Podcast: Fujitsu thinks solid-state drive benefits are more hype than reality (for now)

Solid-state drives are all the rage, but are they worth the significant premium (sometimes $1,000) over machines with convention drives? Current solid-state drives use either NAND Flash memory or SDRAM and contain no moving parts. Proponents tout several benefits of solid-state drives over conventional platter drives--faster startup, shorter seek times, lower power consumption, and better durability.

Although they've been used in specialized applications (military systems, server optimization, etc.) for years, computer manufacturers now offer solid-state drives in some high-end machines--Apple's MacBook Air. Solid-state drive currently cost several times more than traditional platter-based drives, but as costs come down will solid-state drives become the dominant computer drive in the near future? Fujitsu doesn't think so.

In this podcast, Bill Detwiler, Head Technology Editor, speaks with Joel Hagberg, VP of Marketing and Business Development for Fujitsu's Hard Drive Division, about why Fujitsu thinks the benefits of solid-state drives are more hype than reality at the current time.

You can read more about Joel and Bill's conversation and listen to the podcast online, from TechRepublic's IT Dojo blog.