Sandisk is offering a new class of solid state drives called Integrated Solid State Drives or iSSD. The drive is smaller than a postage stamp and comes in capac...
SanDisk used Computex as the launch pad for its new 2nd generation solid state drives aimed at the expanding netbook market. Many first-generation netbooks with SSDs experienced slower-than-expected performance, but SanDisk has developed ncache to speed up SSD performance while still maintaining low cost.
OCZ has announced a new addition to its SSD lineup with the Summit series. These drives come in 60GB, 120GB, and 250GB capacities. The Summit line boasts impressive read and write times of 220MB/s and 200MB/s respectively for the two larger capacity drives and 220MB/s read and 125MB/s write for the 60GB. Availability is limited, but I did find the 120GB listed at $380 from ecost. Not bad, considering how much performance you can get out of these SSDs these days. For the power conscious folks, the Summit uses a mere 2W at full power and 0.5W idle, which should lend to increased battery life over traditional spinning platters.
Kingston Technologies, well known for its digital storage solutions, announced a bundled kit utilizing Intel's X-25M SATA SSDs in 80 and 160GB capacities. The kit includes both a 2.5" external enclosure for use in notebook applications as well as a 3.5" drive bay mounting bracket for use in desktop applications. The Intel X-25M is capable of 250MB/s read and 70MB/s write speeds and is backed by a 3-year warranty with 24/7 tech support.
Dorette from SanDisk showed me the company's full lineup of solid state drives at CES 2009. but I'm much more excited about the SanDisk G3 SSDs. The G3 series, which are available in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB will start at just $149 at retail.
Toshiba's introducing several solid state drives at CES 2009 including a 512GB 2.5-inch drive and a 256GB 1.8-inch drive. They are slated to go into mass production in the second quarter of 2009.
Sony announced the VAIO TT, which is the lightest notebook to include a Blu-ray Disc drive. The VAIO TT features a carbon-fiber chassis, weighing in at 2.87 pounds and measuring less than an inch thick.
OCZ introduced the Core Series V2, a line of solid state drives with fast read/write times and capacities ranging from 30GB to 250GB. OCZ claims it will deliver the Core Series V2 for "50% less price per gigabyte than other high speed offerings currently on the market."
Toshiba plans on ramping up production on 128GB solid state drives for notebooks starting next year. The new drives will be available in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch form factors.
Super Talent announced two 256GB solid state drives, unfortunately they're too big to cram in a notebook, but these larger capacities are a good thing and should trickle down to notebooks.
Dell's introduced the Precision M2300 notebook, the company's first 14-inch widescreen workstation. It's is a professional-grade notebook with fast components, including an optional solid state drive. Designed for balanced mobility, the 14-inch form factor is great for professionals who need power in a small package.
Seagate Technology today announced it will begin shipping hybrid notebook drives in large volumes. Hybrid drives combine the large capacities of hard drives with a small amount of flash memory to deliver faster boot times, improved performance, greater reliability and lower power consumption. Seagate has seen up to 50% lower power consumption in testing.
Bitmicro's new E-Disk Altima E2A3GL 461GB 2.5-inch flash drive for military and industrial applications will be available next year. Designed for extreme conditions and durability, this is the largest SSD portable drive we've seen so far. Bitmicro claims this 416GB solid state disk (SSD) can operate between -40 and 85 degrees celcius and endure more than 1.9 million hours of usage.
PQI announced a 256GB SATA solid state drive (SSD) for notebooks, which will probably cost more than most notebooks when it starts shipping. The new drive has 60MB per second transfers.