Everything comes standard with a hybrid hard drive, but the 430 also has an SSD option.

ENGADGET

Even at the high end, you'll find the 14z is similar to the U310: it, too, maxes out at 1, 366 x 768 resolution and a 500GB hybrid hard drive.

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"Today, our year-long vision of creating a 5mm thin hybrid hard drive in 2.5'' form factor with increased storage capacity and reduced power consumption at a lower cost for manufacturers has become a reality, " said Dr. Pantelis Alexopoulos, Executive Director of DSI.

ENGADGET: A*STAR unveils 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, touts affordability and improved energy efficiency

At the Flash Memory Summit Toshiba demonstrated their hybrid hard disk drive, joining Seagate as a provider of these storage devices that can provide performance similar to that of SSD with the storage costs closer to that of hard disk drives.

FORBES: Digital Storage Needs the Right Stuff

The tiered design of hybrid hard drives, compared to current dual-drive solutions, also provides a redundancy benefit for users.

ENGADGET: Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early

While flash memory in a separate smaller capacity SSD module is playing a role in these new ultra-thin computers the introduction of hybrid hard disk drives with a flash cache inside the hard drive may plan a significant role as well.

FORBES: Digital Storage Needs the Right Stuff

To address this issue, Acer has rigged its new Chromebook with a 320GB hard drive, making this unit somewhat of a hybrid.

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