Fujitsu adopts flash memory for new tablets
Tablet PCs probably get dropped more than other computers, so Fujitsu has created two machines that store data by using flash memory rather than traditional hard drives. — The LifeBook P1610 and LifeBookB6210 are now available with either 16GB or 32GB flash drives.
Context & Ripple Effects
Fujitsu is making durability the explicit selling point for its tablet line: because tablets get dropped more than other notebooks, the LifeBook P1610 and LifeBook B6210 can now be ordered with 16GB or 32GB of flash storage instead of a traditional spinning hard drive, removing the platters most likely to fail in a fall. The same-week pickup by LAPTOP Magazine indicates the trade press treats flash-in-a-laptop as genuine configuration news rather than a concept demo.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the P1610 and B6210 get drop-tolerant machines, paying for that resilience in capacity terms — 16GB or 32GB against the much larger disks typical of 2007 notebooks.
Second-order effects
- Rival tablet and ultraportable vendors face pressure to add flash-configured options of their own, since drop resistance is a durability claim reviewers can test directly.
Third-order effects
- If flash pricing keeps falling, the pattern points to solid-state drives entering notebooks as premium options first and mainstream configurations later, while hard drive makers counter on raw capacity per dollar.
The trend: Solid-state storage is entering mobile computing through niche, abuse-prone form factors like tablets before challenging hard drives in the mainstream.