There were rumors floating around that Intel might come out with their very own Solid-State drives, but with the demo units they handed out to select employees, I guess it safe to say it’s more than just talk.

It was also demonstrated at the Intel Developer’s Forum in Shanghai and they announced that they were on track with its scheduled release in the 2^nd quarter of this year. Those lucky few who have used it testify to the strengths of this upcoming product. Some got even addicted to it they had difficulty switching back to the traditional hard drive when they had to return the demo unit already.

For those still not familiar with the technology, here’s a little backgrounder. SSD, as opposed to traditional hard drives, is completely flash-based which does away with any mechanical parts. In turn, it provides faster performance as it is purely electronic, but unfortunately costs more. Right now, SSDs have yet to break the 500GB barrier while conventional hard drives are already at the TB level.

However, if everything goes according to Intel’s plans, when this new line is released, we will see them range from 80GB to 160GB capacities in both 1.8- and 2.5-inch sizes. This will definitely be a big boost to the cause of the SSD revolution.