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To: Pam who wrote (33635)	9/30/2006 9:49:50 PM
From: inaflash	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

Inaflash, what are you talking about? You have completely digressed from the point Samsung executive was alluding to and also from the remarks the poster has made at the end of the write-up! Let me try to get back into context. Here's the Q&A from the Samsung CEO: Q: "Where do flash prices have to fall before solid-state, or flash-memory, drives gain a big presence in the notebook-computer market? A: The problem is manufacturer prices are coming down, but memory-storage content of hard drives is also going up...Currently, the high-end notebook uses something like 200 gig of memory. The most we could provide at a reasonable price is 32 gig [of flash memory]. So if you consider that the price of flash is declining maybe 50% annually, and do the math, you'll see that it will take a few more years to have a sizeable presence of flash in the nortebook market. The memory content of the HDD is also going up pretty fast. So you have a moving, not stationary, target." Message 22864302 My comment: They're being realistic about the need for a 32GB flash drive costing $1000 versus 200GB hard drive costing $200. Though the gap is closing, it's not closing that fast. The average company isn't going to go flash at these prices. I hope you are not implying that using SSFD will reduce the notebook weight by 50% and if you are not implying that, the overall weight reduction is not that significant for normal notebooks and many users may not even feel the difference considering the amount of stuff people carry along with their laptops. As for the light weight machines, like VAIO's and UMPC's, that Sony and Samsung are selling, this weight reduction would certainly be felt by the end-user but it will nowhere close to 2 lbs you are referring to and the battery life will definitely not double considering the chief culprit in power consumption is the LCD screen. From the reviews that I have read they are just talking about a 30% reduction in power consumption that was being consumed by the HDD and not the overall power consumption. I very much doubt that battery life will be extended by 4 hrs just by replacing HDD with a SSFD. No, not alone by any means, but every bit helps in the Ultralight category (and I mean full laptops that run Windows XP and hopefully Vista), where they strip every optional device (optical, etc.), the flash can definitely help. I envision the hard drive as a strippable device as well in a couple of years (external like optical). In this category, under 3 pound units are already available and some getting close to 2 pounds, and the drive towards lighter weight will continue. The trick is to provide enough function and power at an affordable cost. Here, every ounce cut somewhere means getting that much lighter or adding a slightly larger battery for a few extra minutes. Saving a few watts here means a few more minutes there. tabletpc2.com You're absolutely right that the LCD is the biggest power drain, and proportionately getting bigger because of the savings that have already been achieved by HD and CPU. Weight reduction is also getting tougher, requiring exotic magnesium cases in some laptops to achieve strength and weight. It's possible that it might take another technology like OLED to bring down the power requirements in the display, but 8-10" screens are hardly available and most will complain it's too small, so we're still looking around 12" as a minimum, making this a tough goal.