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High prices hamper higher penetration
In spite of the clear advantages of solid state storage over traditional mechanical hard drives, SSDs are simply not taking off in notebooks.
According to a DRAMeXchange report, SSDs will be used in just 1 to 1.5 percent of all notebooks shipped in 2009. The share is significantly higher in netbooks, as some 10 percent of all units shipped will feature solid state storage. Bear in mind that most SSDs used in netbooks are nothing more than glorified USB sticks - relatively small and very slow.
The main reason for such poor market penetration is obviously the higer price, which outweighs the benefits of using SSDs in notebooks. Although SSDs are silent, more reliable, faster and more power efficient than HDDs, most consumers don't feel they are worth the premium. At the moment, an average 64GB solid state drive used in notebooks costs as much as a 500GB 2.5-inch hard drive.
SSD prices are dropping, and healthy fpr netbooks and thin and light notebooks will probably speed up adoption rates, especially once 30nm drives become available.
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Notebooks
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