Viking Modular Solutions, a leading global provider and manufacturer of innovative DRAM technology and Solid State Drive solutions, today announced the release of its next generation SATADIMM. Viking Modular's SATADIMM provides the highest-capacity, highest-performance Solid State Drive (SSD) in the smallest form factor on the market today. Leveraging the form factor of DDR3 DIMMs and the non-volatile capabilities of SSDs, SATADIMM enables enterprise servers to take advantage of its innovative small footprint to drive significantly increased performance per server or "per U". Viking Modular will demonstrate the product's unique capabilities at Storage Networking World in Santa Clara, California, April 4-7, 2011, at Booth # 517.

Available in both 25mm and 18.75mm (VLP) heights in the industry standard 240-PIN DDR3 form factor, Viking Modular's SATADIMM has the same Bill of Materials (BOM) as a 2.5 inch SSD but with 75% less footprint, greatly enhancing the quantity of SSDs that can be supported within a 1U server. Utilizing the enterprise-class SATADIMM, 1U servers can produce 1.4M Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) and up to 3x the capacity and overall performance levels compared to current industry standard servers deployed with traditional SSDs.

G.Skill International Co. Ltd., manufacturer of extreme performance memory and solid-state storage with solid quality, today announces its new Phoenix EVO SSD, utilizing the performance leading controller SandForce SF-1222 and high quality 2xnm NAND flash chips. The Phoenix EVO drive contains 115GB with rated speed of read/write 280/270 MB/sec, and will be available via G.Skill authorized distribution partners in early April.
Keeping pace with the flash manufacturers' transition from 3xnm to 2xnm, G.Skill has utilized 2xnm flash chips for its award winning SSD, Phoenix family. To ensure the best performance and reliability during the transition, G.Skill has teamed up closely with SandForce and has run G.Skill Phoenix EVO through a wide range of rigorous tests with the latest firmware. All Phoenix EVO drives only use strictly selected original flash chips from key suppliers to guarantee the top reliability and stability.

Enermax released 3.5-inch compatible variants of its Jazzmate series portable HDD/SSD enclosures. The first Jazzmate enclosures only supported drives in the 2.5-inch form-factor. Measuring 200 (D) x 123 (W) x 38 (H) mm, these enclosures have a double-sided mesh design to help ventilate the drives, a completely tool-free design, matte black color, and acrylic stands. The 3.5-inch Jazzmate is available in two variants: a USB 2.0 variant, and a USB 2.0 plus eSATA 3 Gb/s variant, priced at €24.90 and €29.90, respectively.

Mach Xtreme Technology Inc., a worldwide leader in top performance, high reliability and user friendly designed PC components, today unveiled the 1.8"micro-SATA MX-MDS Series SSD. Based on the best-in-class SandForce SF1222 controller, the 1.8" MX-MDS Series delivers an enhanced mobile computing experience with much faster application loading, ultra-fast data access, shorter boot-ups, and longer battery life of all laptops with micro-SATA interface.

This series maintains the highest level of read and write performance though the life of the SSD. Highly intelligent block management and wear leveling optimizes longevity of MX-MDS series drives. The MDS series supports DuraClass, DuraWrite and unique RAISE technologies. DuraClass technology provides best-in-class endurance, performance, and low power. DuraWrite technology extends the endurance of MLC memory providing at least 5 year lifecycles with 3-5K cycle MLC flash. RAISE provides the protection and reliability of RAID on a single drive without the significant write overhead.

Kingston Technology released an important firmware update for SSDNow V100 series solid-state drives. The update fixes an issue where the SSD becomes unresponsive during power on self-test (POST) or during booting. The issue also causes the SSD to render the machine unresponsive for a few minutes randomly. Kingston strongly recommends you to apply this update, even if you haven't come across this issue. Affected models include 64 GB SV100S2/64GZ, SV100S2D/64GZ, and SV100S2N/64GZ; 128 GB SV100S2/128GZ, SV100S2D/128GZ, and SV100S2N/128GZ; and 256 GB SV100S2/256GZ, SV100S2N/256GZ, and SV100S2N/256GZ. Details on the update can be found here.

Lenovo announced today the ThinkStation E30 workstation and ThinkCentre M81 desktop - two new solutions that bring users speedy performance with 2nd generation Intel Core processors, rapid boot up/shut down and extra productivity features. Designed for creative, engineering and financial professionals who rely on specialized software applications to power their work, users get workstation-class performance and reliability starting at an affordable $599. Meanwhile, the ThinkCentre M81 desktop equips large businesses with the advanced computing features employees need to be most productive.

"Workstation users need the kind of performance that lets them do more each minute. The ThinkStation E30 workstation builds on our strong workstation platform, combining new rapid processing for data-crunching with more vivid and intense graphics capabilities," said Tao Gu, executive director and general manager, Workstation Business Unit, Lenovo. "We created the ThinkStation E30 workstation to offer extremely powerful processing on a software-certified solution at desktop prices."

Intel Corporation announced today its highly anticipated third-generation solid-state drive (SSD) the Intel Solid-State Drive 320 Series (Intel SSD 320 Series). Based on its industry-leading 25-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory, the Intel SSD 320 replaces and builds on its high-performing Intel X25-M SATA SSD. Delivering more performance and uniquely architected reliability features, the new Intel SSD 320 offers new higher capacity models, while taking advantage of cost benefits from its 25nm process with an up to 30 percent price reduction over its current generation.

"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that it has shipped its one millionth solid state drive.

"Solid state drives continue to represent a game-changing technology for both consumers and enterprise clients, and we are proud to achieve this milestone," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ. "But most of all, I wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our loyal customers and partners, without whom this success would not be possible."

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced a new mSATA interface SSD that conforms to new JEDEC MO-300V standard.

SSDs are fast, reliable, non-volatile storage devices used in a variety of portable devices. The recent proliferation of netbook and tablet designs has created the need for a standard to enable easy and efficient integration possibilities. The mSATA JEDEC standard MO-300B is one such standard. It is a SATAII interface SSD using a mini PCIe formfactor.

Intel's 320 series solid-state drives (SSDs) are on track for a March 28 launch. The silicon giant is on a bit of a spree with its SSD product launches over the past few weeks. Intel 320 series, also referred to as "Postville Refresh", succeeds the company's X25-V and X25-M series, consisting of SATA 3 Gb/s SSDs in the 2.5-inch form-factor. The drives achieve sequential read speeds of 250 MB/s, and write speeds of 170 MB/s; Up to 39,500 IOPS random 4 KB reads, and up to 23,000 IOPS random 4 KB writes.

The only major change here is the multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash chips used inside, which are built on Intel's new 25 nm manufacturing process. Other new features include 128-bit AES data encryption, enhanced power-loss management, and up to 1.2 million hours MTBF. 320 series is available in 40 GB (US $109), 80 GB ($189), 120 GB ($239), 160 GB ($329), 300 GB ($569), and 600 GB ($1,119). With the 320 Series, Intel intends to target the business/office and mainstream markets, propagating SSDs to key high-volume segments.

The Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) Working Group, the organization dedicated to simplifying integration of NAND Flash memory into consumer electronic devices, computing platforms, and industrial systems, today published the new ONFI 3.0 standard. By using the non-volatile DDR2 (NV-DDR2) interface, the newly ratified standard reaches speeds of up to 400 megabytes (MB)/sec, doubling the current NAND interface transfer rates.

The ONFI 3.0 standard details the interface and infrastructure that ONFI's more than 100 members can employ to develop products that deliver the industry's fastest NAND interface. Improvements in ONFI 3.0's NAND interface speeds will also enable future NAND controllers to achieve similar performance with half the number of channels, providing both a cost and space savings, which are key requirements for solid-state drive (SSD) design. The ONFI 3.0 incorporates a sophisticated die selection feature that reduces the number of chip enable (CE) pins, which in turn lowers the number of controller pins making PCB routing more efficient. Reducing the number of CE pins is especially important for SSDs, providing a significant cost reduction and allowing the extra pins to be assigned to other applications within the system.

Sharkoon introduced its latest 2.5-inch portable drive enclosure, the QuickStore Portable Pro. Available in USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 (which also supports USB 2.0) variants, the enclosures can house hard drives and solid state drives in the 2.5-inch SATA form-factor, with SATA 3 Gb/s interface. Apart from more common 9.5 mm thick HDDs/SSDs, the enclosure also has room for 12.5 mm thick drives (the 10 mm thick WD VelociRaptor should fit). Measuring 134 x 82 x 18.5 mm (L x W x H), it weighs around 80 g (minus drive). Installation is completely tool-free. A one-touch backup feature works with the bundled backup software. The USB 2.0 variant is priced at around 10 EUR, while the USB 3.0 variant is around 17 EUR.

Seagate Technology today announced its latest enterprise solutions designed to deliver storage for the widest range of application environments. Joining the industry's most award-winning enterprise lineup, these solutions include: two new members of the Pulsar Solid State Drive (SSD) family that deliver the ultimate enterprise performance, endurance and reliability; two next-generation Savvio 15K and 10K hard disk drives (HDD) optimized for a balance of high performance and capacity; and the latest Constellation ES.2 3TB HDD for pure capacity-optimized mass storage needs.

"The surge in storage consumption is being driven not only by the growth of content and use within the enterprise, but also by new applications and devices that directly or indirectly consume enterprise storage," said Kurt Richarz, Seagate EVP of Product Line Management. "Seagate's new family of enterprise storage solutions meets the diverse storage needs of these high growth application environments, whether it's fast transactional database servers, bulk storage and archiving, or everything in between."

Active Media Products, a leading manufacturer of DOMs and small form factor SSDs, announced that two of their low-profile 7-pin SATA DOM (Disk on Module) drive types now feature a write enable/write protect switch, which is useful in many embedded applications to prevent inadvertent deletion of files.

Most embedded computers are optimized to run a single application reliably year after year. Once deployed they are usually expected to operate continuously, maintenance free. DOMs are perfect for such applications because they are very reliable and have outstanding endurance, with a MTBF up to two million hours. The write protection switch improves reliability by allowing embedded system makers to write protect the drive after loading the OS and applications onto it. Write protection adds an extra level of security against viruses, file corruption, or inadvertent file deletion which could cause a failure of the embedded system. This improves field reliability of embedded computers and helps keep maintenance costs to a minimum.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Indilinx Co., Ltd, a privately held fabless provider of flash controller silicon and software for SSDs.

Indilinx is headquartered in South Korea and currently sells its line of flash controllers to SSD manufacturers and Tier One OEMs for use in a broad array of products addressing multiple markets, including embedded and industrial as well as laptops and PCs. Indilinx controllers have been deployed within OCZ's SSD products since December 2008, and are currently featured in the Z-Drive series of PCIe-based SSDs. Indilinx's technology is expected to enable OCZ to expand its presence into the embedded, hybrid storage, and industrial markets.

PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") will showcase their latest GeForce Graphics Cards, PC Memory, SSDs, and High Speed HDMI Cables at the PAX East 2011 exhibition -- including the all-new OC2 Edition of Graphics Cards and 2000MHz Memory Kit.

PNY has once again partnered with Newegg.com at the 3-day gaming festival, being held March 11th - 13th at the Boston Convention Center. Visitors to PNY's booth (#251) will be offered the opportunity to take part in free play, live tournaments, contests, prize giveaways, and more. Extreme gamers can check out NVIDIA 3D Vision at its best and test their gaming skills with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3D in PNY's booth. In honor of this 3-day gaming festival, PNY will offer exclusive deals on its wide variety of products on Newegg.com. For a limited time only, consumers can get the best PNY gear at highly discounted prices.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of computing, consumer electronics and communications solutions, today announced North American availability of the ViewPad 10. Giving users a choice between Windows 7 and Google Android within the same device, this 10.1" dual-boot tablet is ideal for maximizing business productivity alongside entertainment.

"The lines of professional and personal life are blurring, which creates a need for devices that are suited for both sides," said Adam Hanin, vice president of marketing for ViewSonic Americas. "The ViewPad 10 delivers just that by enabling users to merge business productivity with personal enjoyment anywhere, anytime. We are proud of our 10-year tablet history and are dedicated to further extending our tablet product portfolio to meet every individual need."

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of its two new SuperSpeed Universal Serial Bus (USB 3.0) xHCI host controllers (part number, µPD720201 and µPD720202) for electronic devices such as PCs and digital TVs that feature faster effective data transfer speeds and reduced power consumption in low power mode.

The µPD720201 and µPD720202 devices make it easier for system designers to build electronic devices combining high-speed data transfer, compact size, and extended battery life. In addition, Renesas Electronics device drivers for Microsoft Windows with a proven track record, and device drivers with Linux support, are available for the µPD720201 and µPD720202 host controllers at no cost.

Active Media Products, a leader in DOMs and small form factor SSDs, today announced a new 64GB Mini PCI-E SSD designed specifically for Dell Inspiron Mini 9 upgrades that delivers substantially more storage space and dramatically faster performance than the Mini 9's default drive, as shown in the benchmark results below.

The SaberTooth AA SSD scored about 100% faster than the default SSD in Read speeds, and up to 9x faster in write speeds. The SaberTooth AA is one of the first available 64GB upgrades for the Mini 9, making it the highest density storage solution in this form factor. "This SSD answers the demand from many netbook users for bigger and faster storage options. We were able to reach the 64GB density by using the newest high capacity flash chips," stated Active Media Products VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced it expects to report record revenue for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter of approximately $64 million, an increase of nearly 100% from the $32.4 million reported in last year's fourth quarter. For the year ended February 28, 2011, revenues are expected to be approximately $189 million compared to $144 million in fiscal 2010.

In addition to the record quarterly and full year revenue expectations, the Company's SSD products for fiscal fourth quarter are expected to be approximately $58 million compared to $12.1 million during the same period last year, and $41.5 million in the Company's third quarter ending November 30, 2010. This represents approximate increases of 380% year over year and 40% sequentially. The expected Q4 SSD product mix of approximately 7% Consumer, 78% Server, and 15% Enterprise is generally consistent with prior quarters.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, unveiled its next generation TeraDrive. Featuring the 2nd generation SandForce controllers, a SATA III 6Gbps interface, and the new ONFi Double Data Rate NAND flash, these new drives promise to deliver twice the performance of their predecessors.

At 3 Gbps, the SATA 2 interface posed a bottleneck to existing SSD designs but little performance was to be gained by changing to SATA3. That just changed. As double data rate (DDR) NAND becomes available, SSD performance stands to double overnight. Since the new 2nd generation SandForce controllers support both SATA3 and DDR flash, we are now able to unleash the performance of these new designs.

After dedicating a big chunk of its resources to the SSD market, OCZ's R&D became a fertile ground for new SSD solutions. The company put up its latest high performance, high capacity SSD for enterprises at CeBIT, the IBIS XL. This monstrosity supports OCZ's very own HSDL interface, and comes in the 5.25-inch form-factor (about the size of a PC optical drive). It offers a humongous 4 terabyte of storage, higher than even the highest PC hard drive in the market, which offers 3 TB. IBIS XL offers transfer rates of 1800 MB/s read, 1700 MB/s write, and up to 200,000 IOPS 4K random write performance.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in memory and storage products, today announced a new addition to its SSD family, the SSD18C3 Portable Solid State Drive. The new portable SSD combines the benefits of USB 3.0 with all the performance and durability advantages of solid-state technology, providing unparalleled speed and stability that conventional portable hard drives cannot compete with.

Corsair's best memory modules come under the Dominator line, the best Dominator modules are marked under Dominator GT, with their distinctive flaming red heatsinks. Corsair is looking to extend the "GT" marker even to its SSDs, and is ready with the Force GT line of 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs. As you can see, the flaming red product scheme is carried over. Driven by the latest SandForce SF-2000 series controllers, Force GT offers read speeds of up to 520 MB/s, and 500 MB/s write speeds. It is available in number of capacities in the higher quadrant. At least the 240 GB model will be launched very soon.

G.Skill International Co. Ltd., manufacturer of extreme performance memory and solid-state storage with solid quality, exhibits its first SATA 6Gbps SSD, Phoenix II, its brand new and uniquely designed Sniper gaming memory and a series of ultra fast memory products, including DDR3 2300MHz CL7, at CeBIT 2011 in Hannover.