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SanDisk has launched a 32GB solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives.

Notebooks equipped with the new drive, which is expected to add around $600 to the cost of a machine, could be available in the first half of 2007, SanDisk said Thursday.

Samsung, a maker of computers and flash memory, announced last May that it would sell laptops with flash-memory drives of a similar capacity. Samsung's drive then added around $1175 to the cost of its laptop.

The launch of SanDisk's drive means that other notebook computer manufacturers will be able to offer the fast, durable, low-power consumption storage devices made possible by using flash memory, according to the manufacturer.

Until now, large capacity flash-based drives found buyers primarily in the military, aerospace, and telecommunications industries, which require systems that can operate under challenging environmental conditions. The declining cost of NAND flash memory, however, has made solid-state drives economically viable in other areas, including notebook computing, SanDisk said.

Solid-State Design Speeds File Access

Unlike conventional hard drives, which need to spin into action to seek files, flash memory-based drives contain no moving parts. The 32GB drive, for instance, can boot up Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system in 35 seconds, compared to 55 seconds for a notebook with a hard disk drive, according to SanDisk. The SanDisk drive also offers average file access rates of 0.12 milliseconds, compared to 19 milliseconds in machines with a hard disk drive.

Another advantage of the flash memory drive, SanDisk said, is its comparatively low power consumption. The chip requires 0.4 watts during active operation compared to 1.0 watts in most hard drives.

SanDisk will offer the drive to equipment manufacturers in a 1.8-inch package.