Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/04/vendors_push_flash-fitted_hdds/
Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Toshiba have come together to promote hard drives with integrated Flash caches, the better to persuade notebook manufacturers in particular to choose their offerings rather than rival technology from Intel.
Windows Vista incorporates drive management code, dubbed ReadyDrive, that can take advantage of a hybrid, Flash-fitted hard drive to cache frequently accessed data. A similar system, ReadyBoost, can use Flash cards and USB keys for the same purpose. ReadyDrive's more laptop-centric, and Intel plans to offer 'Robson', a standalone Flash cache for regular HDDs, as part of the next major incarnation of Centrino, 'Santa Rosa'.
Fortunately, for Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Toshiba, Robson is an optional Centrino component (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/09/27/intel_intros_santa_rosa/), not a mandated one, so they can pitch against it, offering hard drives with integrated Flash caches as a cheaper alternative to standalone cache and hard drive.
Either way, the benefit is faster start-up and application-launch times, and quicker recovery from sleep. There could be a power saving too, boosting battery life, and the four hybrid-HDD partners - collectively the Hybrid Storage Alliance (HSA) - also stressed the reliability advantage: since the hard drive is used less frequently, even if it's only by a small amount, it will have a long lifespan. ®
Seagate admits Flash-fitted HDDs fall short of promised benefits (9 October 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/09/seagate_admits_hybrid_hdd_issues/
Samsung spins up 1TB desktop HDD (20 June 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/06/20/samsung_f1_series/
Fujitsu roadmaps slimline laptop HDD (15 May 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/05/15/fujitsu_preps_9mm_laptop_hdd/
Intel 'Robson' renamed Turbo Memory (5 April 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/05/intel_renames_robson/
Hitachi cuts jobs, flees Mexico (22 March 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/22/hitachi_drops_hdd_plant/
SanDisk intros internal Flash drive for laptops (14 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/14/sansdisk_flash_drive_for_laptops/
Intel 'Robson' Flash cache reborn as USB unit (12 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/12/intel_releases_robson/
Samsung fields Flash cache fitted hybrid hard drive (7 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/07/samsung_ships_hybrid_hdd/
Fujitsu fêtes first 7200rpm SATA II notebook drive (6 March 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/06/fujitsu_fetes_laptop_hdd/
Seagate to ship 'data mover' external HDDs next month (31 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/31/seagate_to_ship_freeagent_drives_february/
Fujitsu hails HDD capacity breakthrough (25 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/25/fujitsu_1tbpsi_hdd_breakthrough/
Vendors pledge to make Flash as easy to upgrade as RAM (22 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/22/onfi_spec_launched/
Seagate ships 'world's fastest' hard drive (17 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/17/seagate_ships_savvio_15k/
Intel's Flash cache module wins PCIe thumbs-up (15 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/15/intel_robson_pcie_approval/
Hitachi hails 'industry first' 1TB desktop hard drive (5 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/05/hitachi_unveils_first_1tb_hdd/
SanDisk spins Flash-fitted hard drive replacement (4 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/04/sandisk_launches_flash_hard_drive/
Samsung readies Vista-friendly double-speed Flash chip (3 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/03/samsung_50nm_16gb_flash_samples/
Hitachi touts 1.8in HDD energy saving tech (3 January 2007)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/01/03/hgst_unveils_latest_1-8in_hdd/
ATI next-gen chips said to back Vista Flash cache tech (6 October 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/06/ati_southbridge_flash_support/
Samsung touts Flash-fitted hybrid hard disk (18 May 2006)
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/18/samsung_hybrid_hdd_flashon/