I would be very interested in the hybrid 2.5" HDs but I've read conflicting reports about the improvements over a standard HD.
I think there are several things to look at here..
1. Define standard hard drive. If you compare this notebook cached drive against other non-cached notebook drives there is no conflict at all. It's a huge night/day improvement. Where the conflicts appear is when comparing a cached notebook drive with the fastest available desktop drive (the 600g Raptor). In this comparison it depends on the purpose you're accessing the drive. In most tests I've read the Raptor is better at some, worse at others, with the general consensus being the cached hybrid has an edge 'overall..'
2. The cost of a 2.5 inch notebook 500gb 7200rpm drive hovers around $110. The cost for this cached 2.5 inch notebook 500gb 7200rpm drive is currently $139 on Amazon. A $20 difference for what is being reported as a world of difference. This seems a no brainer for laptops/notebooks IF you're in the market for updating your hard disk.
3. Any storage device, hard disk, SSD, hybrid.. its performance depends heavily on several factors including it's firmware and drivers.. The algorithms and programming are huge factors and basically define the intended use. Server HDD's are set up differently than a consumer HDD for a home desktop. This has always been. However, when the performance figures multiply 10-20x these differences become that much more noticed/important. SSD early adopters are finding this out in a big way, the read/write numbers are just a general look at how the drive will perform in your system. You need to look very closely at the 4k cache, read/write, etc.. and how these numbers compare for your intended use. With a cached hybrid.. this is even more important. To take full advantage of the hybrid the drives intended use (algorithms/cache design/chip selection) really comes into play.
4. I wonder if future hybrids will come packaged for different uses or perhaps have jumpers so a user can fine tune it to their uses?