They're not the absolute fastest 2.5-inch laptop SSDs we've ever seen, but are definitely right up there at the top. WD's new line, for example, isn't even close to half that speed (100/80MB/s). You can expect them to be expensive, but we don't know exactly how much they'll cost, or when we can expect to see them in stores and laptops, but we'll keep you updated. [Corsair via Crunchgear]

Having run similarly obsessive benchmark roundups before, Testfreaks is no stranger to flash drive testing. They're quick to show us, then, that these drives are generally pretty terrible, and that if you're looking for performance, you'll probably be better served by a decent mainstream drive over a plasticized shrimp. One gripe throws a damper on this wonderful test: I kinda wish there were a few more of the flash drive legends, like the beer drive, the humping dog and for good measure, Sylvester Stallone's genitalia. [Testfreaks]

This announcement comes on the heels of Western Digital's acquisition of SiliconSystems back in March, and the company is now coming through with drives in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch sizes. The 2.5-inch drive use SATA/PATA transfer interfaces, while the 1.8-inch drive opts for the MicroSATA standard (its capacity also maxes out at 60 gigabytes).

Mums the word on pricing and retail availability, but I'm sure this will all make it's way to the general public soon enough.

WD(R) Begins Shipping New SATA/PATA SSDs Featuring Higher Speeds and Capacities for Embedded Systems and Data Streaming Applications

New Products Based on Third-Generation SiliconDrive Platform

LAKE FOREST, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — WD® (NYSE: WDC) today announced that it has begun shipping its new SiliconDrive® III SSD product family based on technology from its March 2009 acquisition of SiliconSystems. The company's new SiliconDrive III products feature faster read/write speeds and increased capacities, and offer mechanical scalability, making them a perfect storage solution for embedded system and data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances.

SiliconDrive III SSDs include 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA) and Parallel ATA (PATA) and 1.8-inch Micro SATA products featuring native SATA 3.0 gigabits per second (Gbps) or ATA-7 interfaces with target read speeds up to 100 megabytes per second (MBps) and write speeds to 80 MBps in capacities up to 120 gigabytes (GB).

"SiliconDrive III is the first example of how WD plans to productize solid state technology developed by SiliconSystems. The launch of SiliconDrive III will also enable WD to leverage its global sales and distribution channels to accelerate the adoption of SSD technology beyond SiliconSystems' traditional embedded systems OEM customer base into data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances," said Michael Hajeck, senior vice president and general manager of WD's solid state storage business unit. "SiliconDrive III is an ideal solution for OEMs that require increased performance, capacity, reliability and data throughput in their applications."

SiliconDrive III has been designed and optimized for high performance and high reliability in demanding 24x7 applications in the embedded systems, media appliance and data streaming markets. Performance and reliability is achieved through the integration of the company's patented and patent-pending advanced storage technologies in every SiliconDrive III product. The company's patented and patent-pending PowerArmor®, SiSMART® and SolidStor® technologies address critical OEM design considerations such as the elimination of drive corruption due to power anomalies, the ability to monitor a SiliconDrive's useable life in real-time and integrated advanced storage technologies that ensure data integrity and SSD life for multi-year product deployments.

Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=21.

TOSHIBA LAUNCHES INDUSTRY’S FIRST 512GB SOLID STATE DRIVE and NEXT- GENERATION SSD FAMILY USING 43nm MLC NAND
New SSD Family Achieves High Levels of Performance, Endurance, Capacity and Reliability to Meet Market Requirements for Notebook Computers, Gaming and Home Entertainment Systems
512GB SOLID STATE DRIVE
Download Hi Res Image (JPG 828KB)
IRVINE, Calif., and TOKYO December 18, 2008 — Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)*, its subsidiary in the Americas, today announced the expansion of their line up of NAND-flash-based solid state drives (SSD) with the industry's first 2.5-inch 512-gigabyte (GB)1 SSD and a broad family of fast read/write SSDs based on 43 nanometer (nm) Multi-Level Cell NAND. The new drives provide a high level of performance and endurance for use in notebook computers, gaming and home entertainment systems, and will be showcased at International CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 8 – 11, 2009.

In addition to the 2.5-inch, 512GB drive, the 43nm NAND SSD family also includes capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, offered in 1.8-inch or 2.5-inch drive enclosures or as SSD Flash Modules. Samples of the new drives will be available in the first quarter (January to March) of 2009, with mass production in the second (April to June) quarter.

Toshiba's second-generation SSDs bring increased capacity and performance for notebook computers. They utilize an advanced MLC controller, which is also compatible with further advanced processes, that achieves higher read/write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling to optimize performance, reliability and endurance. The drives enable improved system responsiveness with a maximum sequential read speed of 240MB per second (MBps)2 and maximum sequential write speed of 200MBps enabling an improvement in overall computing experience, and faster boot and application loading times. The drives also offer AES data encryption to prevent unauthorized data access.

"The solid state drive market is evolving rapidly, with higher performance drives to meet market requirements, and differentiated product families targeted for appropriate applications," said Mr. Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Vice President of Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor Company. "This new 43nm SSD family balances value/performance characteristics for its targeted consumer applications, through use of MLC NAND and an advanced controller architecture."

Toshiba and many market analysts expect SSDs to begin to gain significant traction in the market in 2009, growing to approximately 10% of the notebook market by 2010, and 25% of the notebook market by 2012. Toshiba expects the value/performance of its MLC NAND-based SSD line-up to help speed the acceptance of solid state storage.

Toshiba will continue to promote innovations that widen the horizons of the NAND Flash market and support its continued leadership in that market. The company will spur demand for SSDs in notebook PCs, netbooks, laptops and digital consumer products by enhancing its lineup, offering products with different densities and interfaces in a range of packages, while advancing device performance. For more information on Toshiba SSDs, please visit ssd.toshiba.com.
Outline of the new products:
Form Factor Capacity Product Number Samples Start of Mass Production
2.5-inch
Serial ATA-2 512GB THNS512GG8BB 1Q, 2009 2 Q, 2009
256GB THNS256GG8BB
128GB THNS128GG4BB
64GB THNS064GG2BB
1.8-inch
Serial ATA-2 256GB THNS256GG8BA
128GB THNS128GG4BA
64GB THNS064GG2BA
1.8-inch Flash Module
Serial ATA-2 256GB THNS256GG8BM
128GB THNS128GG4BM
64GB THNS064GG2BM
Product Specifications:
2.5-inch Serial ATA-2 1.8-inch Serial ATA-2 1.8-inch Flash Module Serial ATA-2
Size 69.9 (W) x 9.5(H) x100(D) mm 54.0(W) x 5.0(H) x78.5(D) mm 53.6(W) x 3.0(H) x 70.6(D) mm
Mass 66g (Typ.) 44g (Typ.) 15g (Typ.)
Interface Serial ATA-2 (3Gbps3)
Voltage 3.3V (Module, 1,8-inch type), 5V (2.5-inch type)
Reading speed Maximum speed 240MBps (sequential mode)
Writing speed Maximum speed at 200MBps (sequential mode)
Temperature 0 to 70 degrees Celsius
MTTF4 1 million hours

While a new 15" MacBook Pro with 200GB hard drive will run you $2,000 from Apple, ExperCom's version with a 120GB SSD will only cost $649 more at $2649. That's only a $50 price premium over the drive's $600 pricepoint, so not nearly as bad as those beefed-up TiVos of yore. A 13" MacBook with 60GB SSD will cost $1649...meaning that SSD laptops with functional hard drives will soon be getting downright buyable.

ExperCom will also transfer files off of existing systems you want to upgrade. That'll run you $599 (60GB) or $899 (120GB) for the full hardware and service. [ExperCom via TUAW]

Buying continual replacements is quickly going to create a massively expenses bill, so we say, just stick with this alternative instead. Sure, it may not be miniature and cool, but at least it's big and ugly. If that isn't a selling point, having physical characteristics in common with your flash drive should have you sold. [Oh Gizmo!]

The WriteMaster SH-S223 will offer high-speed DVD burning on low speed media; 16X and 8X media will be written to at 22X and 12X write speeds, respectively. The SH-S223 will be able to write at the following maximum speeds; 22X DVD±R recording, 12X DVD-RAM recording, 16X DVD+R Dual Layer recording, 12X DVD-R Dual Layer recording, 8X DVD+RW recording and 6X DVD-RW recording. Time wise, 4.7GB of data can be burned to a DVD±R disc in approximately 4 minutes and 26 seconds. That kind of performance puts even Speedy Gonzalez to shame. All around, it looks like it has been a fantastic record-breaking weekend for our chums at Samsung. Well done, chaps. [Gizmag]

When you factor that in with Sandisk's shrinkdown to a 43-nanometer process from 56nm, the two-for-one combo greatly improves efficiency, so we'll be seeing 120GB and 160GB drives on shelves by the end of the year. Still for more than you can afford, but at least we're getting there. [Crave]

Fabrik Ultimate Backup is designed to run in the background, sensing when CPU usage is low, and using that time to upload data to their central server. Because the software isn't built into the drive, Fabrik Ultimate Backup onkly works when the computer is running. A variety of parameters, such as file types or specific folders, can be used to determine what gets backed up and Ultimate backup constantly scans for new updates. The files can be reverted to a saved state up to 30 days prior and can be accessed remotely from the web. But it should be noted that files can only be accessed from one computer.

Each Fabrik hard drive purchased comes with a lifetime allocation of 2 GB of online backup. Unlimited backup space is $4.95/month and is compatible with any hard drive, not just Fabrik models. But you do need a PC to run the software. The Pro line of hard drives range between 250GB-2TB of space and will cost between $100-$800.