Sun Microsystems said today it is to remove hard drives from its servers and replace them with brand new SSDs later this year. "Flash SSD is the most exciting innovation to happen to system and storage design in over a decade. By mid-2009, it will be in the majority of servers and deliver more capacity than DRAM and far greater overall system performance and energy efficiency," said John Fowler, executive vice president, Systems Group, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "This technology will completely change how server and storage infrastructure is designed and deployed in enterprise data centers." Sun's SSDs will be optimized for MySQL database and other leading applications. The drives will work with Solaris OS ZFS file system. Sun is expected to deliver Flash-based products to market in the 2HCY08.

Computex 2008, Super Talent has announced a new line of 1.8-inch Micro-SATA solid state drives. At merely 5mm thick, these Micro-SATA SSDs are slimmer than most 1.8-inch hard drives, and hold up to 120GB of data. "In terms of performance, power consumption, and shock and vibration resistance the MasterDrive KX is substantially better than hard drives. The MasterDrive KX is an excellent upgrade for laptop users looking for greater reliability or to accelerate bootup and load times", Super Talent Marketing Director, Joe James explained. Built with MLC NAND Flash, the MasterDrive KX SSDs are offered in 30GB, 60GB and 120GB capacities. Specs also mention about 0.1ms access time and 120MB/sec and 40MB/sec max sequential read and write speeds. Prices of these drives are as follows: $299 for the FUM30GK18H 30GB model, $449 for the FUM60GK18H 60GB model and $679 for the FUM20GK18H model.

Seagate CEO Bill Watkins, outlined yesterday that his company won't release any solid state drives until next year. "SSDs are not price-competitive yet," Watkins said. First Seagate SSDs will start to appear as late as next year, and target only enterprise market. Seagate has no plans to release SSD drives for consumers because of the high prices and other problems that still part solid state drives from conventional hard disks. "If the cost per gigabyte comes down to 10 cents, maybe," Seagate will focus on SSD storage for consumers, Watkins said. But "It will take three to four years for SSDs to come to parity with hard drives," he thinks. In related news, Bill Watkins also announced plans to introduce 2TB conventional hard drive next year. The exact release date and price information for the 2TB hard drive is still distant though.

Samsung late on Sunday announced definite plans to launch a breathtakingly fast flash memory-based solid-state disk that's also world's first to boast a 256GB capacity. Samsung's multi-level cell (MLC) based SSD, which was unveiled in prototype form during the company's fifth annual Mobile Solution Forum event in Taipei, has a 2.5-inch form factor and SATA 3.0 Gbps interface. It is only 9.5 mm thick, and measures 100.3x69.85 mm. Sequential read/write speeds for this drive are also something that's worth noting: 200MB/s read and 160MB/s write, or roughly 2.4 times faster than a typical HDD. In addition, the drive offers a sophisticated data encryption process that prevents data stored on the SSD from being accessed in an unauthorized manner, even after the SSD is removed from the PC. Samples of the drive will be available to customers from September with mass production due by the end of the year. A smaller 1.8-inch version of the 256GB SSD is also expected to be available in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to a report written by the Taiwanese Digitimes website, Intel is planning to promote new SSD drives with its upcoming Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). Dubbed Intel High Perofmance SSD, Intel will place these SSDs mainly in enterprise, mid-range and high-end notebook offerings. First Intel will release two models - 2.5-inch Client X25-M and 1.8-inch Client X18-M. Both drives will boast 80GB capacity and SATA interface. The report goes on to say that Intel plans to increase storage capacities up to 160GB by the end of the fourth quarter, and up to 250GB and above in 2009.

Mtron, a manufacturer of Solid State Drive (SSD) products in South Korea, announced today that they have completed the development of new PRO 7500 SSDs for industrial purpose, and will be launching them in June. Mtron's new PRO 7500 series will come in both 2.5 and 3.5-inch form factors and support the SATA 3.0 Gbps interface. Read and write speeds for these drives are 130MB/s and 120MB/s respectively, making them the fastest solid state drives currently on the market. Finally, Mtron will offer the 7500 series in capacities from 32GB to 128GB. In addition, Mtron informed it will be exhibiting their new drives at DS Expo/10th Data Storage Expo in Tokyo (May 14-16, 2008) and CeBIT Australia 2008 in Australia (May 20-22, 2008).

As Solid State Drives (SSDs) are gaining speed quickly, memory manufacturer G.Skill today decided to join in with two SSD drives (model: FS-25S2-32GB). Available in 32GB and 64GB capacity, the G.Skill 2.5-inch SATAII drives are robust substitutes for normal hard drives (HDDs). G.Skill's SSDs are more reliable, plus they deliver 100MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds for most 2.5-inch SATAII capable devices. Please visit G.Skill's official site for more information.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a new line of MasterDrive solid state drives (SSDs) that are 100% interchangeable with hard disk drives (HDDs) but are faster, lighter, use less power and are far more rugged and reliable. MasterDrive SSDs use a SATA (3Gbps) interface and have a standard 2.5-inch form factor.



MasterDrive DX drives employ SLC NAND Flash and support sequential read and write speeds up to 120 and 70MB/sec respectively, and are backed by a three year warranty. MasterDrive MX drives use MLC Flash to achieve maximum sequential read/write speeds of 120 and 40 MB/sec, and include a 1-year warranty. They are available now from NewEgg and eWiz.

Silicon-Power, the leading brand in Flash Memory Manufacturers, presents its first 128GB Solid State Disk. Silicon-Power's SSD comes in a standard 2.5-inch size and ships with SATA or PATA interface which can easily fit for PCs, notebooks or other mobile devices. It has built-in Error Correction Code (ECC) and guarantees higher data transfer rate and system operation efficiency than traditional hard drives. Silicon-Power's 2.5-inch SATA / IDE SSD is also perfectly shockproof, vibration and noise free, because there're no moving parts in it. The 2.5-inch SATA/ IDE SSD is currently available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.

According to an announcement posted on Toshiba's Japanese Web site, the company has postponed the launch of its first notebook with a 128GB SSD, the Dynabook SS RX1. The notebook was originally scheduled for general availability in mid-April but will be delayed until June, according to Toshiba. Toshiba cited parts delays, but it's not clear whether the delays are SSD-related. The 128GB SSD-equipped Dynabook SS RX1 is expected to sell for about $4,000.

Toshiba America entered today into the emerging market for NAND-flash-based solid-state drives (SSDs) with the company's first multi-level cell (MLC) NAND-flash-based SSDs. The initial drives to begin shipping this month are 128GB drives in a lightweight, 15 gram embedded module form factor. "Our first customer for these drives will be the PC Division of Toshiba Corp., in Japan, which will be the first to feature a 128GB SSD in a notebook PC, said Scott Nelson, vice president, memory for TAEC. "We believe that Toshiba MLC SSDs offer the right mix of cost and performance to satisfy today's demanding storage requirements for notebooks and Ultra Mobile PCs." To achieve performance levels of 100MB/second read and 40MB/second write in these first generation drives, Toshiba utilized a SATA II interface and an innovative MLC controller. As a result, Toshiba SSDs achieve better scores than today's 5400rpm and 7200rpm HDDs and comparable to selected SATA SLC NAND SSDs. The Toshiba 64GB embedded module MLC NAND SSD is also ready for mass production. Additional models in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch drive enclosures are also scheduled to sample next month.

InnoDisk today released an ultra fast high capacity solid state disk for high end applications - the FiD 2.5-inch SATA 10000. It delivers high-performance sustained read and write rates up to 110 Mbytes/sec and 90 Mbytes/sec, burst read rates up to 300 Mbytes/sec and supports Serial ATA 2.0-3Gbps a standard. With InnoDisk advanced flash management technology, FiD 2.5-inch SATA 10000 offers a random read and write rate of over 9500 and 550 inputs/outs per second (IOPS) for a 512-byte transfer. The FiD 2.5-inch SATA 10000 will be available from Q2 2008 in capacities ranging from 32GB to 128GB. The 128GB costs $3580 while the 32GB model can be yours for as much as $780.

OCZ Technology today unveiled ultra-fast OCZ SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drives, a lightweight and efficient alternative to conventional hard disc drives. The OCZ SATA II drive is designed to stay abreast of the performance features of high-end notebooks, and is ideal for energy-efficient mobile computing. With blazing access times combined with excellent reliability, the OCZ SATA II 2.5" SSD is the answer for enthusiasts demanding the most advanced storage for their notebooks and systems.

Intel announced plans to enter the SSD market this year with vigour, eliminating the competition in the eyes of makers like Samsung, Toshiba, and SanDisk. At the moment, Intel offers small-capacity chip-level technology that provides end-product sizes ranging up to 16GB. But this modest line of products is about to get a big boost in the second quarter of this year when Intel will start offering 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSDs ranging from 80GB to 160GB in capacity, according to Troy Winslow, marketing manager for the NAND Products Group at Intel. Currently, the fastest SSDs from companies like Samsung approach 100MB/second for reading data. "What I can tell you is ours is much better than that," Winslow said. "We will be supplementing our product line with a SATA [SATA 3 Gb/s] offering," he also pointed. Unfortunately, with this all details revealed end. The full story can be found here.

Patriot Memory today announced they will add Solid State Drives (SSD) to their flash memory solutions product line. Available in capacities up to 256GB, solid state drives are the next generation of data storage that offers greater access speeds and increased reliability over current hard disk drive technology.

Samsung Electronics could deliver 256GB solid-state drives next year, quadrupling the capacity of SSDs it is currently shipping to PC makers, the company informed. Now Samsung is only producing 64GB SATA 3.0 Gbps 2.5" SSD drives, but the company is planning on releasing samples of 128GB SSDs in the middle of this year. A spokesman also commented that Samsung is trying to double SSD capacity every 12 months, leading to information that 256GB SSDs may become widely available sometime in 2009. The current price of a 64GB single-level SSD is around $600. SSD drives have no moving parts. They're more power-efficient, lighter and up to two times faster than today's conventional mobile hard drives.

South Korean SSD manufacturer Mtronstorage Technology announced today that it has completed the development of a new 1.8-inch ZIF-type SSD (Solid State Drive) for laptops. Mtron's new SSD with Single Level Cell (SLC) Flash memory supports PATA (ZIF-type) interface and has a maximum reading speed of 120MB/s and writing speed of 100MB/s, which is more than 6 times faster than the current 1.8-inch HDDs. Mtron expects to ship the new SSD in capacity of up to 128GB. Worldwide premiere for these drives is set for April this year.

Samsung Electronics announced today that it has begun mass producing of 64GB solid state drives (SSDs) utilizing the SATA 3Gb/s data interface. Some of you may be more familiar with the word SATA II, but SATA II and SATA 3Gb/s are two different terms and I prefer to stick with the right one - SATA 3Gb/s. Back on the story, Samsung said its 64GB SATA 3Gb/s SSD, which began shipping in limited quantities earlier this month, will be available as an option within the next few weeks in selected Dell and Alienware notebooks. Able to read data at 100MB per second and write data at 80MB per second, Samsung's new SSD is up to 60% faster than SATA I (1.5Gb/s) drives and performs two to five times faster than conventional hard disk drives (HDDs), according to the company. It also consumes nearly 75% less power than typical HDDs (1.45W compared to 2.1W) and at 73 grams, SSDs are much lighter than HDDs. The SATA II SSD is comprised primarily of single-level-cell NAND flash memory.

The new MacBook boasts a lot of features. Among them is one of the first attempts to put a beefy SSD into a mass-produced computer. MacBook customers have a choice between an 80GB 4300RPM drive, and a 64GB SSD. The SSD costs a whopping $1300, but some would claim that the price is well worth it. Unfortunately for SSD promoters, a little bit of investigative journalism uncovered an inconvenient truth. ARS Technica took two MacBook Airs, one with an SSD and one without, and compared the two in modern benchmarks. What they found was quite surprising: it's not worth the $1300 most of the time. While the SSD definitely eliminated hard drive lag in extremely bandwidth-heavy applications and made the overall system much smoother, it all comes down to what you're using it for. Despite the possible performance gains, ARS Techica concluded that you really shouldn't be spending $1300 on this technology just yet.

BiTMICRO Networks, a pioneer in intelligent flash solid state storage solutions continues its relentless pursuit for storage innovation with the announcement of the E-Disk Altima E3S320 solid state flash disk. Claiming its seat as the manufacturer of the world's first Ultra320 SCSI flash drive, this time the E-Disk Altima Ultra320 SCSI drive will offer an astounding 1.6 terabytes of storage capacity in a standard 3.5-inch form factor, a most welcome development for the highly demanding enterprise, military and industrial applications.

Two months after Samsung announced its new SATA II-based 64GB solid-state disk (SSD), the firm is now doubling the capacity of its latest SATA II SSD offering to 128GB. The newly developed multi-level cell (MLC) flash-based 128 Gigabyte (GB) solid state drive (SSD) will hit mass production this year in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch versions for notebook and desktop PCs, as well as other mobile applications. The new drive offers a data reading speed of 100MB/s and writing speed of 70MB/s, the industry's highest for MLC-based SSDs. Samsung's 128GB SSD will be demonstrated in a notebook PC at CES 2008. The complete suite of Samsung SSDs will also be displayed at Samsung Electronics' Booth 11033, in the LVCC's Central Hall. Information regarding this product and other Samsung news at CES is available online here.

BiTMICRO, developer of flash disk, solid state disk (SSD), network storage and file cache solid state drive solutions is about to make strong appearance at CES this year. According to a press release, the company is introducing a new, 2.5-inch solid-state drive with the whoppping 832GB of space. The SATA II drive comes as a new addition to the company's E-Disk Altima line, and utilizes a technology the company calls multi-level cell (or MLC) memory, which apparently doubles the number of bits stored per memory cell when compared with single-level cell (SLC) NAND. The drives are expected to ship Q3 2008 in capacities ranging from 32GB to 832GB.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced its line of Crucial solid state drives (SSD). Crucial SSDs are more durable, require less power, and offer greater overall system performance than traditional hard disk drives. The SSDs will be available in capacities of 32GB and 64GB in an industry standard 2.5-inch drive enclosure with an industry-leading native SATA 3.0Gb/s interface. Additionally, Lexar Media will offer the Crucial SK01 external drive kit and various online customer tools-including the Crucial SSD Advisor tool. Product availability is expected in Q1 2008.

A-DATA recently announced its new series of Solid State Drives (SSD) with capacity of up to 64 GB. The SSD drives are available in 1.8 and 2.5-inch versions utilizing either SATA or PATA interface. Using SLC Flash a 32GB capacity is reached, moreover, using MLC Flash the capacity can be as large as 64GB. This new devices are completely compatible with every notebook PC and can other consumer electronic devices that support SATA and PATA interface. A-DATA's SSD-series also provide the faster IOPS (inputs/outputs per second) feature which can speed up boot up time.

The Intel Z-P140 PATA Solid-State Drive is smaller than a penny and weighs less than a drop of water. These ultra-small devices are fast, low-powered and rugged, with the right size, capacity and performance for ultra-small mobile internet devices, digital entertainment and embedded products. The Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD is part of the proposed Intel "Menlow" platform. The chips come in 2 Gigabyte (GB) and 4GB densities, extendable to 16GB.