SSD

EMC subsidiary Iomega has announced the creation of a pocket-sized external SSD storage solution with hardware encryption, write speeds said to be twice as fast as a 7200 RPM SATA hard drive, and a special feature to help protect the unit if dropped. The new unit also benefits from SuperSpeed USB connectivity, hardware data encryption and a long usage lifespan.  Read More

Viking Modular has unveiled a novel approach to adding a solid state storage boost to a computer or server. Instead of being bound by the familiar 2.5 or 3.5 inch (63.5/88.9mm) form factor, the company has introduced SATADIMM - storage on a memory module. It's shaped like system RAM and slides into DDR3 slots on the motherboard but connecting up its onboard SATA interface results in up to 200GB Enterprise Class Solid State Drive storage being made available. Although likely to find its way into business systems and data center servers in the immediate future, system designers may well find the module useful for creating even thinner mobile devices, such as tablet computers.  Read More

Ultra-thin tablets, laptops and other mobile devices could be set to look even slimmer with the development of SATA solid state drives no bigger than a postage stamp. SanDisk's new integrated SSD (iSSD) device is just 0.072 inch (1.85mm) thick, tips the scales at a mere 0.029 of an ounce (0.83g) and is currently available in sizes up to 64GB. It's not the fastest SSD solution currently available but hey, it's got to be the smallest.  Read More

Other World Computing (OWC) has announced that super fast data transfer rates have been achieved during performance testing using four of its SSDs. Its drives were simultaneously connected to a Mac Pro via a couple of FirmTek eSATA controller cards, and 10GB read and write tests were performed. The test configuration managed to notch up some rather brisk data transfer rates of 853MB per second write and 1GB per second read, which should be more than enough to keep even the most active high definition video editors relatively grumble-free.  Read More

Samsung has unveiled its first 512GB solid state drive with toggle-mode DDR NAND memory. The low power drive offers up to 250MB per second read and 220MB read over a fast SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, which roughly translates to having two 4GB movies stored to the drive in around a minute.  Read More

Solid state drives (SSD) have been around for some time. Unlike other data storage devices, however, their cost per GB seems reluctant to drop quickly enough to make sense economically not just to consumers, but to enterprises as well. Using a recently patented technology, the Israeli startup Anobit has announced an SSD series that makes a huge step toward making SSDs a tangibly faster and more affordable solution for the enterprise world.  Read More

Hitachi-LG Data Storage has come up with a novel idea that combines physical storage with an optical drive. The HyDrive is capable of reading CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs but also has a solid state drive (SSD) slotted in. Initially coming in 32GB and 64GB versions, the company has plans to scale on up to 256GB by March of next year.  Read More

You may be forgiven for thinking that you are seeing double at the SanDisk booth at Computex... double the storage that is. The company has just announced that it has doubled the capacity of its SSD solutions and thrown in a performance upgrade for good measure, too. The two new flavors will come in various compact form factors with the G4 running up to 256GB and the P4 to 128GB.  Read More

It's been an incredibly fast paced week at TweakTown with hordes of new goodies passing through the labs and leaving memorable impressions. The wrap-up includes a look at OCD's Vertex 2 'E' series SSD, the latest chassis from Cooler Master and a very nice 27-inch sized LCD from Dell.  Read More