Toshiba announced the new MQ01ABD series hybrid hard drives for notebooks. Built in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor, the drives embed a dual-platter hard drive with 8 GB of SLC NAND flash memory, and 32 MB cache for the hard drive component. The hard drive component has a maximum spindle speed of 5,400 RPM. Available in 750 GB (MQ01ABD075H) and 1 TB (MQ01ABD100H) variants, the drives support SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and Advanced Format. The company did not reveal pricing, as the two drives are being sampled from today.

MyDigitalSSD has teamed up with SuperSSpeeds to offer the fastest and top performing solid state drives on the market today. Utilizing the SandForce SF-2281 controller and SLC NAND flash, the SuperSSpeed boasts incredible speed for advanced gaming, multitasking, and multimedia computing power. Rated at 550MB/s Read and 520MB/s Write, the SuperSSpeed is proof that in this day and age, you get what you pay for, being arguably 20 times better than its nearest MLC rival at only twice the expense including accessories.

As with all MyDigitalSSD drives, the SuperSSpeed runs cool and quiet with no moving parts to create heat. Coupled with being shockproof, meaning that dropping your SSD or notebook no longer means losing your data, the SuperSSpeed it a far more durable and reliable upgrade to a traditional spinning hard drive (HDD).

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun volume production of 128-gigabyte (GB) embedded memory for next-generation smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Samsung started producing the new 128GB eMMC (embedded multimedia card) Pro Class 1500 in late August, which is only one month after it started delivering eMMC Pro products in 16-, 32- and 64-GB densities, rapidly completing the industry's widest line-up of eMMC products.

"By doubling the highest density of its previous eMMC products, Samsung expects to contribute significantly to a timely release of leading-edge mobile devices," said Wanhoon Hong, executive vice president, Memory Sales & Marketing, Samsung Electronics. "The higher data storage and faster data transmission will bring a range of benefits to users that compare to those of ultra-slim notebook PCs."

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in memory semiconductor technology, today held a groundbreaking ceremony for a major new memory fabrication line in Xi'an, China. Once completed, the new facility will make use of advanced 10-nanometer (nm)-class technology in producing NAND flash memory chips, a critical component powering IT and mobile applications for high-speed and large-density data storage.

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and CEO Dr. Oh-hyun Kwon hosted the event, which welcomed 600 attendees including government dignitaries such as Zhao Leji, secretary of provincial party committee and director of provincial People's Congress Standing Committee, and Kyu Hyung Lee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to China. Other honored attendees included Sang-Jick Yoon, vice minister for Industry and Technology at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, as well as hundreds of Samsung suppliers and customers.

Apparently, Toshiba's strategy of inflating NAND flash pricing by cutting down production by 30 percent, stimulating similar reductions across the industry, backfired. Taking advantage of Toshiba's production cuts, Micron Technology ramped up its production, gaining market share. The Idahoan company's increased market share at Toshiba's expense ensured that SSD makers with Toshiba NAND flash create variants of their products with Micron's chips. Toshiba's latest move, according to a TweakTown report, is to scale its NAND flash production back up, and cut NAND flash prices down by 20 - 25 percent. Such a price-cut could result in further SSD price-cuts across the board, as the industry would end up with large inventories of Toshiba- and Micron-branded NAND flash chips.

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT), the Analog and Digital Company delivering essential mixed-signal semiconductor solutions, today announced the industry's first NVM Express (NVMe) enterprise non-volatile DRAM (NV-DRAM) controller with native support for PCIe Gen 3. The new NVMe NV-DRAM controller expands upon IDT's previously announced NVMe flash controller family to provide standards-based, high-density, high-performance PCIe-attached NV-DRAM solutions built around a combination of DRAM and NAND flash devices.

The IDT 89HF08P08AG3 NV-DRAM controller supports up to 32 GB of DDR3 SDRAM and 8 channels of NAND flash, with a PCIe x8 Gen 3 host interface. The controller is designed to fully comply with the NVMe standard - a standard that defines an optimized register interface, command set, and feature set for PCIe-based solid-state drives (SSDs). IDT's new PCIe NV-DRAM controller enables unparalleled read and write random performance with extremely low latency and high endurance, making it ideal for storage-intensive enterprise-class applications. The programmable controller provides OEMs the flexibility to quickly develop and deploy NV-DRAM solutions that use standard NVM Express drivers.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, announces its USB 3.0 Express RC8 has been certified as a go to market partner with Microsoft for usage with Windows To Go, a new feature of Microsoft's Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Windows To Go enables enterprises to provision a full corporate image on an external USB drive which users can boot and operate from almost any PC.

Certified through the Windows 8 Hardware certification kit, Super Talent's RC8 is one of the world's top USB 3.0 drives with SSD technology; it provides high random read/write speed capabilities and reports itself as fixed media. Supertalent RC8 meets and surpasses many of the performance requirements of Windows To Go certified drives.

Intel plans to standardize SSD specifications for its Ultrabook platform, which would steer it toward slimmer, faster Ultrabooks. The company plans to invite a large number of industry players, including NAND flash memory makers SanDisk, Micron, and Samsung, for discussions into what is known as Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), a new SSD form-factor derived from mSATA (think Apple's SSD form-factor found in the MacBook Air).

Intel is in a bit of a hurry with its NGFF SSD plans because the current mSATA form-factor poses limitations, including limited PCB area, in which a limited number of ONFI channels can be wired out. NGFF most likely is mSATA with greater PCB area, allowing the same number of ONFI channels as 2.5-inch SSDs, with the latest generation of controllers and toggle-NAND flash memory. NGFF doesn't increase the thickness of the SSD compared to mSATA, but merely elongates it (again, similar in form to Apple's SSD specifications). Five length standards are being discussed between Intel and Ultrabook partners.

Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced an adjustment to production of NAND flash memory at its Yokkaichi Operation plant in Mie Prefecture, Japan, that will cut Toshiba's production by approximately 30%, effective from today.

Oversupply of NAND flash memory in the retail market, for application in USB memories and memory cards, has resulted in continual price declines since the beginning of this year. Toshiba has responded by adjusting shipments to the retail market since June and from today will reduce the operating rate at the plant in order to adjust output. This move will help to reduce inventory in the market and improve the overall balance between supply and demand.

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash storage and enthusiast computer products today announces the launch of the Supersonic Rage XT USB 3.0 drive. Built with an ultra-portable form factor and the enhanced speed of USB 3.0, the Patriot Memory Supersonic Rage XT is the perfect solution for those looking for a compact design that doesn't compromise performance. The Supersonic Rage XT comes with a custom slide to connect design that provides best in class protection from wear and tear.

Available in 32GB and 64GB capacities and plug and play compatibility, the Patriot Memory Supersonic Rage XT offers excellent storage solutions that are extremely easy to use across multiple platforms. Backed by Patriot Memory's award winning customer service, the Supersonic RAGE XT will come with a 5-year warranty.

Since the last couple of weeks, we've known of MSI's plans to enter the client SSD market, thanks to a leak by LSI-SandForce. Today we're getting the first pictures of what MSI has been secretly working on. Called the Reflex series, MSI's first SSDs are built on the most widely used performance SSD platform, a combination of LSI-SandForce SF2281 controller and 25 nm synchronous NAND flash.

MSI's Reflex series will be launched in three variants, the RX-60 (60 GB), the RX-120 (120 GB), and the RX-240 (240 GB), respectively. Performance numbers differ with model. The RX-60 offers up to 525 MB/s reads with 495 MB/s writes, and 85,000 IOPS 4K random write performance. The RX-120 ups that to 550 MB/s reads with 515 MB/s writes, and 90,000 IOPS 4K random writes. Leading the pack is the RX-240, with 560 MB/s reads, 525 MB/s writes, and 90,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The three are built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. Pricing and availability information is awaited.Update (23/07): MSI Europe informed us that while the product is real, it will not be available for purchase in Europe, and that there are no plans to sell the drives in the old continent, in the near future. MSI Europe's statement follows

Hard drive prices refuse to budge after last year's floods that struck manufacturing facilities in Thailand, even as manufacturers turn record profit. The solid-state drive market, on the other hand, is finally rolling with competition, high volume production, and advancements in NAND flash technologies. With memory majors such as Hynix adding new NAND flash manufacturing facilities to their infrastructure, SSD is expected to finally get its big break in the mainstream market.

SSD prices, according to price aggregators, are on a free-fall. Models which once held relative pricing as high as $2 per gigabyte, and going deep within the $1 mark. For example, Crucial's widely-praised M4 256 GB SSD has a price per GB of 'just' $0.82, and a market price around $200, something unheard of, for a 256 GB SSD with transfer rates of over 500 MB/s. With SSD major OCZ Technology releasing new generations of drives under the Vertex 4 and Agility 4 series that use Indilinx processors, older Vertex 3 and Agility 3 models are being phased out, some of these are seeing sub $1/GB prices. Intel is also responding to market trends, with prices of its SSD 520 series dropping sharply. Find a boat-load of stats at the source.

Greenliant Systems, a leader in energy-efficient, highly secure and reliable solid state storage products, is now sampling its e.MMC NANDrive GLS85VM embedded solid state drive (SSD) product family to select customers. The new NANDrive devices support the JEDEC e.MMC 4.4 standard and are backward compatible with 4.3. While the JEDEC operating temperature range specification is -25 to +85 degrees Celsius, e.MMC NANDrive operates at full industrial temperatures between -40 and +85 degrees Celsius, giving customers data storage that can withstand the most severe conditions.

e.MMC NANDrive combines Greenliant's internally developed NAND controller with NAND flash die for a fully integrated SSD in a multi-chip package. It is available with 2-bits-per-cell (MLC) or 1-bit-per-cell (SLC) NAND to meet varying customer requirements for lifespan, endurance and performance. Measuring 14mm x 18mm, e.MMC NANDrive is offered in a 100 ball grid array (BGA) package, with 1mm ball pitch for increased long-term reliability.

Korean memory giant SK Hynix is launching its own branded consumer and enterprise SSD lines, à la Samsung (the other Korean memory giant). It is starting off with high-performance consumer SSDs targeting Ultrabooks, built in the 2.5-inch 7 mm-thick SATA form-factor. The SH910 series SSDs combine Hynix' homegrown H27QDG8VEBIR-BCB MLC NAND flash chips built in the 25 nm fab process, with LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor.

The drive will be initially available in two capacities, 128 GB and 256 GB (higher than usual capacities thanks to adjusted overprovisioning). Both drives offer sequential transfer speeds of up to 520 MB/s reads with 500 MB/s writes; up to 60,000 IOPS 4K random seek, 35,000 IOPS random write; and feature-set that includes 128-bit AES encryption, TRIM, NCQ, and SMART. A performance review can be found at the source.

Strontium expanded its Python performance SATA 6 Gb/s SSD series with a new high-capacity 480 GB variant, which was displayed at Computex. Built in the 2.5-inch 7 mm-thick form-factor, the Python 480 GB is driven by SandForce SF-2281 processor, and uses MLC NAND flash. It offers sequential speeds as high as 550 MB/s reads, with 520 MB/s writes; and 4K random access performance of 60,000 IOPS. The company assures 1.5 million hours MTBF, and backed the product with 3 years warranty. The new 480 GB variant will reach stores soon, priced around US $450-500.

Building on the success of the industry leading Bullet Proof line of mSATA SSDs, we at MyDigitalSSD are proud to announce two highly anticipated SATA III (6G) mSATA drives that reach up to 256GB capacity at a price that's right for any budget.

Like their predecessors, Bullet Proof 3 SSDs offer the performance and reliability you've come to expect from MyDigitalSSD while boasting improved Read/Write speeds of over 500/300MB/sec with Random 4K speeds of over 20/40MB/sec. Featuring Asynchronous NAND Flash and the new Phison S8 Controller, BP3 drives are the perfect upgrade solution for anyone looking for the best price to performance ratio on the market. For those who like to push their devices to the max, MyDigitalSSD will be releasing an IOPS minded Firmware in mid to late July.

MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, announced today the world's first 1T1R 802.11ac dual-band concurrent Wi-Fi router and dongle solutions. MT7620 + MT7610E and MT7610U provide the mass market with 1T1R 802.11ac router and dongle to enable high quality data transmission, voice and video applications in connected homes. MediaTek will demonstrate its latest wireless technologies, connectivity devices and applications to its customers during Computex Taipei 2012.

MT7620 family integrates a 2T2R 802.11n Wi-Fi radio, a 600 MHz MIPS 24KEc CPU, 5p FE switch, 2xrGMII, USB, PCIe, SD-HC. The PCI Express interface will connect to 2nd Wi-Fi chipset for 11n 2x2 DBC router or to an 11ac chipset for 1x1 DBC 11ac routers. The high performance USB 2.0 allows MT7620 to add 3G/LTE support on a router or can add a UVC cam to enable the best cost/performance IP-Cam. And to support the wireless storage application, MT7620 supports NAND flash interface, SD-HC, USB 2.0 and storage accelerator for NAS, Wi-Fi HDD and Wi-Fi card reader. Audio interface I2S and PCM will enable wireless speaker and VoIP applications. MT7620 also steps up to the leading Hardware Network Address Translation (HNAT) milestone by supporting 2Gbps wired speed with IPv6 forwarding. The cost effective rGMII iNIC interface (2.4G or dual-band concurrent) can be utilized for cable, PON, xDSL and broadband wireless router.

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced it is using the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing process to produce SanDisk's highest performing embedded memory products.

iNAND Extreme is now being built on SanDisk's 19 nanometer (nm)* process technology to enable the large-capacity, high-performance embedded NAND flash memory products that are ideally suited for high-end tablets and smartphones. Products running the Android operating system as well as the upcoming Microsoft Windows RT version of the Windows 8 operating system can benefit from iNAND Extreme capacity, performance and small size.

Toshiba announced the first SSDs based on its swanky new 19 nm-class NAND flash memory. These include four models in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor (standard), another four models in the 2.5-inch 7 mm-thick form-factor (slim, for Ultrabooks); and three models in the super-compact mSATA form-factor. The 9.5 mm-thick and 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch models differ only with their thickness, and are otherwise identical, since SSDs are essentially just printed circuit boards with NAND flash memory, controllers, caches, and ancillary components soldered onto them.

The 9.5 mm-thick 2.5-inch models carry the model number scheme THNSNFxxxGBSS (xxx = number of GB capacity), while the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch models use THNSNFxxxGCSS. Both lines are available in 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities. The 128, 256, and 512 GB models offer transfer rates as high as 524 MB/s, while the 64 GB model offers up to 440 MB/s. Toshiba implemented a new controller that features next-generation Deterministic Zeroing TRIM (a feature exclusive with Windows 8 and future *nix kernels), Quadruple Swing-by Code (QSBC), a performance-optimized ECC-equivalent, and a read-only mode. The mSATA models (model number scheme THNSNFxxxGMCS) offer similar performance to their 2.5-inch cousins, but are available in only three capacity options, 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. Toshiba will release its new line of SSDs in August.

The largest professional computer show in Asia, the COMPUTEX TAIPEI, is coming on June 5. Team Group Inc., one of the leading memory manufacturers in the world, is ready to reveal its latest industrial memory modules to professional buyers around the world, including industrial-standard and server-grade memory modules, embedded industrial flash memories, and so on. The emphasis on customization, product performance and after-sale service quality are the live demonstration of how Team Group is determined for the industrial grade/SI market.

Team Group's industrial memory modules come with Standard series, Green series and Wide temperature series. The modules are produced with chips from original manufacturers and go through multiple meticulous and sophisticated verification analyses and hi-low temperature tests. The Wide temperature series is capable of working at the temperature ranging from -40℃ to 95℃, and provides stable operation performance even in conditions as punishing as at a desert or in arctic environment. The Green series works only with minimal voltage as low as 1.35V. You cannot be any greener than that. The newly developed high frequency and large volume memory modules complete the full product series for various demands in medial equipment, surveillance systems and industrial computers.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today unveiled its new Agility 4 SSD series that delivers an ideal balance of 6Gbps SATA III interface speed, exceptional input/output operations per second (IOPS) performance, and enterprise-grade endurance and reliability all in a value-oriented SSD.

Utilizing OCZ's cutting-edge Indilinx Everest 2 controller platform (first introduced in the flagship Vertex 4 SSD series), Agility 4 SSDs offer a cost-effective alternative to other SATA III SSD solutions in the market making them ideal for mainstream entertainment, gaming, and mobile storage applications.

Korean company Zalman added a new segment to its expanding lineup, that of USB 3.0 flash drives, with its new "SLC Series". As the name suggests these flash drives incorporate SLC (single-level cell) NAND flash memory. The drives are available in two capacity options, 16 GB (model: U3M16SLC) and 32 GB (model: U3M32SLC). Taking advantage of the USB 3.0 interface, the drives provide transfer rates of up to 155 MB/s reads, with up to 135 MB/s writes. Measuring 78 x 17 x 8.6 mm (WxDxH), the drives are built in conventional capped form-factor. Slated for an early-June release, the U3M16SLC is priced at 5,480 JPY (US $69), while the U3M32SLC goes for 8,980 JPY (US $113).

According to a stock market analyst with Seeking Alpha, Corsair is going public, with an initial public offering (IPO), in an effort to raise US $78 million, with a market capitalization of $223 million. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., and RBC Capital Markets, will be underwriting it. Corsair will use the name "Corsair Components", and market symbol "CRSR" in its IPO.

Corsair has two main branches of products, memory products (DRAM and NAND flash products), and peripherals (power supply, cases, and gaming peripherals). Its income fluctuates with consumers' seasonal purchasing patterns. The company plans to net $42.5 million from its IPO, some of its proceeds go toward repaying a cumulative debt of $28 million, the rest of the proceeds go toward working capital and general corporate purposes. An estimated 4.1 million shares are expected to be sold by Corsair.

RunCore, leading supplier of high-performance solid-state drives, announces the global launch of its InVincible Solid State Disc drive. This SATA SSD solution provides for highest data security through a special button device that allows for total physical destruction with a single click.

The RunCore InVincible SSDs allow you to protect sensitive data from third party access in two ways with a single click. One method is the intelligent elimination of all your data through overwriting the entire disk with meaningless code. This overwrite-deletion method ensures that there is no way to potentially recover previous data stored to the device, effectively setting you SSD back to factory default.

Green House Japan unveiled a new line of industrial SDHC cards that are designed to endure operating temperatures as high as 70°C, and as low as 0°C, which makes them fit to serve as removable storage media in IPCs and outdoor static cameras. The cards further pack ECC logic to prevent data corruption. The cards make use of SLC NAND flash, and come in capacities of 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB. The 256 and 512 MB models provide transfer rates as high as 19 MB/s reads with 7 MB/s writes, while the other models provide speeds as high as 20 MB/s reads with 13 MB/s writes. Green House left pricing to the open markets.