MSI introduces first netbook with hybrid storage

Friday, January 2, 2009, 5:03
Laptops
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Taiwanese PC producer MSI has announced the launch of the MSI U115 Hybrid netbook which, according to the company, will be the first to put forward both a solid state drive together with a traditional hard disk. As its reviews, the U115 Hybrid netbook is the first of a new breed – a netbook, which comes with both a HDD and an SSD into its compact frame. I believe that this is the start of the ending for hard disk drives and I, for one, am not sad to see them go.

The 10-inch computer will come built-in with an 8 or optional 16GB SSD, plus a 120 or 160GB HDD. Processing power originates from a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 chip, supported by up-to 2GB of DDR2 533MHz RAM. The developer also claims that the U115 Hybrid netbook can sprint both the drives at one fell swoop, or simply the SSD with the aim of saving power, at the same time keeping access to the majority of common functions of Windows XP Home. Extra benefits of the SSD drive incorporate greater shock resistance and faster load times.

In addition, the U115 Hybrid netbook boasts of coming up with 802.11n Wi-Fi, a 1.3-megapixel camera, optional Bluetooth support and a 4-in-1 card reader. Connections take in three USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output and jacks for mic, headphone and Ethernet cords.The netbook, with a standard three-cell battery, is likely to tip the scales at almost 2.2lbs.

So far, I have not been able to get details as to its pricing or when the MSI U115 Hybrid netbook will hit the shelves but I suppose that it wont be long before quite a lot of other makers step into the hybrid SSD and HDD game so, wait and watch this space, and find out what it has in store for us.