They were those spinning platters we used to have in laptops and iPods. But now,

Intel will ramp up its solid-state drive operation next quarter with the introduction of a range of notebook-oriented units running to 160GB of storage capacity.

According to Troy Winslow, Intel’s NAND Products Group Marketing Manager, interviewed by News.com, Q2 will see the chip giant roll-out 1.8in and 2.5in SSDs with capacities ranging from 80GB to 160GB.

Intel currently offers a number of low-capacity, 2-4GB SSDs in a form handy for installation into compact handheld devices, like UMPCs. Moving up to laptop-friendly 1.8in and 2.5in drives will see Intel’s SSD operation step up a gear and bring it into direct competition with Samsung.

In January, Samsung said it would offer a 2.5in 128GB SSD in Q2. The Korean company said its drive will use a 3Gb/s SATA interface and offer a write speed of 70MB/s – a record for this type of drive, it claimed – and a read-speed of 100MB/s…