Intel has introduced a smaller version of its solid-state drive for mini-notebooks, an emerging PC category that's showing strong market growth worldwide.

The smaller version of the Z-P230 PATA SSD is about a half inch narrower than the larger model and weighs three tenths of an ounce.

Both drives are available with 4 GB or 8 GB of storage, with a 16 GB version scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter. The 4 GB version sells for $25 and the 8GB version for $45. Both prices are in 1,000-unit quantities.

In comparison, the Z-P230 is roughly a quarter the size and weight of a 1.8-inch hard disk drive typically used in a mini-notebook. SSDs in general use less power than HDDs and are more rugged because the former does not have any moving parts. Both Z-P230s consume a maximum 314 milliwatts of power and have read/write speeds of 38MB per second and 10 MBps, respectively.

Mini-notebooks are defined as low-cost, lightweight laptops with screen sizes ranging from 5 inches to 10 inches. The notebooks run a full version of a client operating system, such as Windows XP or Linux, and cost less than $500.

The mini-notebook market is expected to show strong growth over the next few years. Worldwide shipments are on pace to reach 5.2 million units this year and 8 million units next year, according to Gartner, Manufacturers could ship as many as 50 million of the devices in 2012.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved