A new hybrid hard drive has been developed by Samsung Electronics which promises a power-saving technology revolution. Samsung claims that their hybrid unit will speed up computer boot times and consume 70-90% less power than traditional hard drive units, reducing electricity usage and related CO2 emissions from power plants.
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bottom lineWhat you need to know - Conventional View
• The new technology combines a small
flash memory chip with a traditional rotating disk drive, allowing the traditional disk to spin less frequently and use less
power.
• Incoming data is recorded on the
memory chip and transferred to the disk drive only when the flash memory is full.
• Computer makers seem hesitant to adopt the new
technology until the Korean company can prove it is reliable.
• Seagate Electronics, the leader in the
hard drive market, is developing hybrid technology to be marketed in the near future.
• Intel, a giant in the chip
industry, is also developing similar technology, known as Robson, that could prove to be a worthy competitor to Samsung's hybrid hard drive.
•
Samsung sold only 10% of the total
hard drives shipped in 2006, ranking fourth behind leaders Seagate Technology at 33%, Western Digital at 20%, and Hitachi at 16%.
• iSuppli senior analyst Krishna Chander expects hybrid drives to take off in 2008, when hybrids will account for 15-20% of computer notebook sales.
• Notebook hard drive shipments were set to hit $14.9 billion in
2010, up from $9.2 billion in 2006.
• The desktop hard drive market, which took in $11.6 billion in 2006, is expected to shrink to $11.2 billion in 2010.
• "There is a challenge to prove the reliability of this total drive that has both flash and hard drives integrated into one," said Chander.
What you need to know - Alternative View
Statements and opinions by Mike Adams, executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center• Computer storage devices collectively use an enormous amount of
energy from the national grid, and much of the time, the hard drives are spinning for no good reason. A hybrid hard drive technology would be a welcomed improvement in the energy efficiency of data storage devices.
• Thanks to heightened environmental awareness, many technology companies are now examining ways to make their products greener (more energy efficient). Another huge issue facing the computer components industry is e-waste and the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of computer hardware.
Bottom line
•
Hybrid hard drive technology promises to use less energy than current hard drives.
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