Toshiba's first with a 512GB SSD laptopThe race to build a laptop with a 512 GB solid

[paroh]

The race to build a laptop with a 512 GB solid state drive ended today with Toshiba as the victor.

This isn't a great surprise, given that Toshiba unveiled the world's first 2.5-inch half-terabyte SSD at the end of last year. Still, there was a bit of competition in the air, with Asus announcing a 512 GB SSD option in its S121 netbook at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in January.

That promise hasn't materialized. Last we heard, the S121 went on sale in Taiwan, but without the SSD option. Toshiba's Dynabook SS-RX2 is available in Japan starting today, according to a press release.

Toshiba says the solid state drives in its laptops are much faster than the norm. They read a maximum of 230 MB per second and write at a maximum of 180 MB per second, respectively 230 percent and 450 percent faster than SSDs integrated into current PCs, the company claims.

The 12-inch laptop's other specs include a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 12 hours of battery life and a weight of roughly 1.1 kg, less than 2.5 pounds. Gizmodo says the SS-RX2 will sell for the equivalent of more than $4,400, obviously due in part to the $1,500 hard drive.

As always, this is something that most techies will have to dream about for now. Inevitably, these specs will reach the average consumer, with patience.

[IronManForever]

One of these days, Computing is gonna LEAP for me and for everyone else in general. Hard Disk Drives have been one of the biggest bottlenecks in Personal Computing for the last 20 years or so.

Waiting to get my hands on a reasonable 128 GB SSD for my MacBook. That will take time though, since buying an SSD still isnt as satisfying, due to high prices.