HLDS selects Micron NAND for world's first hybrid optical drive with onboard storage

BOISE, USA: Micron Technology Inc.announced that Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS) has selected Micron's award-winning 25-nanometer (nm) NAND as the flash memory solution for its new hybrid optical disk drive (ODD).

The new HLDS Hybrid Drive with Micron's 25nm NAND technology provides a comprehensive mass storage and removable media solution for PCs, DVD players and Blu-ray products.

Micron's 25nm NAND process technology delivers 8-gigabytes (GB) of storage in a single device, enabling new applications that require high capacity storage in space constrained designs. The initial portfolio of HLDS Hybrid Drives will be offered in a range of embedded flash memory capacities including 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Higher NAND capacities of the Hybrid Drive will be available in future versions.

"The success of Micron's 25nm NAND flash memory has driven yet another innovative application," said Kevin Kilbuck, director of marketing for Micron's NAND solutions group. "The HLDS Hybrid Drive breakthrough is another example of Micron NAND flash technology's impact on everything from digital cameras and MP3 players, to smartphones, tablet PCs, and now hybrid ODDs."

The HLDS Hybrid Drive is targeted at thin and light notebooks that traditionally had space for one drive, and is also ideal for client applications, where a hard drive or solid-state drive would be used for long-term storage. In these applications, the Hybrid Drive would be used for caching and launching applications, providing an improvement in system performance, including faster boot times.

"As a global leader and technology innovator in optical disc storage, HLDS showcased the second generation of its Hybrid Drive -- the world's first ODD with embedded NAND flash," said YK Park, chief marketing officer of HLDS.

"The second generation Hybrid Drive, embedded with Micron's industry-leading 25nm NAND, is designed to fit in the conventional ODD form factor, allowing easy replacement of a conventional ODD and providing the added benefit of onboard storage. By creating a truly hybrid storage and optical drive solution, the Hybrid Drive also provides approximately a 50 to 70 percent performance improvement when compared to a standalone HDD."