Dell tweaks Latitudes with solid-state drive option

Dell on Tuesday became the latest company to join the movement away from hard disks by releasing a new solid-state drive option for its 12.1-inch Latitude D420 and 14-inch, ruggedized Latitude D620 ATG. Either portable now has the option of a 32GB SanDisk SSD that replaces the stock hard disk with flash. The swap speeds boot times by a third and overall responsiveness by 23 percent, according to Dell, helping those who value responsiveness over sheer storage.

Survivability is even more important, the company says. In its testing, the lack of moving parts meant the drives were twice as durable as a hard disk and were 3.5 times less likely to fail -- either of which may be crucial for travelers whose notebooks will either be subjected to frequent shocks or must last as long as possible.

The option is available beginning today in North America for either the D420 or the ATG, and adds $549 to the base price of either system. Dell expects Asia, Europe, and other regions to have the choice of the SanDisk drive shorly afterwards.