aIntel today introduced its first solid-state drive (SSD), a device that uses NAND flash memory for common PC or embedded application operations, instead of the slower spinning platters common in traditional hard-disk drives. The Z-U130 offers a faster storage alternative for locating boot code, operating systems, and commonly accessed libraries. The Z-U130 product comes in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB densities. The 1GB and 2GB versions are already in production, with the 4GB to be added in April. The top-end 8GB drive isn't slated for production until December.

Solid-state drives, in general, offer faster boot times and data access, and use less power than hard-disk drives and removable USB, or universal serial bus, storage devices. SSDs, however, are far more expensive. The Z-U130, which reads at 28-Mbytes per second and writes at 20-Mbytes per second, is Intel's first product in its Value Solid State Drive line, which will offer different densities and industry standard interfaces. The new product can be integrated into the equipment designs of manufacturing companies through its USB 2.0 and 1.1 compliant interfaces. The device has an average mean time between failure specification of 5 million hours.