According to reports by TechConnect Magazine, the third generation of the SATA interface could be introduced as early as the second quarter of this year. The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), who have developed the technology, are expected to finalize specifications, with the launch of products sporting the new interface at the same time. The first backwards compatible drives to feature the new interface are expected to be solid state drives (SSD), followed by hard disk drives (HDD) shortly after. The main advancement is doubling the bandwidth from 3Gbps to 6Gbps, but until the official announcement of the final specifications are released, we will not know what further changes are in store.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the immediate availability of the new Crucial.com Netbook Upgrade Center for purchasing DRAM memory, Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and flash memory cards suitable for most netbook products now available in the market. Netbooks, simplified notebooks designed to be affordable, energy efficient, and smaller in size, are growing in popularity with consumers because of their practical price point and no-nonsense capabilities. The Crucial.com Netbook Upgrade Center will help customers optimize the performance of their netbooks with the right upgrades and accessories. The complete line of DRAM, SSD, and flash memory netbook upgrades are now available at Crucial.com, Crucial.UK, or Crucial.EU.

ASUS is preparing the industry's first notebook with a 512 GB solid-state drive (SSD). The ASUS S121 comes in an ultrathin form-factor while carrying hardware that puts it in the grey-area between netbooks and UMPCs.

The S121 comes with a 12-inch LCD screen with a compact yet rugged chassis. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor running at 1.33 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. Its storage is care of a rather massive 512 GB SSD. Its availability and price isn't known at this point, though we suspect that with the exclusiveness built around this product coupled with ASUS categorizing it outside its ULPC/netbook lineup, it will carry a rather high price tag.

Samsung Electronics announced today at the Storage Visions 2009 Conference that it has developed a 100GB single-level cell (SLC) solid state drive for use in servers for applications such as video on demand, streaming media content delivery, internet data centers, virtualization and on-line transaction processing. As an alternative to traditional 15K rpm hard disk drives (HDDs), the new performance-optimized 100GB Enterprise SSD can process IOPS (input/output per second) more than 10 times faster than the fastest 15K rpm SAS HDD available. Designed to remove the system performance bottleneck in enterprise storage applications, the high-performance 2.5-inch enterprise drive reads data sequentially at 230 megabytes per second and writes sequentially at 180 MB/s. The 100GB SSD's advanced performance is attributed to a sophisticated 8-channel controller, improved NAND flash and special drive firmware, all developed by Samsung. The drive also consumes only 1.9 watts of power in seek mode and 0.6 watts in idle mode, reducing power and heat loads to minimum. Samsung intends to start mass producing the 100GB SS805 drive in the first quarter of 2009.

Joining the string of product launches that coincide with the 2009 CES event, is Imation's solid state drive (SSD) offerings under two distinct product classes: M-Class and S-Class. Both these product lines are available in the 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors and use the standard SATA interfaces. While the M-Class SSDs use SATA-150, the S-Class use SATA-300 interface. They come in unformatted capacities of 32, 64 and 128 GB.

These drives have company-rated data transfer speeds of around 150 MB/s (read) and 90 MB/s (write) for the M-Class, and 130 MB/s (read) and 120 MB/s (write) for the S-Class. Apart from these drives, Imation also announced "upgrade kits" that include necessary tools to migrate an image of the older hard drive to these newer ones, saving the task of reinstalling software. The M-Class SSDs hit the stores in February with prices of $179.99 and above, while the S-Class series are slated for March.

G.Skill has also expanded its solid-state offerings, by introducing the new Titan SSDs. Available in 128GB and 256GB models, the 2.5-inch Titan drives make use of MLC (multi-level cell) NAND flash chips, have a second generation SATA 3.0 interface and a MTBF (mean time between failure) of 1.5 million hours. The drives also have built-in EDC/ECC data protection. The manufacturer claims sequential read and write speeds of up to 218MB/s and 162MB/s respectively. The G.Skill SSDs are covered in a strong metal alloy housing and ship with a 2 year warranty.

SanDisk Corporation today unveiled its next-generation of flash memory-based solid-state drives for adoption in various netbooks. Dubbed SanDisk pSSD-P2 and SanDisk pSSD-S2, the new flash drives feature SATA interface and come in capacities of 8, 16, 32 and 64-gigabytes. They are made using SanDisk's reliable 43-nanometer Multi-Level Cell (MLC) flash memory. SanDisk also claims that its new pSSDs are going to be very cheap when released, but unfortunately there's no exact information to confirm their words.
"Netbooks represent the fastest growing PC segment in 2009 and 2010 yet widespread adoption of SSDs in netbooks has been limited by speed, capacity and cost constraints," said Rich Heye, senior vice president and general manager, Solid-State Drives (SSD), SanDisk. "With the significant improvements in performance, capacity and low pricing, these SSDs are a perfect fit for the exploding netbook market."
SanDisk's second generation pSSD drives are slated to be available in February 2009.

G-Technology, a Fabrik company and manufacturer of premium storage solutions for the Apple Mac community, today announced a new family of external drives based on 2.5" solid state drive (SSD) technology - the G-DRIVE mini SSD (120GB and 250GB) and the RAID 0/1 G-RAID mini SSD (250GB and 500GB).

Known for delivering performance, style and reliability, G-Technology has married its premium design with state-of-the-art solid state drives, making the new G-DRIVE mini SSD and G-RAID mini SSD the most rugged and durable external drives in the market. As high-performance, plug-and-play storage devices, they are ideal for extreme users who capture, offload and edit digital content in challenging remote environments. Because the drives have no moving parts, each drive can withstand extreme shock up to 1500Gs and can endure higher altitudes, vibration and temperatures when compared to traditional hard drive-based solutions. Leveraging inherent benefits of SSDs, the new G-DRIVE mini SSD and G-RAID mini SSD also provide higher data transfer rates, lower seek times and use less power, all while delivering a cooler, quieter operation.

In the CES 2009, to be held in Las Vegas from January 8, MSI will once again capture the world's eyes with its prolific R&D and designs. In addition to introducing the whole new U-series models, MSI will launch the new All-In-One Wind NetOn models and MSI's first dual-core Atom All-In-One models. G-series notebooks, the first series surmounting 10000 points on 3Dmark, will also be exhibited. With such a strong cast, MSI will successfully become the focus on the international stage once again.

Following the popular MSI Wind Netbooks, U100 and U90, MSI will introduce some more portable netbook in CES, including MSI U115 Hybrid, and will also announce that MSI U120 is "WiMAX Ready". Moreover the first netbook capable of running SSD/HDD simultaneously, and MSI X-Slim Series X320, the 13" super portable notebook of just about 1.3 kg.

A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory products, announced today that it is launching XPG Dual SSD 3.5" RAID Enclosure to expand its portfolio of SSD solutions.

The A-DATA XPG Dual SSD 3.5" RAID Enclosure is a complete RAID solution through the use of two 2.5" SATA SSDs and/or HDDs mounted on one standard 3.5" form factor drive cage. This multifunctional RAID enclosure can be used as two separate drives, as a redundant drive to protect against drive failure, combined to become one high-performance drive or combined to become one large drive. By utilizing the hardware DIP switch on the back of the unit or included software utility, all these different RAID configurations and more can be set in an instant. Connection via SATA or USB enables easy direct access.

Advanced Media, Inc., is a manufacturer and marketer of the Ridata brand of electronic storage products, and digital accessories. The company is pleased to announce Ridata 233x Lightning Series CompactFlash cards plus a SATA Converter RAID 1. Compatible Ridata CF cards range in capacity from 512MB to 32GB. The adapter allows a CF card to function as a Solid State Drive (SSD). In the case of a hard drive failure, the CF card via the converter appears as an ordinary hard drive to any OS and can be configured as a boot device.

"Many of our portable device customers would like to try an SSD without the bigger price tag. Our industrial customers face the problem of waiting for long hard disk drive (HDD) rebuilds that may cause over heating issues. By using our CF card and SATA converter, users can hot swap the HDD with the card and converter saving storage rebuild time with low temperatures and high transfer speeds," commented Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media, Inc.

MSI today announces U115 Hybrid. The very first notebook computer in the world that is capable of operating both SSD and HDD hard drives simultaneously, combining all the features of SSD and HDD in the U115 Hybrid for your enjoyment.

With MSI Exclusive Hybrid Storage Technology, in the "ECO on" mode, the battery life of U115 Hybrid is super long. This amazing battery life can escalate the mobility and the productiveness of the U115 Hybrid, which can also make your daily lives much more convenient.

A DRAM major is incomplete without a product lineup that includes solid-state drives (SSDs). Kingston is looking to fill the void in its lineup with SSDs. The company looks to update is lineup as early as by January 2009. Due to time constraints and to play safe with intellectual property terms, the company looks to source its products from manufacturing sources, with a monthly shipment goal of 10,000 units, according to a DigiTimes report.

Kingston co-founder David Sun stated that Kingston does not intend to cover the manufacturing part at this stage, as SSD technology involves numerous intellectual property (IP) items. Therefore, Kingston will enter the market follow the same path as for NAND flash products (memory cards and flash drives), by securing supply for its SSD products with Intel, Sun indicated.

Intel is expanding its award-winning Intel X25-M and X18-M SATA Solid-State Drive (SSD) family by announcing the production release of a 160 gigabyte (GB) capacity drive in a 2.5-inch form factor. The product is shipping now, and a 1.8-inch 160GB version will begin shipping next month. There's one more thing worth mentioning for these multi-level cell-based drives - their read and write speeds - and they are sustained read of 250MB/sec and 80MB/sec write. Get more information and product details here.

Toshiba Corporation today announced the expansion of their line up of NAND-flash-based solid state drives (SSD) with the industry's first 2.5-inch 512-gigabyte (GB) SSD and a broad family of fast read/write SSDs based on 43 nanometer (nm) Multi-Level Cell NAND. The new drives provide a high level of performance and endurance for use in notebook computers, gaming and home entertainment systems, and will be showcased at International CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 to 11, 2009.

Micron Technology today announced it has worked with Sun Microsystems to develop a new single-level cell (SLC) enterprise NAND technology that dramatically extends the lifespan of flash-based storage for enterprise applications. The result of the collaboration has yielded production devices capable of achieving one million write cycles, a milestone that will help prepare the industry for new uses in solid state storage set to come from Sun, Micron and others. The new technology delivers the highest write/erase cycling capability of any NAND technology available on the market.

Patriot Memory, a global provider of premium quality memory module and flash memory solutions, today announced their 256GB Warp SSD v3. Patriot's newest Warp version boasts read and write speeds up to 240MB/sec and 160MB/s, respectively.

"Our new 256GB Warp SSD v3 now gives the consumer the fastest data-transfer rates plus all the storage space large enough to quench their multimedia thirst," says Meng Jay, Flash Product Manager for Patriot Memory. "It wasn't long ago that SSD's maxed out at 64GB with read speeds of 130MB/s, now with the Warp v3 we literally 'Warp' into capacities that most consumers demand and speeds far faster than current conventional hard drives.

Buffalo recently released the LinkStation Mini line-up of NAS devices that fit SSD drives as storage media. Designed specially to ensure maximum transfer speeds, zero noise levels and high reliability for the customer, the LS-WSS240GL/R1 weights in just half a kilo and offers 240GB of storage space. The SSD NAS device measures 40 (W) x 82 (H) x 135 (D) mm and connects through a Gigabit Ethernet or a USB 2.0/1.1 port. General availability of the cube is expected later this month, with retail cost for the 240GB version around $1,146.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced a new line of UltraDrive solid state drives (SSDs) that are twice as fast as the world's speediest SATA hard drives and are offered in capacities up to 256GB.

UltraDrive LE SSDs are designed expressly for enterprise servers and data centers where exceptional performance, reliability and endurance are paramount. The UltraDrive LE supports very high transaction speeds (IOPS), and supports sequential read/write speeds of 230/170 MB per second. While outperforming 10,000 RPM hard drives, the UltraDrive LE uses substantially less power and generates less heat. Based on SLC NAND Flash, the UltraDrive LE is offered in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.

OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and computer components, today unveiled the OCZ Vertex SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, a premium offering for enthusiasts demanding the latest technology in this fast-developing sector of the storage market. The latest high-performance and cost-efficient SSD, OCZ has gained momentum in pioneering flash storage technology while maintaining a price point that is truly within the reach of a wide range of consumers.

Intel Corporation and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced plans to jointly develop and deliver Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Fibre Channel (FC) enterprise-class solid-state drives (SSDs) for servers, workstations and storage systems.
The combination of a leading Enterprise drive supplier with a NAND technology and manufacturing leader will produce world-class solutions in terms of reliability, performance and system compatibility. The two companies will work together exclusively to deliver enterprise SSDs with SAS and FC interfaces, with the first products expected to be available in early 2010.

PhotoFast is readying two new additions to its solid state drive lineup, with the G-Monster V2 series SSDs. These drives brandish high-performance and capacities by standards of SSDs. The two drives, models PF25S128GSSDV2 and PF25S256GSSDV2 come with capacities of 128 GB and 256 GB respectively. The drives offer read speeds up to 230 MB/s and 160 MB/s writes. They use the standard SATA II interface. The drives support all major operating systems, and sport durability in the form of a high MTBF of 2.5 million hours. The company is expected to start shipping these SSDs by the end of this year.

Buffalo has released an Intel-made solid-state drive (SSD), model SHD-NSMR 80G. The 2.5 inch, 80 GB drive is built on the multi-level cell (MLC) design, with rated sequential read speeds of up to 253 MB/s, with random read speeds of 241.7 MB/s. The drive uses standard SATA II interface. It measures 100 × 70 × 10mm (width × height × depth), and weighs 88g.

The drive bundles a decent set of related software by Acronis: MigrateEasy data migration software, TrueImage LE data backup software, DiskDirector LE partition management software, and DriveCleanser data secure-deletion software. The drive is now out in Japan and costs 103,950 JPY (about $1,090).

Yes, the title says it right. I just saw a YouTube video taken from Micron' headquarters, where the company's Joe Jeddeloh demonstrates the rough power of solid state technology. During the footage he demonstrates a prototype of comething called Washington solid state drive mounted on a PCI-E card that delivers read speeds of over 1GB/sec. Now we all know that these drives won't come in a month time, but they show how good the SSD technology really is. Maybe, this experiment also gives a hint how desperately we need a new SATA standard, current SATA 3Gbps drives no matter conventional or SSD can output only 300MB/s in theory. Back to the video, there two SSD PCI-E cards are running on a 2GHz eight-core Xeon system. Benchmarks of this configuration show output of 200,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second). Although, you can't actually read these numbers because of the video's low resolution, Jeddeloh says that one PCI-E drive can read at around 800MB/sec, while a pair of cards can read at 1GB/sec. Micron claims that there's nothing special about the flash memory the drives use, in fact these are ordinary SLC (single level cell) drives. They're only "managed correctly." At the end of the video, Jeddeloh also shows a single 8x PCI-E card that features two SSDs on a single board, that he claims also offer "at least" 1GB/sec of bandwidth. Micron plans "wide availability of the product in 2010, but that its going to be targeted at enterprise customers first." For now this is only a quick look in the future. Watch the video over at Micron's Advanced Storage Blog.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it is now mass producing 25 and 50 gigabyte (GB) solid state drives (SSDs) for performance-optimized server applications such as video on demand, web serving and on-line transaction processing.
Designed specifically for the enterprise market, the new Samsung single-level-cell (SLC) SSDs have about twice the random write performance of its standard 32GB and 64GB SLC SSDs.