Do i need a SSD based laptop?

Answer.com says

solid state disk

A disk drive that uses memory chips instead of rotating platters for data storage. Used in battery-powered handheld devices as well as desktop computers and servers, solid state disks (SSDs) are faster than regular disks because there is zero latency (there is no read/write head to move). They are also more rugged than hard disks and offer greater protection in hostile environments.


Non-Volatile and Volatile

Most solid state disks use non-volatile flash memory; however, some use volatile DRAM or SRAM chips that are backed up by a built-in disk drive or UPS in case of power failure. Also called an "electronic disk," a solid state disk emulates the sector format of a disk drive and is generally a plug-for-plug replacement for it. As memory has gotten less expensive, the storage capacity of solid state devices has increased tremendously.

So do i need one?

I went through some similar questions when I was looking at buying a Sony UMPC. The main advantages I found were that if you are going to require a portable device that is going to be knocked about, then yes it is worth the extra money.

You can drop a laptop and the screen may smash...but at least, you will know the SSD is still in one piece and working. Other advantages include a performance increase over standard hard drives for intensive tasks and as it takes less power to function - in theory your battery should last longer too.

Read/Write capabilities used to be an issue, however, I no longer think this is the case and it should not be an issue when purchasing.

The cost will come down soon, as there are many UMPCs such as Sony's UX range and the Samsung Q1 that already have SSD within them. Samsung have also built a drive that is ipod compatible - so it shows where the market is going.

In the short term - if you take a new vista machine with a standard drive and one with ssd - there will not be too much difference when it comes to performance. However, as you do updates and add software, a standard drive will slow down (depending on how many times you defrag etc), where as an ssd based machine should stay at the same performance speed.