Seagate will sell flash drives next year

SSDs store data in non-volatile flash memory devices instead of on rotating magnetic disks. Flash memory retains stored data with the power off, unlike volatile DRAM that must be reloaded with data after every power cycle.

SSDs are lighter, less power hungry and less sensitive to impacts than electro-mechanical hard drives. The reliabilities and lifetimes of flash memory devices have improved over time to levels that are comparable with those of hard drives.

Seagate joined Hitachi, Fujitsu, Samsung and Toshiba in an industry alliance to promote hybrid SSD "flash embedded" hard drives in January, and it already makes hybrid hard drives that store often accessed data in flash memory, but it is the first major vendor to announce an all-SSD line of storage products. µ

L'INQ
Computer World