The SSDs are part of a new line of budget drives and come in capacities of 60GB (US$89), 120GB ($149) and 180GB ($234). However, for larger-capacity SSDs, customers will have to turn over to the older SSD 320 line of consumer drives, which come in capacities of up to 600GB but offer slower data throughput.

Many laptops such as Apple's MacBook Air come with SSD storage, which is faster and more power-efficient than hard-drive storage. But SSDs are also more expensive and come in smaller capacities. There is a demand for larger-capacity SSDs at reasonable prices as storage needs go up.

An Intel spokeswoman did not comment on when SSD 330 would be available with capacities higher than 180GB, saying the company does not comment on unannounced products or speculate on future product offerings. However, Intel will continue to offer existing SSD 320 products with higher storage capacities.

An SSD 320 drive with 600GB capacity . Four new 180GB SSD 330 drives combined could offer 720GB of storage for $936, but laptops may lack the number of slots to accommodate all drives.

The new drives could be targeted at those who want to upgrade storage on older PCs from hard drives to SSDs, said Jim Handy, director at analyst firm Objective Analysis.