NetBook Expert

As storage moves further away from portable devices and things move more towards speed, SSD’s are fast becoming the future of storage on consumer devices like netbooks. However, previously it has been tough to include larger capacity SSD’s into small devices like the netbooks mainly because it was impossible to find a large drive that would fit into the cramped space of a netbook. That has changed not, thanks to Active Media.

They have released a netbook that is only 1.8″ in size and still manages to pack in 128GB worth of storage space. It is called the Sabertooh ZX and has a PATA/IDE interface. That has got to be one of the densest consumer grade storage devices we have seen till date. But the main deterrent to large scale SSD deployment acts here as well. This 1.8″ 128GB SSD from Active Media will set you back by $380. So unless you are a professional who can justify this as a business cost, you probably do not want to buy something that costs almost as much as the netbook itself.

But there are other options for lesser mortals like us — there’s a 64GB version for under $200 and a 32GB version for $120. You really only need a tiny bit of space for the OS, apps and some files. The rest can simply be pulled from the cloud. Have no doubts about it — the SSD is many times faster than your HDD and will create a noticeable difference in boot and app loading times. Overall performance will better as well, thanks to the really high read and write speeds.

This 128GB SSD from Active Media however is not the speediest we have seen at 38MBps write and 80MBps read. But it’s selling point is that it can get that much SSD storage into your netbook and that is where it really seals the deal.