M-Systems is selling a 176GB ultra SCSI 320 hard drive entirely based on flash memory storage units, not including a single mechanical part. If the data flow rate might seem rather low (40MB/s) but access time is similar to the one of RAM module than a classical HD. But do not rush... the price is still not known but should be around tens of thousand US$; such drives are initially designed to equip aircraft fighters.
But Samsung has announced its new flash memory-based hard drive featuring up to 16GB storage capacity. Such drives consumes up to 20 fold less energy than a standard HD, so they might represent a ideal device for ultra-portable computers.
