Solid state drives (SSDs) are poised for extraordinary growth in the personal computer market from nearly nothing in 2006 to 24 million units in 2011, reports market researcher In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Such economy of scale has the potential to drive down the costs of SSDs for military, aerospace, industrial, and other embedded applications. Most of the growth will come in the Ultra-Mobile Device (UMD) market, which includes the UMPC and MID platforms, In-Stat reports.

Researchers caution, however, that SSDs will penetrate no more than 6 percent of the PC market by 2011. “There are few compelling reasons for most PC purchasers to pay more money for less storage than they can get using an HDD, so In-Stat expects HDDs and hybrid drives to continue to outweigh SSDs in these applications for at least the next several years,” says Jim McGregor, In-Stat analyst.

“Nevertheless, SSDs’ advantages in lower power, higher reliability, lower noise, and faster access than HDDs, in an extremely durable unit, make for rapid growth in some markets, especially in military and industrial UMDs,” McGregor says.

The higher price of an SSD will limit its acceptance until it approaches parity with HDDs, according to In-Stat. HDDs are on a price decline curve similar to that of SSDs; military and industrial designers will always prefer SSDs to HDDs.

The research, entitled “Will Solid State Drives Revolutionize PCs?” covers the worldwide market for solid state drives in the PC market. It provides forecasts for different types of hard drives in PCs, including SSDs, through 2011. It also contains price and technical comparisons of hard drive types, and extensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of SSDs.

For more information, contact In-Stat online at www.in-stat.com.