During the first day of Computex 2010 in Taipei, Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS) officially unveiled the world’s first hybrid SSD / ODD drive for use in small form factor netbooks, set-top boxes and even tablets. Put simply, the HyDrive is a standard mobile form factor DVD optical drive with embedded NAND flash memory functioning as an SSD, designed to deliver optimal performance for mobile computing devices with tight physical package constraints while enabling broad compatibility with the world’s vast collection of optically stored data.

The HyDrive essentially enables a total storage solution on the PC using the advantages of three storage devices types – conventional hard drives, solid-state disks and optical drives – without the need for system manufacturers to modify package constraints in order to accommodate all three storage components into a single mobile design.



The reason behind the approach to combining non-volatile optical storage with NAND flash memory is simple. As the mobile computing manufacturers realized the performance advantages and low-power advantages of solid-state disks when combined with the high-capacity storage capabilities of conventional magnetic drives, they immediately saw a need to implement both types of storage technologies into their products. The issue, however, was being able to cram a 2.5-inch SSD, a 2.5-inch HDD, and a 5.25-inch ODD (optical disc drive) all into the same device. Previously, this type of three-drive arrangement was only available in high-performance enthusiast notebooks like those produced by Sager and Eurocom.

Hitachi-LG Data Storage soon realized the physical design advantages of incorporating both a solid-state disk and a hard drive into a single mechanism. Despite what may be perceived as an oddly ingenious hybrid combination of both solid-state storage and optical disk storage, the HyDrive is certainly an economized solution for the small form factor and mobile market moving forwards and validates the philosophy that solid-state and magnetic storage will continue to be implemented in unison their exclusive storage advantages.

If all goes as planned, the first HyDrive will be available in the South Korea market in August 2010 and globally in September 2010. Executives at HLDS have stated that first-generation HyDrive products will come in 12.7mm thick form factors and will unfortunately not fit into most conventional laptops. Instead, they will be targeted towards HPTCs, small form factor (SFF) PCs and other mid-tower desktops. In March 2011, the company plans to shrink the size of its HyDrive products down to just 9.5mm thick by embedding the SSD component directly within the PCB assembly. This will enable the company to target smaller mobile computing markets including CULV notebooks, netbooks and even thin capacitive multi-touch tablets. Based on the press announcement from Computex, the slides note that both slot-loading and tray-style models will eventually ship, and we can only hope that any tablet designs receive the 9.7mm slot-loading implementation.

First-generation HyDrive configurations will be available in 32GB and 64GB configurations and will feature SATA II 3Gbps interfaces. However, the company insists that second-generation configurations are expected to scale all the way up to 256GB of NAND flash memory and will be available in SATA III 6Gbps configurations. More on those next year.