128GB Solid State Drive Suitable for MacBook Air

[MacRumors]

Mtron announced today that they have developed a 128GB 1.8" solid state drive (SSD) with a ZIF-type interface that is due to ship in April 2008.

Mtron’s new SSD with Single Level Cell (SLC) Flash memory supports PATA (ZIF-type) interface and has a maximum reading speed of 120MB/s and writing speed of 100MB/s, which is more than 6 times faster than the current 1.8 inch HDD. Therefore when it’s used in laptop PC and UMPC, it delivers much faster performance than desktop. Mtron also released 1.8 Inch SSD with Multi Level Cell (MLC) Flash memory, which provides maximum memory capacity of up to 128 GB along with a maximum reading speed of 110 MB/s and writing speed of 40MB/s.

Mtron touts the ability of the SSD drive to withstand shock, vibration and consume nearly 50% less power than a conventional hard drive.

The introduction of this 1.8" SSD drive raises the maximum capacity of the MacBook Air, which is currently limited to 80GB due to physical size constraints. We presume this SSD drive is a 5mm height (required to fit in the Air), but this dimension is not specified in the press release. Pricing is also not specified and SSD drives typically carry a much higher premium than traditional hard drives.

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[IndiaPaleAle]

Works for me

[basesloaded190]

can we make guesses as to how much this is going to cost?

[aznkid25]

the macbook air is starting to sound like a better deal now.

[brianbobcat]

Technology keeps progressing at a rapid pace. Within the next several years, HDD in laptops at least will be a thing of the past. However, massive amounts of storage, 1TB and larger, are still required for us pros, so flash is nowhere near taking down HDDs all together.

-Brian

[iTeen]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

can we make guesses as to how much this is going to cost?

i would think, around $1699 for it. I really don't think they are going to charge $2000

[W1LLk]

Originally Posted by basesloaded190

can we make guesses as to how much this is going to cost?

As with every new bump in HD size, capacity, and speed the cost is always exactly this:

$ridiculous.99

However, its worth the cost if it makes everything snappier...

[basesloaded190]

but is it worth to put in a hdd that cost as much or more than the computer itself?

[Flyer0815]

This is great news. The quicker these advancements come, the quicker SSD's will be practical and affordable for the general public.

[tobefirst]

Originally Posted by iTeen

i would think, around $1699 for it. I really don't think they are going to charge $2000

Don't capacity and cost have the opposite relationship when we're talking about bleeding edge things though? Double the space costing more than double the cost?

[Small White Car]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Macbook Air is going to be a seriously kick-a** computer in 2 years!

[Mac-Addict]

It also has a very cool feature, a £5000 price tag!

[dual64bit]

Interesting... I like the idea of 120Gb+ in that thin little portable!

[gkarris]

Pricing will drop quickly.

I'd say a $1499 in the late fall and $500 for the 64Gig upgrade...

Now for one of those in the iPod Touch....

[fuziwuzi]

Originally Posted by dual64bit

Interesting... I like the idea of 120Gb+ in that thin little portable!

plus it's really fast

[MacFly123]

LOL WOW..... So you could have a cutting edge thin as air laptop for the one time low price of only $10,000.00 lol Call now and get a free blank CD-R!

LOL, I honestly didn't even realize this till after I posted, but there is no disk drive lol.

[nnkd]

Regardless of the ridiculous pricetag that this nice, new SSD will carry, I think it's a sign that technology manufacturers are already starting to make available hardware for the new MBA. I truly believe that hardware options for the MBA will soar in their availability, which continues to make me believe that the first revision/first upgrade of the MBA will make it a really cool, much more useful, tiny little laptop (regardless of the fact that I don't want one).

[tuneman07]

lol 128 gigs for 1700 bucks- awesome. You could almost buy 2 MB's for the price of just the HD. I wouldn't be surprised if it was more actually.

[Hansii]

I don't need more than 64GB, but 6 times as fast as the current MBA SSD sounds good

[roland.g]

Really just use back to my mac and forget about carrying that much data.

[EagerDragon]

May cost about 900, Apple always overprices things like this, so this may cost the same as the 64 Gig version.

Would be interesting on a MBP also, however I myself would prefer a real large drive over a solid state.

[ehurtley]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

We presume this SSD drive is a 5mm height (required to fit in the Air), but this dimension is not specified in the press release.

So why would you assume it is the right height? There are 8mm 1.8" drives. Why couldn't this just be an 8mm drive? The press release says nothing about the height, nor does it mention the MacBook Air at all.

I'm not saying that I know it won't work, I'm just curious as to the unwarranted optimism...

[reallynotnick]

Originally Posted by Hansii

I don't need more than 64GB, but 6 times as fast as the current MBA SSD sounds good

It is 6 times faster then the HDD not SSD, if it were, that would be ridiculously fast!

It's just good to hear larger capacities are coming out, even if they are way too expensive it all drives the market forward.

[asdavis10]

128 SSD sounds great. I won't have to worry about managing my data as much as I do now. But I would be more excited if there were a SSD of that size compatible with my MBP.

[Snide]

Originally Posted by Hansii

I don't need more than 64GB, but 6 times as fast as the current MBA SSD sounds good

Nope - it's "6 times faster than the current 1.8 inch HDD"...