Scientists at IBM, Macronix and Qimonda have been working together researching a possible replacement for flash memory, which is currently used in the majority of solid state media players and portable drives. Their work has lead to "phase-change" memory, a non-volatile storage method (meaning it does not require power to retain data) which benefits from faster transfer rates than standard flash memory whilst requiring smaller dimensions. Some of the technical details of how this phase-change storage works can be read at DailyTech.

Super Talent Technology, today announced a 16GB solid state disk (SSD) that is fully compatible with industry standard 1.8" notebook IDE drives. Super Talent SSD's employ an industry standard 44-pin IDE connector that is pin compatible with laptop IDE drives. Moreover, they have the same physical dimensions as standard 1.8" IDE laptop drives, making them an easy drop-in replacement for a conventional hard drive. Super Talent offers these flash drives in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities with typical 17MB/sec data transfer speeds. These products are available in industrial temperature range and with aluminum casing for greatest durability; or commercial temperature range and plastic casing for lowest cost and lightest weight. All six products have already been validated in leading laptop computers, and will be available this month from Super Talent.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of memory modules and flash products, today announced a 16GB solid state disk (SSD) that is fully compatible with industry standard 1.8" notebook IDE drives.

Samsung Electronics, today announced that its three solid state disk (SSD) drives have been officially recognized by Microsoft Corporation as fully qualified Windows-compatible peripherals. After thorough testing by its Windows Hardware Qualification Lab (WHQL), Microsoft has validated that Samsung SSDs meet all of the requirements for storage media in a Windows operating environment. Microsoft has certified a 32GB 1.8-inch sized Samsung SSD, a 32GB slim-type Samsung SSD (53.6x70.6x3.0mm) and a 16GB small-type SSD (56x48x3.8mm). The new sizes support the physical requirements of sub-notebook PCs. The SSDs' substantial size and weight advantages are expected to further encourage a steady adoption of SSDs into a number of PC applications, such as in ultra mobile PCs, "ruggedized" notebooks and special industrial applications.

The Fujitsu Lifebook Q and Lifebook B can now be had with either a 16 or 32GB Samsung SSD hard drive. The Fujitsu FMV-Q8230 features an ULV Core Solo U1400 (1.2GHz) processor, 512MB of memory (1GB maximum), Intel 945GMZ Express chipset, 12.1" WXGA screen, GbE, two USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire port, a PCMCIA slot and a fingerprint reader with TPM. The laptop measures 11.7" x 8.6" x 0.78" and weighs 2.17 pounds. The Fujitsu FMV-B8230 instead goes with a Celeron M 423 (1.06GHz) processor and uses the Intel 940GML Express chipset. The notebook uses a 12.1" XGA display and otherwise is similarly equipped to the FMV-Q8230. The notebook has dimensions of 10.6" x 9.0" x 1.23" and weighs 2.75 pounds. The upgrade to a 16GB SSD hard drive costs $700 and the 32GB variant will set you back $1400 compared to a normal hard drive.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that a 4GB solid state disk (SSD), now being readied for production, will also serve as a high speed NAND flash cache for notebooks and PCs in conjunction with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. The device - compatible with Windows ReadyBoost, a new Windows Vista feature that uses flash memory to improve system responsiveness - enables users to avoid the hundreds of annoying multi-second delays they experience every day when moving within and between frequently used applications.

SEOUL, Korea - May 23, 2006 : Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in digital media technology, will release the world's first PCs embedded with a 32-Gigabyte (GB) NAND flash-based solid state disk (SSD). This marks the first time that NAND flash has moved into a commercial mobile computing application and is a breakthrough that will pave the way for replacing hard disk drives with NAND flash-based memory disks.