Because the Flash drive lacks any moving parts, the device improves data integrity, system reliability and power consumption, and reduces the notebook’s noise.

Flash memory also offers faster data transfer rates, so the notebook reduces system boot times by 34 percent and overall system performance by 23 percent.

Dell said that the notebooks offer twice the shock tolerance of those fitted with a mechanical hard drive. Regular hard drives are designed to survive a 30-in drop, whereas the solid state version can absorb a 60-in drop.

The drives are supplied by SanDisk, which unveiled the units in January. The device is designed to fit into the slot for a regular 1.8-in mobile hard drive inside a notebook computer.

Flash-based storage has already been deployed in computers designed to operate in harsh environments for the military, aerospace and telecoms industries. The new Dell laptops make the technology available for mainstream applications.

Intel unveiled its first solid state hard drives last month. But the chip maker is targeting its Flash drives at low cost computers with limited storage capacities of up to 8 GB rather than mainstream notebook computers.