SanDisk has a new SSD (solid state drive), but with a unique difference that sets it apart from many other flash drives. The 32GB, SATA drive is a 2.5-inch model, making it suitable for use in laptops, such as the MacBook or MacBook Pro, or in an external drive enclosure.

Granted, 32GB is smaller than many of us are used to in this age of 200GB laptop drives. Still, it’s not hard to imagine some interesting possibilities. One could use this flash drive as their internal drive, storing just Mac OS X and some other essentials (rips of Battlestar Galactica DVDs, etc.), with a larger external FireWire or USB2 hard drive for storing things you can do without while on the road. This would provide much better battery life and performance versus a conventional hard drive, leaving the slower, bigger drive for less frequent and less demanding tasks. People working with digital video, PhotoShop, or audio can probably also imagine some interesting uses. SanDisk has this to say on the matter:

With no moving parts, SanDisk SSD SATA 5000 2.5″ does not need to spin up into action or to seek files in the way that conventional hard disk drives do, while also eliminating the limitations of random seek performance. These characteristics, combined with SanDisk advanced flash management technology, enable SanDisk SSD to achieve performance that is approximately twice as fast as the hard disk drive

The current downside is that many of us never want to leave our massive MP3, movie, and television collections (all from the iTunes Store, of course), which makes it hard to downside to a 32GB drive. The drive is also going to computer manufacturers at $350 each, according to Engadget. There’s clearly a movement afoot, though, and big, cheap SSD drives aren’t too far away.

Filed under: New Products