughness and endurance to endure the harsh changes of the environment like the military.

Samsung believes flash will replace traditional storage technology and has launched many products under this technology as well as a hybrid between flash and magnetism. However, the flash also encountered a few other problems such as the ability to exchange and process data relatively slowly.

PQI tried to speed up by adding a two-channel SATA interface to the 64 GB version but not really impressing the professionals. " The read and write speed depends on the chip, so storage drive manufacturers cannot interfere. These restrictions may be fixed in the third or fourth quarter of next year ," said Vincent Hsu, Director of Broadcasting. Apacer's development, said.

A Transcend maker's engineer said solving these defects is not difficult, so there will be more companies competing on the flash market than the current hard drive market.