With the trend in terminal products toward mobility, the built-in storage devices have turned to compact design in specification and size, and stronger durability are required for the products. Aiming at industrial computers driven by the trend, Apacer launches two ultra slim SSDs: JEDEC MO-297-compliant SFD 18S6 and MO-300-compliant mSATA A1.

The small size equipped with SATA 3.0 high-speed transmission interface, along with the products' features of low power consumption, durability and high performance, will become the necessary storage solution for the rise of the new mobility devices. It can be specially applied to medical tablet PCs, bedside healthcare, mobile on-board unit and data communication system devices.

ASUS announced the J1800I-C, a completely fan-less motherboard based on Intel's "Bay Trail" low-power platform, running a Celeron J1800 SoC. The J1800 integrates a dual-core 64-bit x86 CPU clocked at 2.40 GHz, with Turbo Boost frequencies as high as 2.58 GHz. Built in the mini-ITX form-factor, the board features a chunky aluminium heatsink cooling the SoC. The board draws power from 24-pin ATX connector, and a 4-pin CPU connector.

ASUS productively utilized the scarce real-estate of the mini-ITX PCB - a sizable portion of which is consumed by the heatsink - providing two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, a conventional PCIe x1, an mPCIe with mSATA pins, two conventional SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and a healthy mix of modern and legacy connectivity, that includes headers for LPT, an RS-232 COM at the rear panel, a mixed-mode PS/2 port, one USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, D-Sub, and 6-channel HD audio. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS.

Transcend Information, Inc., a leading manufacturer of industrial-grade products, today announced the release of its SATA III 6 Gb/s N8S750 M.2 and MSA340 mSATA solid state drives (SSD). Featuring ultra compact dimensions and the next generation SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, Transcend's N8S750 and MSA340 SSDs are best suited to address the strict size limitations and high performance needs of today's advanced portable devices.

N8S750 SATA III 6 Gb/s M.2 SSD
The N8S750 SSD's space-saving 80 mm M.2 form factor (80.0 mm x 22.0 mm x 3.5 mm) is designed to meet future market demands of ultra-thin and light mobile devices that require an SSD, including Ultrabooks, notebooks, tablets, portable gaming systems, and smartphones. It features the latest SATA III 6 Gb/s specification, DDR3 DRAM cache, and is comprised of high-quality MLC NAND Flash chips. With exceptional transfer speeds of up to 520 MB/s read and 330 MB/s write, the N8S750 easily handles everyday computing tasks as well as demanding multimedia applications.

Israel-based system builder Compulab announced the fourth generation Fit-PC, the Fit-PC4, which builds on the proven nettop platform. Fit-PC4 comes in two main variants, the $299 Fit-PC4 Value, and the $380 Fit-PC4 Pro. The Value variant runs an AMD A4-1250 APU, with a manageable 8W TDP to speak of. The Pro variant, on the other hand, runs a peppier AMD GX-420CA quad-core SoC, with Radeon HD 8400E graphics.

Both variants feature two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, which can hold up to 16 GB of memory; an internal 2.5-inch drive bay with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, an mPCIe+mSATA 6 Gb/s slot, and a micro-SDXC card slot, wrapping up the storage department. Display outputs include two HDMI 1.4a ports on both variants, with 7.1-channel digital audio streams. 7.1-channel digital audio is also given out by TOSLINK SPDIF, on both variants. Analog audio outputs include just the stereo headset jacks. Networking includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces on both variants. While the Value variant offers 802.11 b/g/n WLAN with Bluetooth 3.0, the Pro variant tops that with 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.0. The Pro variant measures 16 cm x 19 cm x 3.7 cm; while the Value variant is more compact, at 16 cm x 16 cm x 2.5 cm.

Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of the "HG6 series" of client SSDs integrating NAND chips fabricated with 19 nm second-generation process technology. Shipping will start from March.

The new HG6 series SSDs are Toshiba's first to use NAND chips fabricated with 19 nm second-generation process technology. Versions will be available in capacities from 60 GB to 512 GB, in 2.5-type, thin space-saving mSATA and M.2 (single- and double-sided) form factors, to meet various requirements.

Axiomtek, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, announced the arrival of the PICO880, the most advanced, high-performance and extremely compact single board computer in the marketplace. Created with the most advanced 4th Generation Intel Core technology, the PICO880 is designed to support the needs of systems integrators who require a compact, high-performance, versatile and reliable single board computer.

The PICO880 is built to withstand wide temperature conditions, ranging from -20°C to +70°C (-4°F to +158°F). Designed with expandability in mind, the tiny embedded board has a full-size PCI Express Mini Card slots with mSATA support. The PICO880 also provides two flexible board-to-board connectors that integrate audio, four USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, one PCIe x1, one DisplayPort, two UARTs, LED, and power on/off interfaces. It is a perfect fit for vehicle PCs, small media entertainment systems, industrial automation systems, medical imaging, gaming and small electronic devices customers.

Earlier available only through the OEM channel, Samsung 840 EVO mSATA 1 TB, the highest capacity mSATA SSD, is beginning to show up in retail channels, stateside. B&H Photo Video has the drive listed on pre-order for US $615. The drive is sought after in the production industry, particularly by users of digital video cameras that feature mSATA SSD slots, as it allows you to film lossless high-resolution video longer. It's also a potential favorite among Ultrabook users. The 840 EVO mSATA features Samsung's MEX controller, which embeds a triple-core ARM processor; and TLC NAND flash memory. It offers impressive sequential speeds of up to 540 MB/s reads, and up to 520 MB/s writes. The controller uses no over-provisioning, and relies on a 1 GB LPDDR3 DRAM as scratchpad. The other sizes the 840 EVO mSATA is available in, include 120 GB, 250 GB, and 500 GB.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the launch of its latest addition to the GIGABYTE BRIX series of ultra compact PC kits, the GIGABYTE BRIX Gaming. Packing an AMD A8-5557M APU together with an AMD Radeon R9 M275X discrete graphics processor, the GIGABYTE BRIX Gaming has gaming performance that belies its compact size.

"The BRIX Gaming offers a real desktop PC experience in a compact form factor that end users now expect from a GIGABYTE BRIX device," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "We're very excited about the continuing evolution of the desktop PC, challenging the notion that smaller PC design means abandoning performance."

Axiomtek, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, has introduced OPS880-HM, its new cost-effective OPS digital signage player with the support of 4K resolution. The OPS880-HM is powered by 4th Generation Intel Core i5 and i3 processors (codename: Haswell) with the Mobile Intel HM86 Express chipset. The OPS880-HM supports one DDR3L SO-DIMM socket with memory maximum up to 8GB. In addition, it features one mSATA interface as storage device and two PCI Express Mini Card slots for graphics-enhanced video card, wireless LAN card for 802.11 b/g/n and 3G/GPRS, and tuner/AV capture card. The outstanding OPS digital signage module is an ideal choice for various display applications in different environments, e.g., shopping mall, corporate, education, bank, transportation, retail store, restaurant, performing art center.

Plextor, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and storage equipment, today announced its M6 series lineup of solid-state drive solutions. The multi-form factor lineup features Plextor's next-generation 2.5" M6S and M6M mSATA SSDs, along with the introduction of two PCIe drives - the ultra-fast M6e M.2 PCI express and New HHHL PCIe card.

"We are excited to announce the new M6 series, Plextor's new generation of consumer solid-state storage products. With the addition of the M6e M.2 PCIe and SATA drives to the M6 family, Plextor now offers one of the broadest and highest-performing portfolios in the consumer space," said Darlo Perez, Director of Plextor Americas. "Plextor's latest lineup highlights our commitment to providing top-shelf quality and performance in the solid-state drive market."Images courtesy of Legit Reviews

Picture this - an NUC-like desktop so powerful for its size, that it qualifies to be a Steam Machine by Valve. The new BRIX Pro from Gigabyte is its most powerful BRIX desktop. Measuring all of 114.4mm x 111.4mm x 62 mm, the BRIX Pro tucks in some powerful hardware. To begin with, it features an off-spec 100 x 105 mm motherboard, which seats an Intel Core i7-4770R quad-core processor. Based on the big 22 nm Haswell silicon, it features Intel's Iris Pro 5200 graphics, which runs 40 compute units, and an L4 cache.

The Core i7-4770R chip inside the BRIX Pro is wired to up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 memory. The only internal storage option is an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Network connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi + Bluetooth using an optional mPCIe card. The rest of its connectivity includes a total of four USB 3.0 ports, mini-DisplayPort and HDMI display outputs, and 6-channel HD audio. Gigabyte didn't finalize pricing.

Plextor, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and storage devices, will introduce its new portfolio of consumer, enterprise and industrial storage solutions at a press conference in Las Vegas during the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Plextor will formally unveil its sixth generation M6 series consumer solid-state drive lineup. The new M6 series features next-generation firmware with 2.5-inch and mSATA solutions, as well as the addition of an ultra-fast M.2 PCI express SSD. Plextor will also introduce its new portfolio of enterprise storage products. Designed specifically for the cloud-computing environment, Plextor will present storage solutions for both read-intensive and mixed-usage server application that focus on reduced total cost of ownership and enhanced user experience.

Samsung Electronics today unveiled a new, compact storage solution, the 840 EVO mSATA solid state drive. Pictured below, this SSD makes use of 128 gigabit (Gb) 1x-nm NAND flash memory, it has a Samsung controller with TurboWrite technology, and is capable of 98,000 random read and 90,000 random write IOPS, as well as sequential read/write speeds of up to 540/520 MB/s.

The 840 EVO mSATA will be available this month globally in 120 GB, 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB capacities.

In addition to the 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch models mentioned earlier, Green House's new line of Phison controller-equipped solid state drives includes a trio of compact solutions, the mSATA GH-SSD3MA Series (SATA 6.0 Gbps) and GH-SSD2MA Series (SATA 3.0 Gbps) and the Half-Slim SATA 6.0 Gbps GH-SSD3HA Series.

These SSDs make use of MLC Flash memory, have a three-year warranty, and come in 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB capacities. The GH-SSD3MA and Gbps GH-SSD3HA models can reach speeds of up to 470/160 MB/s (read/write) while the GH-SSD2MA units top 200/120 MB/s. The drives will go on sale at the end of this month.

Dell has this week updated its Linux offering by releasing the new XPS 13 Developer Edition laptop running Ubuntu. Codenamed Sputnik 3, this new client-to-cloud solution comes with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS pre-installed and features a 13.3-inch (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit touch display, an Intel Haswell processor (Core i5-4200U or i7-4500U), 8 GB of RAM, Intel HD 4400 graphics, a 128/256 GB mSATA solid state drive, a spill-resistant backlit chiclet keyboard, an HD webcam, Bluetooth, 802.11ac WiFi, and a 55WHr battery.

The XPS 13 Developer Edition is currently only available in the US (starting at $1,249) but will expand its reach quickly - next week it will go on sale in Canada, and by the end of the month it will also be found in 9 European countries.

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, now also offers models compatible with the fourth generation of Intel Core processors ("Haswell") for socket LGA 1150.

Shuttle provides high-quality, powerful cube-shaped PCs for all platforms of the Intel Core processor family. And Haswell is no different. With the XPC Barebone SH87R6 and XPC Barebone SZ87R6, the manufacturer presents two solutions based on this processor type that are suitable for a wide variety of applications. The Mini-PCs are not only intended to be used as powerful and energy-efficient desktop PCs, but also as high-performance workstations or mini-servers. Thanks to their compatibility with a wide range of removable graphics cards, gamers are also happy to use these machines as easy-to-carry gaming rigs.

Axiomtek is pleased to announce the arrival of the MANO830 mini ITX motherboard supports Intel Atom processor D2550 1.86 GHz or N2600 1.6GHz with the Intel NM10 Express chipset. The MANO830 provides high-density yet low-power solutions. One DDR3 SO-DIMM slot on board implements maximum up to 4 GB of system memory. The industrial-grade mini ITX motherboard featuring Intel Graphics Media Accelerator core engine support HD-rich content and provide VGA, HDMI, and LVDS display outputs. Considering to the various demands in the embedded field, it comes with both PCIe x1 slot and PCI Express Mini Card slot and also shared with mSATA. This typical embedded motherboard is a great choice for medical healthcare, in-vehicle infotainment, mobile kiosk, mobile gaming, digital entertainment, digital signage, portable POS and much more.

"Early on in the planning phase, easy maintenance, compact size, good availability and future end-of-life support were carefully considered to ensure MANO830's sustainability for high quality operation in medical healthcare, in-vehicle infotainment, mobile kiosk, gaming, digital entertainment, signage, portable POS and much more applications. The super compact MANO830 offers improved processing and graphics performance and is designed to operate at a very low-power consumption. It equips with multiple display outputs: VGA, HDMI, LVDS and has a wide range for storage, I/O and expansion connectivity. In addition to Intel Atom Processor D2550, the embedded board supports Intel Atom N2600 which is energy efficient and provids very completive price. This mini ITX SBC is ideal for embedded and industrial applications." said David Chiu, PM of Product Planning Division at Axiomtek.

sTec, Inc., a leading global provider of solid-state storage solutions, today introduced the sTec s260 mSATA solid-state drives (SSDs), whose reliability, small footprint and low power draw make them ideal for embedded storage in rugged, space-conscious environments. The SSDs, which feature a 6 Gbps Serial ATA (SATA) interface, are designed to tackle a range of embedded-storage applications, including operating-system booting, data logging, code-storage/application hosting, caching, and fast data backup.

The s260 drives, which comply with the JEDEC-defined MO-300A and MO-300B (mSATA mini) standards, draw just 1.5W, a fraction of the power required by rotating-disk storage. Additionally, they deliver industry-leading reliability through sTec's patented PowerSafe technology and support industrial temperatures, ranging from -40° to 85° C. These features combine to meet the demands of embedded designs in remote and/or space-constrained systems where access is limited, airflow is restricted and heat exacts both performance and durability penalties.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is proud to announce the next generation GIGABYTE BRIX compact PC kit with new models featuring the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors. The new GIGABYTE BRIX is available in four models, each powered by the latest 'Haswell' architecture CPUs, offering improved CPU and graphics performance plus native 4K display support. The new GIGABYTE BRIX also features a front SPDIF jack and expanded USB 3.0 connectivity.

"This new and updated GIGABYTE BRIX builds on the incredible success and popularity of our original compact PC design," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "We're confident end users will enjoy the improved overall performance that the latest Intel Core processors offer, as well as additional upgrades we have made regarding audio and USB connectivity."

In the swarming SSD market, what better way to blast your way from obscurity to worldwide attention, than launching a ludicrously fast SSD? KingSpec unveiled the MC2J677M1T, a PCI-Express SSD that's tested to be capable of sequential speeds as high as 2.5 GB/s (gigabytes per second). Pictured below, the drive is an almost full-height add-on card with PCI-Express 2.0 x8 bus interface. The card seats a high performance SATA 6 Gb/s RAID controller by LSI (under that fan-heatsink), which is wired to eight mSATA 6 Gb/s ports, holding the eight sub-units.

The eight mSATA SSD sub-units on the MC2J677M1T each hold 120 GB of data (totaling 960 GB). Each sub-unit runs a JMicron-made controller, Intel-made MLC NAND flash, and Nanya-made DRAM cache. The LSI RAID controller is designed to be plug-and-play, i.e., the drive is bootable, and you won't need an F6 driver during Windows installation to detect the drive. A quick ATTO benchmark run by TheSSDReview, which has one of these drives, yielded sequential read speeds well past 2,500 MB/s.

Eurocom has added another layer of upgradeability to the 13.3" EUROCOM M3 by adding the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 wireless card to the long list of available customization options. "The EUROCOM M3, super powerful and ultraportable notebook is reaching a new level performance with the introduction of the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 wireless card" Mark Bialic, Eurocom President.

When ordering a EUROCOM M3, customers have the ability to select the processor, memory, storage, operating system and seven different wireless cards of their choice, to ensure the customer gets the exact notebook they want. Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 has a 2x2 antenna setup and supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, delivering 300Mbit for 802.11n and 867 Mbits for 802.11ac networks. The 802.11ac uses 80 MHz channels, while 802.11n uses 20 MHz or 40 MHz. Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 comes with Bluetooth 4.0 support as well.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of the Premier Pro SP310 mSATA solid state drive. Targeting consumers who are looking for a cost-effective upgrade to the SATA III specification, the SP310 supports Intel Smart Re4sponse Technology (SRT), which permits for the use of an mSATA SSD as a cache drive in conjunction with a traditional hard disk. This hybrid configuration delivers speeds comparable to systems with SSDs as primary drive.

The Premier Pro SP310 offers read and write speeds up to 410 MB/s and 180 MB/s respectively, with maximum 4K random write of 45,000 IOPS. Capacities of, 32, 64, and 128 gigabytes provide greater flexibility for system builders, in that the SP310 can be either a cache drive in a hybrid configuration, or primary storage (boot drive). In either setup, the improvements in booting and file loading speed are remarkable for such a low investment.

Who says that a top-of-the-line gaming notebook has to weigh a ton? Not MSI. Marvel at our newest feather-light GS70 Stealth gaming notebook. Measuring less than 2.18 centimeters thick, the GS70 is the industry's thinnest 17" gaming notebook powerhouse. At just 2.65 kilograms, the GS70 is even lighter than most 15.6" models, so you can conveniently take the action anywhere. With a big 17.3" Full HD monitor packed into a sleek 21.8 millimeters, this gaming platform is equipped with a long-lasting, high-capacity battery that can power nearly four hours of video.

We also beat the heat with our two channel cooling system design. Take your game on the road without worrying about your battery life or overheating. Now with that attention to detail, how could we possibly neglect the excitement of in-game video? The MSI GS70 Stealth, exclusively equipped with the newest Steelseries backlit keyboard, also features 2.1 channel surround sound that rivals most home entertainment systems. Even when wearing headphones, you can enjoy awesome 5.1 channel audio. Gamers are bound to appreciate the bright colorful visuals and booming audio experience exclusively available on the GS70 Stealth.

Greenliant Systems, a leader in energy-efficient, highly secure and reliable solid state storage products, has entered the removable solid state drive (SSD) market and is sampling its new mSATA ArmourDrive GLS86 product line. Based on SATA NANDrive, using Greenliant's internally developed NAND controller, mSATA ArmourDrive is designed for applications that require industrial temperature capability, high reliability and long-life data storage.

mSATA ArmourDrive operates at extreme temperatures between -40 to +85 degrees Celsius with 1-bit-per-cell (SLC) or 2-bits-per-cell (MLC) NAND flash memory, which gives customers a dependable, industrial temperature mSATA SSD using cost-effective MLC NAND. Addressing the needs of space-constrained embedded systems, mSATA ArmourDrive measures 29.85mm x 50.80mm x 4.80mm (JEDEC MO-300).

Intel launched its newest line of high-performance client SSDs, the SSD 530 series. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch, 80 mm M.2, and mSATA form-factors, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, these drives come in capacities starting from 80 GB. In the 2.5-inch form-factor, the SSD 530 series is available in 80 GB, 120 GB, 180 GB, 240 GB, 360 GB, and 480 GB variants; the 80 mm M.2 and mSATA form-factors it will be sold to OEMs in 80 GB, 120 GB, 180 GB, and 360 GB.

In its product brief, Intel didn't mention performance numbers specific to capacities, but gave out numbers applicable to all capacities - up to 540 MB/s reads, up to 490 MB/s writes, up to 41,000 IOPS 4K random reads, and up to 80,000 IOPS 4K random writes. The series is built around the latest version of SandForce SF-2281 controller with a few LSI refinements. It's based on Intel's 20 nm MLC NAND flash. The SSD 530 series, at least in the 2.5-inch form-factor, are expected to displace SSD 525 and SSD 520 series models from their current price-points.