Intel launches fingertip-sized flash drives

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 18 Dec 2007 at 09:34

Intel has launched a new range of tiny solid-state hard drives, as part of its push to innovate its mobile device technology.

Intel claims the Z-P140 PATA drive is one of the tiniest in the industry, weighing in at around 0.6 grams and coming in at about the same size as a fingertip. The drive currently comes in 2GB and 4GB capacities, but Intel says it intends to expand the range to 16GB in the future.

Despite the size, the Z-P140 also offers solid performance if Intel's figures are to be believed. The company rates the device at a read speed of 40MB/sec and write speed of 30MB/sec.

Crucially, Intel claims the disks have an active power usage of 300 milliwatts, and only 1.1 milliwatts in sleep mode, which could prove to be a major draw for manufacturers as they look to improve the battery life of their mobile devices.

"Our mission is to provide world-class non-volatile SSD and caching solutions that are designed, optimised and validated to enhance Intel Architecture-based computing platforms," says Pete Hazen, director of marketing for Intel's NAND Products Group.

"Our customers are finding the Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD to be the right size, fit and performance for their pocketable designs. This is Intel's latest offering as we continue to expand our product line of reliable, feature-rich and high-performing SSDs."