Hybrid hard drives and flash acceleration do not live up to their potential, says IDC

Framingham (MA) - NAND flash-based acceleration technologies for computers will beginning to surface with the release of Windows Vista and promise to shorten OS boot and applications load times as well as reduce the power consumption of mobile computers. But the first generation of the technology may not deliver on its promise, a report published by IDC suggests.

Complementing a traditional hard drive with memory chips may prove to be more difficult than first thought. At least according to IDC, neither the hybrid hard drives nor embedded NAND technology in upcoming PCs "convincingly realizes the potential of NAND caching."

Both technologies are in a close competition to deliver a caching solution for new feature such as Windows Vista's "ReadyBoost" technology and IDC believes that "neither can be considered the clear winner" at this time.