A new type of computer storage device combines the traditional magnetic hard disk with memory chips like those used in the "thumb drives" that plug into universal serial bus (USB) ports. Hybrid hard drives are expected to see widespread use in business and mobile PCs in the next few years.
The hybrid drives, some of which have already been announced by storage manufacturers such as Seagate Technology LLC and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., combine a standard hard disk with a smaller amount of flash memory - or memory chips that retain data even when the power is turned off. Seagate's initial products offer up to 160 gigabytes of magnetic disk storage coupled with 256 megabytes of flash memory.
Data can be retrieved from flash memory significantly faster than from a hard disk. That leads to one of the hybrid drive's advantages. By storing frequently used data in its flash memory "cache," a hybrid drive can allow a computer to start up significantly faster, says Josh Tinker, manager of personal computer market development at Seagate.
Samsung's tests of its new MH80 hybrid drive show that the drive allows a computer to start up 30 per cent faster and load software 30 per cent faster, says Andy Higginbotham, director of hard drive marketing at Samsung.
That's one reason why manufacturers expect the drives will be popular in laptop computers, which owners want to pull out and turn on quickly. "That's where we see the biggest bang for the buck," Mr. Tinker says.
For application software to start faster, he adds, PCs will need Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows Vista operating system, which has the built-in intelligence to make use of a hybrid drive's cache.
Mr. Tinker expects consumers to switch to Vista faster than corporate users, and therefore he thinks hybrid drives will gain ground faster in the consumer market.
Vasu Daggupaty, an analyst at research firm International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. in Toronto, agrees, though for a different reason.
Home PCs are moving into the living room and being viewed more and more as consumer electronics devices, Mr. Daggupaty says. "With that, there is a certain expectation from consumers as to how a PC in the living room is going to be expected to perform."
Turn on a stereo or TV and it starts to work immediately - computers will be expected to do the same and hybrid drives will get them closer to meeting that expectation, Mr. Daggupaty says.
Another plus for any type of portable computing will be power consumption. Storing frequently used data in flash memory allows the magnetic drive to be idle longer, Mr. Tinker says. The disk drive is a major contributor to a laptop's power consumption, so allowing it to idle more will improve battery life by about half an hour in typical use, Samsung's Mr. Higginbotham says.
Though Canada has no disk drive manufacturers, Ottawa-based Mosaid Technologies Inc., which develops technology for license to chip manufacturers, recently announced a new interface that it claims will greatly improve flash memory performance. However, says Peter Gillingham, Mosaid's vice-president and chief technology officer, the architecture will deliver more benefit in pure flash memory storage devices than in hybrid drives. He predicts hybrid drives will be an intermediate step between magnetic disks and solid-state drives.
Mr. Tinker isn't so sure. Storage devices built entirely of flash memory are "cost prohibitive," he says, at around $10 (U.S.) a gigabyte for a small 32-gigabyte drive, compared with as little as $50 for a 60-gigabyte magnetic drive. By contrast, Mr. Tinker says, the price difference between a straight magnetic drive and a hybrid one is "marginal."
Mr. Higginbotham estimates it costs about $100 for a 60-gigabyte hybrid drive and says the gap will narrow over time. He adds that pure flash technology may become popular for small drives, but larger drives will increasingly be hybrids.
Hybrid hard drives
The pros
Faster boot and resume times: Booting straight from a flash memory chip eliminates the need for a hard drive's platters to spin up.
Lower power consumption: Hybrid drives curtail platter spin time, which reduces power draw. This, in turn, extends battery life.
Higher reliability: Reducing platter spin time extends drive life.
Greater durability: Every time data is pulled from the flash memory, the system has greater shock tolerance because the drive platter isn't spinning.
The cons
Cost: Hybrid drives are generally more expensive.
Platform: Although hybrid will eventually work with most newer operating systems, users are currently limited to Windows Vista.
Possible increased seek/write time: A PC will search the flash drive before turning to the hard drive. If data is not stored on the flash drive and if the hard drive must spin up, it would take longer to access a file.
Harder to wipe: Studies have shown flash memory retains information even after many rewrite sequences, which may pose security concerns.
Source: Biz Tech magazine
