RSSToshiba's 128 GB solid-state disk plays hide and seek
By Tim Conneally | Published April 14, 2008, 5:10 PM
On Friday, Toshiba's Japanese-language Dynabook dedicated site announced a delay in availability of its 128 GB solid state drive for the SS RX model ultra portable. Then, on the company's European site, a Portege R500 (the Dynabook's western counterpart) appeared to be configurable with a 128 GB SSD.
Most other features are standard for the Portege line, an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV U7700 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, 12.1-inch backlit LCD display, a 7mm dual-layer DVD superdrive, all weighing in at a meager 1.72 pounds.
Unfortunately, just because it's listed on the site, does not mean that it will be available any time soon, and the notebook has no official release date in the US.
"We deeply apologize to the customer who has already reserved one." The site said, attributing the delay to a lag in production of the drives in question. First launched in Summer 2007, the Dynabook's upgraded hard drive announced in March. All told, a Dynabook SS RX with all the features will run for over $4,000.
This look so damn sexy. But the price is way too steep for my budget.
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|SS drives - nice technology, but except for the truly exceptional mission critical use, we'll stop back by in 2 years when the prices have come down from the stratosphere.
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|I think you meant 12.1-inch LCD.
Meh. For price/performance, this kind of device seems hardly worth it anyway. I'd rather have a larger laptop with more muscle (and a faster hard-drive) for a LOT less.
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|I agree! Roll out the powerhouse desktop replacement capable of running multiple VMs with extended RAM and full video/graphics capabilities - even if its merely a luggable.
I just need a unit that can be transported - I'll worry about fully powering it when I arrive.
Although, if they want to implement a 'reduced resource' remote powered managed subsystem for use 'in route' with the remainder of the resources reserved for use when wall powered - that could work as well.
And as far as watching a DVD, the prices for a dedicated DVD player have sunk sufficiently to justify just buying a dedicated player for $80-120 and carrying it and using it instead of the laptop for simply watching DVDs.
The truth is, except for extended 3-5 hour flights, the notion of pulling out a laptop and using it in route on a plane during the 20-40 minute actual usable time period just isn't worth the hassle.
While not for everyone, I and quite a few folks I know just need to be able to transport larger more robust resources for use in different locales, and I could care less if it is as thin as a credit card or if it fits in my wallet. I need the functionality rather then the panache.
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|And because of this article I'm now re-interested in looking up the speeds of solid state drives and power consumption vs plattered drives...
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|Solid state really scares me though because when it goes, data is unrecoverable usually...
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|^This^
It makes data recovery the art of only those who have the hardware to do it.
Software methods are faaaaaar less likely to do it.
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|It's not really different to magnetic media though - if it's a bad file table or something it's recoverable - if they media is physically damaged only a professional can do something with it (for thousands of dollars).
Regardless, you shouldn't be thinking data recovery, you should be thinking backup. :p
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|Anyone who truly values the info in thier HDD always had a backup USB external. The same would go for solid-state.
An investment of 50-70 dollars these days will get you a nice case with a 200GB HDD. It's worth every penny if you **** up or the computer does.
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|The solid-state disc drive is going to be the notebook standard in a couple years. When mine has lived it's lifespan, I will definitely pick one up (with Vista).
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|Vista will be replaced by something else by then, hopefully.
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