Toshiba Corporation and SanDisk Corporation today announced the start of equipment installation in the New Fab 2 facility at Yokkaichi Operations. New Fab 2 is primarily intended to provide the clean room space necessary to transition a significant portion of the current Yokkaichi 2D NAND capacity to 3D flash memory. The companies also signed definitive agreements for joint manufacturing of 3D flash memory and investment in New Fab 2.

Seiichi Mori, Corporate Senior Vice President of Toshiba Corporation and President and CEO of Semiconductor & Storage Products Company, said, "The partnership of SanDisk and Toshiba has consistently pioneered advances in the memory industry through our technology leadership and commitment to innovation and excellence. We look forward to fabricating 3D flash memory, BiCS FLASH, in New Fab 2."

The Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed technology leader, announces its newest enterprise performance hard disk drive (HDD) line, the AL14SE series, designed for mission critical servers and high-performance, high-availability storage systems. The AL14SE is Toshiba's latest 10,500 rotations per minute (RPM) HDD to support 12Gbit/s SAS and 512n sector length for compatibility with the latest generation host controllers and host bus adapters.

The AL14SE features a new four platter design, increasing storage capacity by 33 percent over the previous AL13SE generation models. The new AL14SE family is also updated with a 128MB data buffer for improved performance. The AL14SE family of HDDs provides 12Gbit/s dual-ported SAS support and 512n sector models in industry standard capacities of 300GB, 450GB, 600GB, 900GB and 1200GB.

OCZ Storage Solutions -- a Toshiba Group Company and provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the introduction of Host Managed SSD (HMS) technology, first supported by the Saber 1000 Series SSDs. HMS technology enables Host controls over internal SSD background processing tasks that were previously not exposed to host-level software. System-level software control of background processing tasks, such as Garbage Collection, enable improving overall storage performance, and specifically enable obtaining consistent and predictable latency across a large pool of SSDs.

Hyperscale, Cloud, and datacenters now run software defined storage applications which manage large pools of SSDs across multiple servers. Consistent performance of these SSDs is critical to many modern applications, such as modern data bases and online trading, that have migrated to the Cloud. Exposing HMS functions via API enables integration of HMS functions into the storage stacks.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced dynaPad, a unique Windows 10 tablet that reinvents pen and paper. The world's thinnest and lightest 12-inch Windows tablet, dynaPad measures just 6.9mm thin and weighs only 1.25 pounds2, enabling it to go anywhere. With an included high-precision pen input and optional ultra-thin keyboard dock, dynaPad is designed to encourage creativity and enhance productivity - the ultimate digital notebook.

"This tablet is designed to enable everyone to quickly capture information, effectively organize ideas and better express themselves," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Combining an ultra-thin, pen-capable tablet with Toshiba's suite of productivity applications plus the versatility of Windows 10, we are closer to achieving the vision: truly personal computers that act as a complete medium for learning and expression."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the availability of the Satellite Radius 12, the world's first 12.5-inch convertible Windows 10 laptop with a 4K Ultra HD display. Available at Best Buy stores and BestBuy, the Satellite Radius 12 features top-of-the-line screen and sound quality, a sleek, lightweight design and a 6th generation Intel Core processor that delivers maximum mobile performance and solid battery life.

"Our design goal was to develop a highly compact, versatile PC that does not compromise on performance or functionality to meet the needs of today's discerning content creator," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Toshiba has created the ultimate companion for the highly mobile, digital consumer that requires versatility, portability and durability with top-of-the-line technology that enables them to fully take advantage of Windows 10 and enhance their productivity and creativity."

OCZ Storage Solutions, a Toshiba Group Company, today announced that its enterprise Z-Drive 4500 SSDs has achieved VMware Ready status. This designation indicates that after a detailed validation process, Z-Drive 4500 SSDs has achieved VMware's highest level of endorsement, and can be found on the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX) here.

"Driven by our Virtualized Controller Architecture Technology, the Z-Drive 4500 utilizes the full processing bandwidth of eight controllers working in unison which enables the storage subsystem to run more efficiently while delivering dominant small block / large block performance and low latency," said Bert Mauricio, director of Strategic Alliances, OCZ Storage Solutions. "By using Z-Drive 4500 SSDs with vSphere 5.x or 6.x, enterprises can deliver virtualized applications that can be accelerated while delivering fast and reliable access to data without burdening host CPU and memory resources."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the successor to its award-winning Chromebook 2. Now available with a 5th Gen Intel Core i3 or Celeron processor and up to 4GB of RAM, these two new models deliver better performance for loading content-rich webpages quickly, providing brilliant video playback and effortless multitasking. Both models come with an all-new LED backlit keyboard for a more seamless experience when web browsing, watching movies, listening to music and getting work done, even in low light environments.

"As more people use Chromebooks for productivity and rely more often on the web for content creation and entertainment, devices need to be better equipped for these higher processing demands and built with hardware features that optimize Chrome OS," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "With the launch of our latest Chromebook 2 models, Toshiba delivers brilliant performance for an outstanding experience on and off the web with entertainment-inspired hardware features that make the most of Chrome OS and enable customers to get things done faster wherever their Chromebook 2 takes them."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., announced today two new internal solid-state drive (SSD) storage devices with up to 960 GB of capacity. The new SSDs include the Toshiba Q300 Pro Series Internal SSD Hard Drive, built for gaming and creative applications with high-end demand for performance and reliability and the Toshiba Q300 Series Internal SSD, offering a balance of high performance and value, ideal for PC upgrades from traditional hard drives. With Adaptive Size SLC Write cache technology to enable SLC-like performance, both models offer high processing speed and low power consumption and are compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.

"Toshiba's announcement of the new Q300 Pro and Q300 internal SSDs demonstrates that Toshiba is continuously striving to bring the best storage solutions to the market," said Maciek Brzeski, Vice President of Branded Storage Products, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Today's announcement addresses increasing consumer demand for speed, performance, quality and reliability to improve their computing experience. As the inventor of flash memory, our new Q300 and Q300 Pro Internal SSD Series delivers leading-class performance and reliability to meet a wide variety of computing needs."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Satellite Radius 12, a compact 2-in-1 laptop designed with expert technologies to best meet the performance demands of today and tomorrow. The world's first 12.5-inch convertible laptop with a 4K Ultra HD display, the Satellite Radius 12 features top-of-the-line screen and sound quality, a sleek, lightweight design and 6th Gen Intel Core processors that deliver maximum mobile performance and excellent battery life.

"Through our deep relationships with our partners at Microsoft, Intel and Technicolor we have designed a top-of-line compact PC that delivers the new gold standard in screen, sound and performance for an unmatched computing experience on Windows 10," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Satellite Radius 12 expertly blends the latest technology into an extremely powerful, yet compact and easy-to-carry PC that is not only versatile, but durable enough to handle a highly mobile lifestyle."

Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor & Storage Products Company today announced three distinct families of PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) solid state drive (SSD) products using NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) protocol, targeted for various applications including high performance notebooks; thin notebooks, 2-in-1/convertible notebooks and tablets; and server and storage applications. All three SSD product lines are optimized for high performance and low latency and utilize the PCIe interface, which provides point-to-point links with the processor, reducing system bottlenecks. Each SSD family is designed for its target segment with capacity, optimized form factor, and security capabilities. Samples of the Toshiba's newest lines of NVMe, PCIe SSDs will be available from the fourth quarter (Oct. to Dec.) of 2015.

High Performance Notebooks: The XG3 family of SSDs is the industry's highest capacity (1024GB) client NVMe SSD available in M.2 Type 2280 form factor and optimally designed for high performance notebooks, 2-in-1 PCs and all-in-one PCs. The XG3 in M.2 Type 2280 form factor supports up to four lanes of PCIe 3.1, which has a maximum interface bandwidth more than six times that of SATA 6 Gbits/s. XG3 is also the industry's first NVMe SSD available in 2.5-inch SATA express form factor. The XG3 SSD family is equipped with Toshiba's proprietary QSBC (Quadruple Swing-By Code) error-correction technology, a highly efficient error correction code (ECC), which helps protect customer data from corruption, improves reliability, and extends the life of Toshiba SSDs. Engineered for power efficiency, the XG3 series also features lower power state modes and is the first Toshiba product, along with the BG1 SSD family, to support the Trusted Computing Group specification, Pyrite (TCG Pyrite).

Toshiba Corporation today announced the development of the world's first 16-die (max.) stacked NAND flash memory utilizing Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology. The prototype will be shown at Flash Memory Summit 2015, to be held from August 11 to 13 in Santa Clara, USA.

The prior art of stacked NAND flash memories are connected together with wire bonding in a package. TSV technology instead utilizes the vertical electrodes and vias to pass through the silicon dies for the connection. This enables high speed data input and output, and reduces power consumption.

Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor & Storage Products Company today announced its next generation of enterprise solid state drives (eSSDs) for the PX Series. The new PX04S line features four serial-attached small computer system interface (SCSI) SAS eSSD models well-suited for enterprise applications including: mail servers; database servers; virtualized enterprise file servers; and primary storage in read, write or mixed workload environments. Continuing Toshiba's legacy of quality and reliability, the dual-ported 12 Gbit/s SAS PX04S line offers random 4K performance with read IOPS up to 270K and write IOPS up to 145K. This is Toshiba's first 12Gbit/s SAS SSD to deliver 3.84 TB of operating capacity. Sample shipment starts from today.

The PX04S line features four eSSD models - PX04SHB, PX04SMB, PX04SVB and PX04SRB - each offering a range of capacities and optimized for different applications and workloads; High-Endurance: Targeted at applications requiring the highest levels of eSSD performance, reliability and endurance, the PX04SHB supports 25 complete drive writes per day (DWPD) with a one hundred percent random workload and is available in a range of capacities from 200 GB to 1.6 TB. Write-intensive virtualized data centers, big data analytics and high performance computing (HPC) workloads will benefit from the impressive performance and data integrity afforded by the PX04SHB.

Toshiba Corporation today unveiled the new generation of BiCS FLASH, a three-dimensional (3D) stacked cell structure flash memory. The new device is the world's first 256-gigabit (32gigabytes) 48-layer BiCS device and also deploys industry-leading 3-bit-per-cell (triple-level cell, TLC) technology. Sample shipments will start in September.

BiCS FLASH is based on a leading-edge 48-layer stacking process that surpasses the capacity of mainstream two dimensional NAND Flash memory while enhancing write/erase reliability endurance and boosting write speeds. The new 256 Gb device is suited for diverse applications, including consumer SSD, smartphones, tablets and memory cards, and enterprise SSD for data centers.

Toshiba's Business Solutions Division (BSD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced that their full line of business devices, including laptops, detachable Ultrabooks, and tablets will be available with Windows 101. With this new platform, business users will enjoy an improved user experience as well as features designed specifically for work, providing a better experience for the increasingly mobile professions. To foster adoption of these features, Toshiba is investing in new deployment and management capabilities to ensure that enterprises and small businesses alike can realize enhanced productivity and innovation, while maintaining ease of management.

"As one of the first PC providers to deliver a complete line of Windows 10 ready business devices, we are always looking for ways to bring our customers the features they need," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing and engineering, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Business Solutions Division. "Our line of business products not only delivers powerful, secure devices, but are now Windows 10-ready, enabling businesses and IT departments to take advantage of the new platform as soon as they are ready."

Toshiba's Business Solutions Division (BSD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced a new laptop designed to meet the varying needs of small to mid-sized businesses. Designed, engineered and manufactured by Toshiba, the Tecra A50 represents the expansion of Toshiba's SMB lineup. The Tecra A50 is Windows 10-ready and offers the performance of an enterprise-class PC and the essential productivity and security features business users need at an affordable price point.

"Small and mid-sized business need more enterprise-class features and performance than ever before, but for a low total cost of ownership," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing and engineering, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Business Solutions Division. "Our line of SMB products not only delivers powerful, secure devices that each meet the varying needs of this segment, but are now Windows 10-ready, enabling businesses and IT departments to take advantage of the new platform as soon as they are ready."

Plextor announced availability of its entry-level SATA 6 Gb/s SSD, the M6V series. The drives are offered in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch, M.2 (as M6GV series), and mSATA (as M6MV) form-factors; and in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. It combines a Silicon Motion SMI-2246 controller with Toshiba 16 nm Toggle NAND flash memory. The 2.5-inch variant offers PlexTurbo technology, which speeds up sequential transfer-rates.

The 128 GB variant features 128 MB of DRAM cache, with sequential speeds of up to 535 MB/s reads, with up to 170 MB/s writes. The 256 GB variant, which comes with a larger 256 MB DRAM cache, offers up to 535 MB/s reads, with up to 335 MB/s writes. The 512 GB variant leads the pack, with a 512 MB DRAM cache, up to 535 MB/s reads, and up to 455 MB/s writes. 4K random-access performance for the three are in the range of 83,000 IOPS reads, with up to 80,000 IOPS writes. The 128 GB variant is priced at 69€, the 256 GB variant 115€, and the 512 GB variant 245€ (all prices include VAT).

Plextor is expected to launch its value SATA SSD line, the M6V, on 17th July, 2015. The drive combines a Silicon Motion SMI-2246 controller, with Toshiba A19 TLC NAND flash chips. The drive comes in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB, with DRAM cache sizes of 128 MB, 256 MB, and 512 MB, respectively. All three variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 535 MB/s, while their sequential write speeds are rated up to 170 MB/s, 335 MB/s, and 455 MB/s, respectively. Common features include NCQ, TRIM, and native 256-bit AES encryption. There's a likelihood of Plextor introducing a few new features, such as PlexVault, a software that encrypts and stores your data in hidden partitions, and PlexCompressor, which compresses the least accessed data on your drive.

OCZ announced the Trion 100, a new lineup of cost-effective SSD for first-time users graduating from HDDs, and for those who want fast read-intensive drives to replace storage HDDs in their systems. Some extremely low price-per-gigabyte figures build their case. The drive features 19 nm TLC NAND flash chips made by Toshiba, driven by a controller also made by Toshiba. This controller features an SLC-caching tech that deals with a small portion of the TLC NAND flash as SLC (by storing just one bit per cell), which has the maximum sequential transfer performance. The controller juggles hot-data in and out of this portion from the rest of the TLC area. Other controller features include DEVSLEEP mode support. In this mode, the drive draws just 6 mW of power. Other essentials such as TRIM and NCQ are also featured.

OCZ Trion 100 comes in four capacities - 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB, priced at US $56.99, $87.99, $184.99, and $369.99, respectively. All four variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 550 MB/s, while the maximum sequential-write speeds are rated at 450 MB/s, 520 MB/s, 530 MB/s, and 530 MB/s, respectively. The maximum 4K random-read performance for the 120 GB variant is rated at 79,000 IOPS; while the other three offer up to 90,000 IOPS. Random-write performance figures for the four variants are 25,000 IOPS, 43,000 IOPS, 54,000 IOPS, and 64,000 IOPS, respectively. The drives are built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drives ship with OCZ's SSDGuru software that lets you monitor the drive's health, update its firmware, and wipe it. OCZ is offering a 3-year warranty with these drives.Read our review of the OCZ Trion 100 480GB.

The Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed technology leader, announces a new, high-capacity addition to the MC04 Series launched in May of last year. The 6TB version of the MC04 Series of enterprise high-capacity HDDs is designed for bulk storage systems and servers supporting cloud-based applications and scale-out workloads. With an industry standard 3.5-inch form factor, the MC04 Series delivers 7,200 revolutions per minute (RPM) performance, enabling suitable service levels for high performance cloud-based applications and storage.

Toshiba's highest capacity enterprise cloud HDD delivers a 20 percent increase over the previous generation's 5TB capacity, enabling more efficient high-density, high-growth storage for multi-petabyte rack deployments. Furthermore, the newest addition to the MC04 Series improves ROI for scale-out storage solutions with a 20 percent increase in power efficiency (TB/W) over previous generations, enabling more cost-effective delivery of cloud storage services.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced three new 2-in-1 convertible PC designs: the 14-inch Satellite Radius 14, 15.6-inch Satellite Radius 15 and 15.6-inch Satellite Radius 15 4K Ultra HD Edition. Built for Windows 10, these convertible PCs feature a precision 2-axis hinge, allowing the screen to rotate a full 360-degrees, which converts the devices from laptop to tablet and everything in between.

"A tremendous amount of R&D has gone into convertible PC design over Toshiba's 30-year history as a laptop leader," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Today, convertibility is all about convenience - consumers can ditch multiple devices and get it all done with one. We believe that by offering new thin and light designs, screen options in resolutions from HD to 4K and a range of new, affordable price points, we're playing our part in further fueling the growth potential of this category."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., introduced today the new Satellite L Series laptops, available in 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch screen sizes and built to take advantage of the key features of Windows 10. The only laptops in their class to feature a branded audio solution, Satellite L series laptops pump out rich, natural sound via stereo speakers tuned by the audio experts at Skullcandy.

"These laptops hit all the right notes for the consumers looking for a laptop to work, game and be entertained on," said Phil Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Our Satellite L series delivers a great display, awesome audio and robust performance to help you do, create and play - all from one affordably priced laptop that will work great with Windows 10."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its all-new line of Satellite C Series laptops that offers everyday essentials at a great value. Ideal for people that want a solid laptop that's easy to use and great for everyday tasks like email, web browsing, online banking and shopping, creating documents and playing casual games, the Satellite C Series are reliable, full-powered Windows PCs that are also built to take advantage of the features of Windows 10.

"Our new Satellite C Series laptops deliver stronger price-to-performance in the entry-level category, giving everyday consumers what they need to stay productive and entertained without breaking the bank," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "These laptops include built-in forward-looking hardware features, so when customers are ready to upgrade, they can automatically start taking advantage of the new functionality in Windows 10."

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced a refresh to its Satellite S Series of performance laptops timed with the Back-to-School selling season. The series features slim styling, premium design, includes two screen size options - 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch - and comes configured with the latest high-performance processors and technologies for top mobile performance, making it an ideal choice for power users, multi-taskers, media creators and PC gamers alike. Built to take advantage of the key features of Windows 10, Satellite S series laptops deliver a robust experience, while proving to be an ideal choice for new capabilities, such as Xbox streaming.

"Satellite S Series laptops are a powerhouse platform for productivity," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Full-featured and packed with premium components in an all-new stunning design, these laptops provide the ultimate entertainment and productivity experience for those who require it in their everyday lives."

OCZ Storage Solutions -- a Toshiba Group Company and the most awarded solid state drive (SSD) brand of all time, today announced plans to showcase the all-new Trion 100 series, a new SSD based on Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND flash, at this year's Computex in Taipei, Taiwan held June 2 - 6. As OCZ's new value-oriented option, Trion 100 SSDs are built to provide an easy and affordable way for entry-level users to optimize their mobile or desktop systems.

Leveraging Toshiba's Alishan SSD controller and premium A19 TLC flash memory technology, the Trion 100 series was designed to deliver a superior balance of performance, reliability, and value and will be available this summer. Running live in OCZ's Computex booth, Trion 100's preliminary performance ratings include up to 550MB/s of bandwidth and up to 91,000 random read IOPS, making the Trion 100 series a competitive upgrade solution that will transform any notebook or PC.

"Computex is the ideal venue for us to unveil our upcoming TLC NAND-based Trion 100 SSDs," said Alex Mei, CMO and GM of the Client Business at OCZ Storage Solutions. "By leveraging controller and TLC NAND technology from Toshiba, we are pleased to be able to bring to market the exciting new Trion 100 SSD Series which will offer end-users an optimal mix of performance, features, and value, making it easier than ever for value-conscious consumers to leverage the benefits of a high quality yet affordable SSD that delivers improved desktop and mobile computing experiences."

OCZ Storage Solutions -- a Toshiba Group Company and leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced its Z-Drive 6000 SSD Series that combines PCI Express (PCIe) Gen 3 and Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) technologies with an extensive enterprise feature-set and robust endurance and reliability. The NVMe-compliant Z-Drive 6000 Series is available in multiple configurations supporting a variety of form factors, capacity points, and endurance ratings.

The NVMe specification extends traditional PCIe flash storage to new levels and was architected from the ground up to enable specific benefits of non-volatile memory-based solid-state storage. It features a streamlined memory interface, command set and queue design that delivers faster access to critical data and highly resilient storage capabilities. This enables both system builders and storage vendors alike to develop different parts of a storage ecosystem to a standard specification with broad interoperability support between storage devices, host platforms and software. NVMe is expected to open new opportunities for faster, better and stronger flash-based storage applications while significantly improving PCIe SSD deployments over the next five years.