More Ultrabooks to adapt hybrid disk drive approach to storage

Notebooks vendors trying to meet Intel’s specs and pricing guidelines for its new Ultrabook platform are running into a bit of a problem when it comes to storage.

According to DigiTimes, storage parts make up between 10 and 15 percent of an Ultrabook’s cost, thanks to the higher price of solid state drives that are preferred for their fast boot-up times. But that cuts into profits when Intel is asking laptop makers to keep prices below $1,000.

As a result, DigiTimes reports that more Ultrabooks will adopt the strategy Acer has used with itsAspire S3 Ultrabook: the so-called hybrid disk drive. Acer uses a small 20GB SSD to store Windows and apps for quick launching and adds a 320GB hard drive for other file storage.

While it’s more convenient to just go with a single storage solution, and other Ultrabooks (like theAsus Zenbooks and the Lenovo IdeaPad U300) have launched with just an SSD, you can expect to see subsequent models rolling out with the hybrid disk drive configuration.

Will that make an impact on whether or you would purchase an Ultrabook? Let us know in the Talkback section.

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