Samsung Electronics has unveiled a 256GB SSD solid state drive that is less than 10mm thick.
Samsung said its 256GB SSD is 2.4 times faster than traditional hard drives and production will start this year.
The new SSD "represents a bold step in the shift to notebooks with significantly improved performance and larger storage capacities", the company said in a statement.
Longer battery life is one of the principal benefits of using solid state drives, as well as faster boot times and reduced weight allowing notebook makers to slim down their laptops. In addition, the lack of moving parts makes an SSDs more rugged.
However SSDs are considerably more expensive than conventional hard drives. They can double the price of a notebook, and have the potential to wear out quicker than conventional drives.
Samsung described its new SSD — which is 6.35 centimetres long and 9.5 millimetres thick — as the world's smallest of its kind.
It said, citing market research agency iSuppli, that 35 per cent of notebook computers would use SSDs by 2012.
Earlier this year, Intel confirmed plans to launch 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch SSDs with capacities of 32GB and 160GB.
Toshiba recently announced that its Dynabook SS RX notebook would include a 128GB SSD, making it twice the size of the SSD offered on latest notebooks from its competitors: the MacBook Air (pictured right) and the Lenovo X300.
