Toshiba Corporation today announced that its new line of high performance CompactFlash (CF) memory cards, the EXCERIA PRO series, will go on sale from April 27th in the Japanese market. Sales will also follow in Asia, Europe and North America. The initial line-up of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB cards offers the world's highest level read and write speeds and complies with the new Video Performance Guarantee Profile 2 (VPG-65) standard.

The EXCERIA PRO CF cards integrate Toshiba's high performance NAND flash memory and specially developed dedicated firmware. They achieve a read speed of 160 MB/s and write speed of 150 MB/s, the highest level yet reported.

First shown to crowds at this year's International CES event in January, ASUS' first enthusiast SSD, the ROG RAIDR, is heading toward a mid-May launch. A few more of its pictures and specs sheets were posted by SweClockers. As detailed earlier, the RAIDR is a compound SSD in the PCI-Express add-on card form-factor, with PCI-Express 2.0 x2 interface (supports x4, x8, and x16 slots). It uses two SandForce SF2281-driven SSD subunits striped in a hardware-abstract RAID 0 configuration. The subunits use Toshiba-made 19 nm MLC NAND flash chips, with 16 KB page size.

The ROG RAIDR supports TRIM command, NCQ and SMART, despite being a RAID 0-based SSD. It is bootable, and supports Windows 8 Secure Boot. Installing an operating system on the drive doesn't require any F6 drivers, as the controller masquerades as a standard AHCI controller and a single disk, with the subunits and their RAID 0 stripe completely abstract. This way, the drive can accept TRIM commands from the OS.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, provides business update for the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Company is disclosing certain preliminary information about its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 that ended on February 28, 2013, subject to certain closing procedures and further review by the Company and its auditors. As previously reported the Company estimated that revenue in each of the unreported quarters ending August 31, 2012 and November 30, 2012 is in the range of $65 million to $85 million. This range takes into effect the impact of the reclassification of certain customer costs from operating expenses to revenue, the significant reduction in channel inventory, the timing of revenue recognition and reserves for product returns. The preliminary revenue range for the unreported fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 is estimated to be between $65 million and $70 million.

Are you still spending your quality time waiting for your computer to boot up? Have you experienced lag problems while operating multiple applications? SP/Silicon Power, the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions, today introduces an addition of the Velox series 2.5" SATA III SSD - Velox V50 to solve your problems. The Velox V50 features the latest controller technology to provide a brand new computer experience in excellent performance and cost effectiveness for those who are about to retire their traditional hard drives.

Different from the other solutions in the market, SP Velox V50 is equipped with a brand new controller, delivering a more stable and more powerful user experiences. Combining with the latest firmware and advanced controller circuit design, Velox V50 is able to maintain a long-standing IOPS performance while using it under extended period.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing a 128-gigabit (Gb), 3-bit multi-level-cell (MLC) NAND memory chip using 10 nanometer (nm)-class process technology this month. The highly advanced chip will enable high-density memory solutions such as embedded NAND storage and solid state drives (SSDs).

"By introducing next-generation memory storage products like the 128Gb NAND chip, Samsung is extremely well situated to meet growing global customer needs," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics. "The new chip is a critical product in the evolution of NAND flash, one whose timely production will enable us to increase our competitiveness in the high density memory storage market."

OCZ is reportedly readying the 5th generation of its Vertex line of high-performance consumer SSDs. Vertex 5, as it's being called, could retake market positioning of being the company's flagship product, from its Vector series. The new lineup, which could consist of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB models, could be launched towards the end of May, 2013.

OCZ could use Vertex 5 to strengthen its lineup against Samsung, which appears to have captured the performance segment with its 840 and 840 Pro series, using aggressive pricing, particularly with 840 (non-Pro). Vertex 5 could be based on the same Barefoot 3 platform as Vector, with a few tweaks. It could integrate 20 nm MLC NAND flash. With the company engaged in legal tussles with some of its former investors, it could be interesting to see how the company competes with Samsung's pricing.

HGST today announced the industry's fastest and most advanced enterprise-class, multi level cell (MLC) SAS SSD family - the Ultrastar SSD800MH, Ultrastar SSD800MM and Ultrastar SSD1000MR. From the market share leader in enterprise SAS/FC SSDs, these HGST drives are the first to double today's SAS interface speed.

Designed for the most demanding applications where "hot" data is accessed frequently, such as high-frequency trading, online banking, cloud computing, online gaming, and big data analytics, HGST's new 12 Gb/s SAS SSDs help increase input/output per second (IOPS) and improve response times to mission-critical data in cloud and traditional IT datacenters environments.

Crucial started shipping its M500 line of consumer SSDs. Available in 2.5-inch SATA (7 mm-thick), mSATA, and NGFF M.2 form-factors, the drives combine Micron 20 nm MLC NAND flash with a Marvell-made processor. All three form-factors take advantage of 6 Gb/s SATA. The drive is available in 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB capacities for all three form-factors, while the 2.5-inch gets a 960 GB "terabyte-class" capacity option, as well.

Sequential read speeds on all capacities are as high as 500 MB/s, while sequential write speeds cap out at 130 MB/s and 250 MB/s for the 120 GB and 240 GB variants, respectively; and reach 400 MB/s on the 480 GB and 960 GB variants. The drives are backed by 3-year limited warranties, 1.2 million hours MTBF, and 72 TB total bytes written (TBW) write endurance (that's 40 GB per day). TRIM, NCQ, and SMART are standard issue. The 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB variants are priced at US $129.99, $219.99, $399.99, and $599.99, respectively.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of the enterprise grade SX1000L solid state drive (SSD). While the company is well-established in the consumer SSD market, this is ADATA's first offering specifically tailored towards server applications.

Taking advantage of its expertise in NAND flash memory technology, ADATA is emphasizing the reliability and performance of the SX1000L. It employs static wear-leveling technology to maximize device mean time between failures (MTBF) to 1,500,000 hours, providing the long-term dependability required by high density computing and heavy load server operations. Available in 2.5" standard SATA form factor, the SX1000L implements advanced controller technology to enhance read/write performance. Sequential read speeds reach 560 MB/sec, and sequential write is as high as 340 MB/sec, with IOPS of 73,000 and 45,000 (Maximum 4K random read and write, respectively).

Without making much noise about it, Corsair retrofitted its Neuton GTX line of performance consumer SSDs with 19 nm Toggle-NAND flash chips made by Toshiba. The newer drives' model numbering scheme looks like "CSSD-NxxxGBGTXB-BK," where "B" denotes 19 nm Toggle NAND flash, and "xxx" denotes the capacity (120/240/480 GB). The MTBF on Corsair website appears unchanged, so does the 5-year product warranty, and rated P/E cycle count of 3,000. The Corsair Neutron GTX line of performance SSDs were launched in September 2012, originally with 24 nm toggle-NAND flash.

Known more for its graphics cards, Galaxy has an SSD lineup, with which it targets the Greater China region. It rolled out the Thunder GT 128 Pro, a 128 gigabyte SSD in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drive utilizes Toshiba-made Toggle-NAND flash, JMicron JMF667H processor, and an unknown amount of DRAM cache. The drive offers sequential transfer rates as high as 480 MB/s reads, 300 MB/s writes, 70,000 IOPS QD64 reads, and 58,000 IOPS QD64 writes. Available in China from later this month, the Galaxy Thunder GT 128 Pro is priced at 799¥ (US $128).

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has announced that solid state drives (SSDs) built on the company's 19nm Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash technology are now readily available across Europe. Toshiba was the first company to develop 19nm NAND SSDs and the family includes the world's smallest and highest density NAND flash drives.

Toshiba's THNSNH family addresses the storage, performance and power efficiency demands of even the most data-intensive and energy-sensitive systems. The drives are ideal for high-end notebooks, tablets, PCs, all-in-one desktop computers and industrial PCs. Capacities of 512GB1, 256GB, 128GB and 60GB are all now available in 2.5-inch form factors with a choice of 7.0 mm and 9.5 mm profiles. mSATA modules with capacities of 256GB, 128GB and 60GB are also available.

In addition to its 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s TLC NAND flash SSD, Plextor showed off its upcoming SSD in the NGFF form-factor, designed for next-generation Ultrabooks. Based on the same Marvell 88SS9189 processor and triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory as its 2.5-inch cousin, the drive differs in being a 42 x 22 mm (LxW) NGFF module, with PCI-Express 2.0 x2 interface. The drives will be sold in 128 GB and 256 GB capacities, featuring 256 MB and 512 MB DDR3 DRAM caches, respectively. On offer are read speeds of up to 700 MB/s, writes of up to 550 MB/s, and maximum 4K random write performance of 100,000 IOPS. The NGFF drives should arrive around the same time as Ultrabooks based on 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors.

At CeBIT, Plextor showed off a yet unnamed line of consumer SSDs featuring 19 nm triple-level cell (TLC) NAND flash memory. The series consists of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants, with 256 MB, 512 MB, and 768 MB of DDR3 DRAM cache, respectively. The three are driven by Marvell 88SS9189 processor, and are built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface.

The 128 GB variant offers sequential read speeds as high as 530 MB/s, with up to 380 MB/s writes, and 72,000 IOPS 4K random write performance. The 256 GB variant ups that with 540 MB/s reads, and 450 MB/s writes. Leading the pack is the 512 GB variant, with 540 MB/s reads, and 465 MB/s writes. The lineup is expected to be launched this August.

Patriot, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and mobile accessories today announces the next generation in its ecosystem of wireless storage solutions, the AERO wireless mobile hard drive.

Load up, go mobile, and share. With the ever expanding tablet and smartphone landscape, the AERO is the definitive mobile storage solution that allows you to take your full media collection on the go and stream to any tablet, smartphone, or laptop. The Patriot AERO truly lets you share content to your mobile devices like never before, even if you don't have access to the internet or cloud storage.

Micron Technology today announced another addition to its growing lineup of solid state drives (SSDs) targeted at data center appliances and enterprise storage platforms. The new Micron P410m SSD is a high-endurance, high reliability 6 Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drive built to provide the performance necessary for mission-critical tier 1 storage applications that require uninterrupted, 24/7 data access.

SAS is preferred in these applications due to its dual-port interface, which offers the high availability and accessibility customers have come to expect from a SAS drive. The new Micron P410m provides the consistent low latency and balanced read/write performance necessary for tackling the unique workloads of persistent data storage.

Greenliant Systems, a leader in energy-efficient, highly secure and reliable solid state storage products, has begun volume production of its industrial temperature SATA and PATA interface NANDrive embedded solid state drives (SSDs) using 2-bits-per-cell (MLC) NAND flash memory. Overcoming the temperature sensitivity risk of MLC NAND, industrial temperature (I-temp) SATA and PATA NANDrive operate between -40 and +85 degrees Celsius.

Compared to significantly more expensive 1-bit-per-cell (SLC) NAND-based SSDs, I-temp MLC NANDrive offers cost-effective, ball grid array (BGA) products that meet quality and reliability requirements-such as avoiding uncorrectable errors and data retention issues-when the MLC NAND is operating at extremely low and high temperatures. NANDrive combines Greenliant's internally developed NAND controller with NAND flash die for a fully integrated SSD in a multi-chip package.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, announces its USB 3.0 Express RC4 has been certified for usage with Windows To Go, a new feature of Microsoft's Windows 8 Enterprise edition. The RC4 is SuperTalent's second drive to be certified to date. 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. SuperTalent plans to continue to work with firms to unveil its "hardware secure" version in the near future.

Certified through the Windows 8 Hardware certification kit, Super Talent's RC4 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. Super Talent's RC4 meets and surpasses many of the performance requirements of Windows To Go certified drives.

Toshiba Corporation and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed leader that collaborates with technology companies to create breakthrough designs, today announced that it began shipping samples of its 64-gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND flash memory module equipped with a Universal Flash Storage (UFS) interface. The first in the industry, the new module is fully compliant with the JEDEC UFS Ver.1.1 standard, and is designed for a wide range of digital consumer products - including smartphones and tablet PCs.

With improved data processing speeds in host chipsets and wider bandwidths for wireless connectivity, demand continues to grow for large density, high-performance memory that supports high resolution video. A proven innovator in this key area, Toshiba is reinforcing its leadership role by being the first in the industry to ship samples with a 64GB UFS module.

Toshiba Corporation today announced that it has developed NANO FLASH-100 much faster access for embedded microcontrollers, based on Toshiba's original NANO FLASH. The rich functionality and high speed capabilities of embedded microcontrollers require much flash memory with much faster access rates. Toshiba has recognized and responded to this by developing NANO FLASH which merges two features: high speed programming, based on NAND flash memory cell device technology; and NOR flash memory circuit technology.

Toshiba has subsequently brought this high level performance to its original microcontrollers and to ARM core-based microcontrollers. Now, as more users use ARM core-based microcontrollers, there is an emerging need for greater speed and large memory capacities. NANO FLASH-100 is highly suited to this market.

Intel made an addition to its SSD 335 line of performance-segment consumer SSDs, which is currently available in just one capacity, 240 GB. The new 180 GB variant (SKU: SSDSC2CT180A4K5) retains the feature-set and rated speeds of its older sibling, boasting of up to 500 MB/s reads, up to 450 MB/s writes, and up to 52,000 IOPS 4K random write throughput. Based on the LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor, the drive features 20 nm MLC NAND flash chips by IMFlash Technologies (Intel, Micron JV).

In addition, Intel updated the drive body design, which will also apply to newer batches of the 240 GB variant. The new design consists of a brace running the perimeter of the drive (without affecting its 2.5-inch 9 mm-thick size compliance), and a "circuit board" print art. Backed by a 3-year warranty, the Intel SSD 335 180 GB is priced at US $179.99.

Singapore based Strontium Technology launched premium solid metal USB drives called Ammo. The new Ammo USB Flash Drive with a shiny metallic lustre is available in gold and silver colour finish. The gold finish drive is actually plated with real 24 carat gold giving it a rich appearance.

Ammo Flash drive comes in a sturdy brushed metal casing with a sleek look keeping in mind the demands and requirements of discerning users who want a high quality and high class product. The sleek and robust design works not only with Windows platform desktop PC, notebook PCs and Apple iMac and MacBook as well. The highest quality NAND flash memory component used in the Ammo USB drives offer maximum reliability and sustained fast data transfer rates.

Intel Corporation announced today the Intel Solid-State Drive 525 Series (Intel SSD 525 Series) in a small mSATA form factor with 6-gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) performance. The Intel SSD 525 Series gives OEM customers, channel and tech enthusiasts an ultra-portable, low-power storage solution in one-eighth the space of a traditional 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) to drive innovative Ultrabook, tablet and embedded applications.

The Intel SSD 525 is the latest entry to the Intel 500 Series SSD Family aimed at higher-performance, enthusiast solutions. Measuring 3.7 mm x 50.8 mm x 29.85 mm and weighing 10 grams, the mSATA with PCI Express (PCIe) mini-connector delivers the performance of the company's Intel SSD 520 Series client drive. This makes the Intel SSD 525 suitable for All-in-One desktops, notebooks, Ultrabooks and workstation upgrades, as well as automotive, digital signage, embedded video and retail solutions.

Plextor implemented a design change in the NAND flash memory of its M5S and M5 Pro series consumer SSDs. The two see a transit from 20 nm-class NAND flash chips in the BGA package, to 19 nm chips in the TSOP (pins along the shorter edges) package. Both chips are Toshiba-made. The controller and latest firmware (FW 1.02) remain unchanged. The move to chips in the TSOP package doesn't impact on the specifications or price of the products, but gives the controller the ability to handle greater page-size on the chips.

The TSOP chips feature maximum page-size of 16 KB/page, while the BGA chips feature 8 KB/page. In theory, this should improve "buffer management," when the controller decides to use NAND flash as scratchpads, in spite of having a gigabyte of DRAM cache at its disposal. Further, the new TSOP package NAND flash chips have lighter thermal requirements, letting Plextor get rid of the conductive thermal pads over the chips, saving a Dollar or two. The company did not release any markers on how to identify the two variants of drives by looking at serial numbers.

Japanese company Green House announced the GH-SSD22A line of consumer SSDs in the 2.5-inch (9.5 mm-thick) SATA form-factor. Available in 32 GB (GH-SSD22A32), 64 GB (GH-SSD22A64), 128 GB (GH-SSD22A128), and 256 GB (GH-SSD22A256) capacities, the drives are based on Phison PS3107-S7 controller platform, with MLC NAND flash memory. The SATA 3 Gb/s capable drives feature 200 MB/s sequential read speeds, with up to 140 MB/s writes. Most common consumer SSD features, including TRIM, NCQ, 48-bit/1KB ECC, and SMART are available. The GH-SSD22A drives are expected to occupy entry-level price points with about $0.75/GB.