Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC), a U.S. marketing arm of Toshiba Corporation for electronic components, today announced a series of solid state drive (SSD) modules using the latest generation Toshiba 32nm MLC NAND flash, at Intel Developers Forum 2009. The Toshiba SG2 modules are offered in two types, one based on the new low-profile mini-SATA (mSATA) interface standard and the other a Half-Slim type, which uses a SATA connector. The drives are available in 30GB1 and 62GB modules. Volume production will start in October.

The two types of modules, each smaller than a business card, provide greater design flexibility and save space and cost compared to SSDs with hard disk drive form factors and cases. The 62GB module is only one seventh the volume and one eighth the weight of a 2.5-inch form factor SSD, and consumes half the power. With interface speeds up to 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s), a maximum sequential read speed of 180 megabytes per second (MBps)3,4 and a maximum sequential write speed of 70MBps,3,4 the modules will help bring the performance advantages of SSDs to notebooks, portable electronics and embedded systems. An advanced controller features a translation mode, which enables any drive configuration, and the drive supports 28-bit LBA (Logical Block Address) mode commands and 48-bit LBA mode commands. Multi-word DMA, Ultra-DMA modes and Advanced PIO commands are supported. The drives have an optional capability for secure Full Disk Encryption (FDE) backup that prevents unauthorized data access.

Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and WWF series USB drives, today announced the Windows 7 compatible SaberTooth S3 line of 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB SATA Mini PCIe SSDs that are designed to bring a fresh performance boost to the Asus EeePC at affordable prices.

"The SaberTooth S3 gives you Raptor-like performance for your Eee PC. The long wait to bootup and load applications with the default drive will be replaced by a few seconds of awe", ventured Jerry Thomson, vice president of sales at Active Media Products. "An SSD upgrade is the single best way to accelerate your netbook or UMPC, and our SaberTooth SSDs are specially made for popular netbook models."

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and flash-based storage as an alternative to hard disk drives (HDDs), today unveiled the Z-Drive, a PCI-Express Solid State Drive (SSD) designed to meet the stringent demands of enterprise computing clients. Unlike other solutions, the Z-Drive provides a cost-effective formula of performance, reliability, and upkeep for enterprise customers and their applications which require the benefits of solid state drive technology, but have previously been hesitant to adopt competing products due to the sheer cost of implementation.

"Traditional enterprise storage technology typically requires overly complex infrastructure as well costly maintenance, and is often unable to deliver the level of performance required by OEM applications," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. "The new OCZ Z-Drive is an all-in-one high performance plug-and-play bootable PCI-E solid state drive that addresses these challenges head on, and meets the demands of the complete range of enterprise storage and data access requirements. The Z-Drive is designed not only to be higher performing and more reliable than conventional solutions, but also to significantly reduce both the maintenance and overall TCO for our clients."

Cooling and PC accessories specialist Scythe announces the new successor of Kama Bay series. Kama Bay PLUS comes with complete new features and the improved fan of the successful Slip Stream 120 Slim series, which is rotating at 1,200 rpm and generates constant airflow of 41 m³/h (24.03 CFM) at 21.71 dBA. By implementing the Slip Stream 120 mm Slim case fan with 12 mm (0.47 in) thickness, extra space could be used to mount up to 2.5" HDD/SSDs or one 3.5" HDD. This feature provides extra cooling for your Hard Drive while mounting them safely into 5.25" bays. To further improve airflow inside the pc case or cool your system components mounted in a 5.25" bay, it is possible to mount Kama Bay PLUS in vertical or horizontal direction.

The new Kama Bay PLUS is equipped with the improved dust filter, which now can be cleaned and re-used easily. When using Kama Bay PLUS as a system cooler without detachment of Hard Drives, total weight is 275 g (9.7 oz) with overall dimensions of 146 x 127 x 41mm (5.75 x 5 x 1.61 in). Retail version of Kama Bay PLUS is available in black or silver color to match the most popular pc case color. Both versions are listed with the MSRP of 21. 00 EUR (excluding VAT) or US$ 28.00 (excluding tax).

Pliant Technology, developer of Enterprise Flash Drives (EFDs), a new class of high-performance, high-reliability storage drives, today announced the availability of its first family of products. Pliant's Lightning EFDs integrate an advanced software architecture and a proprietary ASIC controller design to dramatically improve performance and reliability of storage and IT systems, while significantly reducing cost, space requirements and energy consumption.

Pliant's Lightning EFDs enable enterprise data centers, financial services organizations, high-performance computing (HPC) environments, and digital media applications to 'do more for less,' by providing IT managers and system architects with breakthrough levels of performance, reliability and efficiency. Lightning EFDs deliver the industry's highest sustained performance with the most predictable performance profile across a wide range of read/write workloads, and have been specifically designed for demanding, mission-critical 24x7 applications.

Buffalo is out with its SSD-based portable drives. The Buffalo SHD-PE family products resemble most portable hard drives in form, while offering better access times and durability compared to mechanical drives. Measuring 98 (W) x 57 (H) x 13 (D) mm, and weighing 62 g, the SHD-PE comes in capacities of 32, 64, and 128 GB. It relies on USB 2.0 for power and connectivity, and offers transfer-rates of 39.8 MB/s. It comes with three color options - black, red, and white. The 32, 64, and 128 GB versions are priced at US $117, $231, and $407 respectively. Sales are expected to start later this month.

The rapid advances in computer processing technology has seen CPU and memory speeds outstrip that of conventional mechanical hard disks. This is why it is increasingly being replaced by newer Solid State Disk (SSD) technology. To meet the overclocking needs of high-level enthusiasts, Team Group Inc. has once again leveraged its extensive technical expertise to launch the all-new Xtreem SSD series. First in the series are the Xtreem G1 and Xtreem R-type. In addition to being quiet, light, energy-saving and shock resistant, the Xtreem G1 and R-type pushes SSD read speeds to a breath-taking 260MB/sec and write speeds to a respectable 180Mb/sec. Compared to thick, heavy conventional 7200RPM HDDs with a read speed of just 80MB/sec and write speed of just 60MB/sec, Team's Xtreem SSD is a Ferrari that easily pushes the edges of the speed envelope.

Matching high-end graphics accelerators in terms of size, the OCZ Z-Drive PCI-Express solid state drive (SSD) was begging for a makeover. After a recent design, the leaner Z-Drive shed quite some cubic centimeters. The reverse side of the PCB holds the RAID controller, while the obverse side holds the storage components of the drive, from the looks of it. The Z-Drive connects to the system using a PCI-Express x4 interface, and houses MLC NAND flash. It comes in capacities of 250 GB, 500 GB, and 1 TB, with a 256 MB buffer, and offers read/write speeds of up to 878 MB/s (read) 781 MB/s (write). A 4-pin Molex connector is needed to power the drive. With a rated MTBF of 900,000 hours and 2 year warranty, the Z-Drive is bound to make for a very high-end purchase. For reference, the last picture is that of the older Z-Drive.

Quick-draw Flash storage specialist PhotoFast introduced mini SATA flash drives (essentially compact SATA SSDs that plug into the connectors). The G-Monster mini-SATA and G-Monster mini-DOM drives are about as big as cartridges of retro portable game consoles, measuring 45 x 37 x 7.5 mm and weighing 10 g. They come in capacities of 32 and 64 GB, and offer reasonably good transfer rates at 110 MB/s (read) and 60 MB/s (write). With the standard arrangement of SATA data and power connectors, the G-Monster mini-SATA should plug into any SATA drive docks/enclosures. Apart from being a portable storage medium, it can also be tucked away as a system drive for a NAS server. The G-Monster mini-DOM on the other hand, can plug directly into one of the motherboard's SATA ports, and draw power using its 5V adapter. The two will hit shelves in October. Pictured below are (in order) G-Monster mini-SATA and G-Monster mini-DOM.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, power supplies, and solid state drives, today unveiled the OCZ Agility EX Series which makes SLC (single-level cell) NAND-based storage truly affordable in a solid state drive for the first time. The Agility EX provides the best of both worlds -the performance and advantages of SLC NAND technology at an incredible value. Based on the quality Indilinx controller, the Agility EX Series delivers an enhanced computing experience with faster application loading, snappier data access, shorter boot-ups, and longer battery life.

"Though SLC has traditionally been more expensive than MLC flash there are both performance and lifespan advantages to SLC based solid state drives, it is for consumers that require the extended reliability of single level cell flash that we are now introducing the Agility EX series of SSDs," commented Eugene Chang, VP of Product Management at the OCZ technology Group. "The Agility EX offers consumers the most cost effective SLC solid state storage solution on the market, and when customers take all the benefits of SLC into consideration the total cost of ownership of these drives truly shines through."

Elecom Japan announced two new solid state storage products, with the minuscule nanoSSD, and a regular 2.5-inch SSD. The more interesting of the two, nanoSSD plugs directly into a SATA port on the motherboard. It measures 25 x 6.5 x 39 mm, and weighs a mere 8 g. At these dimensions, it offers 16 GB of storage with transfer-rates of 75/30 MB/s (read/write). This just about makes it ideal for embedded machines, test systems, and SFF boxes.

The other SSD on offer of the regular 2.5-inch size, and comes in capacities of 64 GB and 128 GB. Elecom did not provide much info about this in its press-release. Nevertheless, the two drives will hit stores in a couple of days.

Flash memory specialist Apacer is expanding its footprint with the A7 Turbo high performance solid-state drive (SSD). This 2.5-inch form-factor SSD comes in capacities of 128 GB and 256 GB. It uses cached transfer with a 128 MB cache memory. The A7 Turbo offers read/write speeds of 230/200 MB/s, with an average power consumption of a mere 0.26 W. The drive comes with SSD+ Optimizer that works in the background to minimize file fragmentation. The drive will be available soon.

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer memory, power supplies and flash memory products, including solid-state drives, today announced a new, high-capacity 256GB addition to its high-performance Extreme Series SSD family.

Built using the renowned Indilinx Barefoot controller and Samsung MLC NAND flash memory, the new Corsair Extreme Series X256 SSD combines high-performance with a massive 256GB of storage space, for enthusiasts who don't want to compromise on speed or capacity. The new Corsair Extreme Series X256 joins the existing models, the X32, X64 and X128, and offers read speeds of up to 240MB/s and write speeds of up to 170MB/s. It also features 64MB of cache memory, ensuring stutter-free performance.

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announces the release of their Koi SSD Series.

Patriot's Koi 2.5" SATA solid state drives have been specifically designed to work with Apple Mac platforms. Using the latest in solid state technology, including 64MB onboard DRAM cache, Koi features sequential read/write speeds of up to 260MB/s and 180MB/s, respectively. To ensure complete compatibility, the Koi line has been rigorously tested in Apple's own lab.

"In designing the Koi, we wanted to bring a product to market that was specifically designed for the performance found on Apple platforms", says Meng Jay, Patriot's Flash Product Manager. "The Koi Series has been thoroughly tested in Apple's Development Center to ensure optimal compatibility and stability. We have also backed our Koi Series with one of the best warranties in the industry, 5 years."

Shortly after its launch, Intel's trophy 34 nm X25-M G2 solid-state drive was found to carry a critical bug that potentially renders it useless if the BIOS HDD password was set or changed. Intel is ready with a firmware update that corrects the issue. Users of X25-M G2 series SSDs can avail the firmware update, and relevant information here.

Following this, Intel will resume shipping the 34 nm, second generation SSDs with the correct firmware in place.

Kingston Technology Europe Ltd., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the latest addition to the Kingston SSDNow family of solid-state drives, the Kingston SSDNow V+ Series. The Kingston SSDNow V+ Series is available in a wide range of capacities, and has higher and faster performance specifications to meet demands of performance-seeking users. The drive is the perfect upgrade solution for power consumers, system builders, integrators, and enterprise users looking at a cost effective way to increase performance and extend the life of existing systems.

"The Kingston SSDNow V+ Series drive is an ideal solid-state drive for those users working in demanding environments where efficiency and performance are important, as more system resources are in use", said Steve Hall, Product Marketing Manager - Corporate, Kingston Technology Europe, "Users will be more productive as the drives' higher capacities allow for more data storage and faster boot and application load times".

PhotoFast's solid-state drive (SSD) development has been on a roll in the last year or so. The company has been coming up with new SSD designs on a regular basis. Its latest doing is the G-Monster "Quad-Drive". Simply put, this SSD encloses four PhotoFast CFast (compact-flash derived standard) cards driven by a JMicron RAID controller, which then connects to the host machine over standard SATA II interface, and is seen as a single drive. Internally, the controller lets you configure the cards in RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD modes. With the default configuration, the drive boasts of speeds of up to 250 MB/s read, and 170 MB/s write. Its price is yet to be known, as the product is on its way to the markets.

IDT (Integrated Device Technology,) a leading provider of essential mixed signal semiconductor solutions that enrich the digital media experience and Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced they have entered into an alliance to develop PCI Express Solid-State Drive (SSD) technologies for the server, storage and embedded markets.

As part of this alliance, IDT and Micron will co-develop enterprise flash controllers with a PCIe host interface optimized for Micron's flash devices and future generation RealSSD solid-state drives. Combining Micron's extensive experience in flash design and SSD development with IDT's proficiency in PCIe solutions and memory interface products will enable devices to achieve lower latency, greater performance and new levels of storage integration.

In RunCore's pursuit of the ultimate solid state drive (SSD) upgrade, a full new line of SSD products have been developed, boosting computer performance 5x to 40x. The RunCore Pro IV SSDs provide speed increases in startup, application launch, multitasking between programs, opening/rendering/saving large files, and shutdown. The RunCore PRO IV SSD also offers silent operation, longer battery life, heat reduction, reliability, and durability making it the perfect solution for all applications.

The revolutionary new SSD design not only boosts your sustained performance but it also focuses on random small file Read and Write speeds, the speeds that create bottle necks in current and past PATA, SATA HDDs, and some SSDs. With Operating system and application consisting of thousands of small files, the RunCore Pro IV SSD can process these files at nearly 10X write and 50X read while creating a more efficient and satisfying user experience.

Intel's recently announced X25-M G2 series solid state drives (SSDs) gave the company some good PR for being the industry's first 34 nm NAND-flash based SSD, which intends to lower power consumptions, increase data density, and lower prices along the way. Barely a week into its introduction, it has been diagnosed with a severe firmware-related bug. While this bug does not affect the drive's performance or stability in normal operation, it potentially renders it inoperable under some disturbingly common circumstances.

Intel's SSDs are meant for workstations, servers, portable workstations, and other high-end machines. In an enterprise environment, it's common for administrators or power-users to set a password for the HDD BIOS, and change it periodically as part of security practice. The X25-M G2 apparently doesn't respond well to this change, and is rendered inoperable. For the X25-M G2, if you have set a BIOS HDD password, you're advised not to change or disable it. If you don't have one in place, do not set one. Intel is correcting the issue in firmware and will be posting a firmware update shortly.

As demand for high performance and stable SSD continues to increase, A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory and Flash products, today expanded its XPG product line to include SX95 SATA II 2.5" SSD, designed for PC users who is seeking for killer speed and stable SSD storage.

The XPG SX95 SATA II 2.5" SSD features new architecture and controller design, provide outstanding transfer rates up to 230MB/sec read and 180MB/sec write (256GB/128GB), thanks to the onboard DRAM cache buffer. Whereas, the lower-density SSDs with 64GB or 32GB perform up to 210MB/sec and 140MB/sec read/write speeds.

Akasa expanded its portfolio of hard drive enclosures with the DuoDock. This highly portable desktop dock measuring 140 x 108 x 71 mm, uses a top-loader to mount 3.5 inch and 2.5 inch HDDs or SSDs using the standard SATA II interface. The loader allows you to insert and eject the drives like SNES cartridges. The device draws power from an external DC power plugin, and connects the drive to the system using eSATA or USB 2.0 interface. With an AHCI-aware operating system, the dock provides hot-plug capability it is available in matte-black and piano-white colours. It will be priced around US $40.

Intel Corporation is moving to a more advanced, 34- nanometer (nm) manufacturing process for its leading NAND flash-based Solid State Drive (SSD) products, which are an alternative to a computer's hard drive. The move to 34nm will help lower prices of the SSDs up to 60 percent for PC and laptop makers and consumers who buy them due to the reduced die size and advanced engineering design.

The multi-level cell (MLC) Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD is aimed at laptop and desktop PCs and available in 80 Gigabyte (GB) and 160GB versions. SSDs are data storage devices found inside computers. Because SSDs have no moving parts they offer faster performance and greater energy efficiency and durability than traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). A draw for gamers, media creators and technology enthusiasts, SSDs have also played a key role in the emergence of ultra-thin and light notebook PCs that are becoming increasingly popular due to their design, size and longer battery life.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced its revved-up line of Crucial solid-state drive (SSD) products - the fastest, highest capacity Crucial SSDs to date. The most dramatic change in this new generation of Crucial SSDs is the blazing-fast read and write speeds. The flagship 256 GB Crucial M225 SSD screams at an impressive 250 MB/sec read speed and a 200 MB/sec write speed. The new Crucial SSDs enhance system performance by improving operating system boot and application load times. They also utilize a SATA 2.0 (3 Gb/s) interface and feature MLC NAND flash components housed in an industry standard 2.5-inch drive enclosure, making a Crucial M225 SSD easy to install.

Reports about Intel's new SSDs with 34 nm NAND-flash chips first surfaced in June, when the company was believed to be working on its quick and silent launch. As it turns out, we still have no signs of these 34 nm SSDs, which Intel reportedly codenamed "Postville". We do have more details about these, however, and how Intel plans to hand over the benefit of lower manufacturing costs to the consumers right away.

Intel's Postville familiy of SSDs use NAND-flash chips made by IM Flash, a joint venture between Intel and Micron Technology. Products based on this series will be part of Intel's X25-M series, which Intel and its partners (such as Kingston, A-Data, PQI, etc.) will market in capacities of 80 GB, 160 GB, and 320 GB. The 320 GB model is a first for Intel in its segment. While the tentative pricing of the 320 GB model isn't known, the 160 GB model is expected to cost at least a 100 Euros less than its 50 nm predecessor, the current X25-M 160 GB, sending its price below 400 Euros. The X25-M 80 GB which currently costs around 270 Euros, will be down to around 200 Euros.