Samsung Introduces High-Performance, Low-Density SATA II SSDs for Low-Priced PC Market
SEOUL, South Korea —(Business Wire)— Aug. 26, 2008 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it has begun sampling low-density, higher-performance solid state drives (SSDs) that are only 30 percent of the size of 2.5-inch SSDs and highly cost-efficient to manufacture. With the introduction of these smaller, low-capacity SSDs, Samsung now offers an attractive replacement for existing hard drives used in low-cost PCs. Available in densities of 8GB, 16GB and 32GB, the new multi-level-cell SSDs will be mass produced beginning next month.

"We've refined our manufacturing techniques and redesigned our low-density SSDs to get what the low-priced PC market is looking for in the way of improved cost, performance and availability," said Jim Elliott, Vice President, Memory Marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

The low-density Samsung SSDs use the same high-performance SATA II controller technology as that being used on Samsung's just-introduced MLC-based 128GB SSD.

Samsung's new MLC-based SSD at 32GB capacity will read data (sequentially) at 90MB/s and write it (sequentially) at 70MB/s - performance levels much greater than low-density SSDs on the market today. The 16GB reads at 90MB/s and writes at 45MB/s, while the 8GB reads at 90MB/s and writes at 25MB/s.

Samsung incorporates four individual 16 gigabit (Gb) MLC NAND chips in its 8GB SSD, as well as four dual-die packages and four quad-die packages of 16Gb NAND for its 16GB and 32GB SSDs respectively. Furthermore, by including a 32MB DRAM as the buffer and four-channel system for the new low-density SSDs, these solutions are better suited for high-speed reading environments.

Samsung has expanded its SSD market offerings since it introduced its first SSD in 2006 in 16GB and 32GB capacities targeted at the Ultra Mobile PC market. This was followed by the announcement of the 64GB SSD in 2007, a 128GB SSD in 2008, and sampling of a 256GB SSD in the second half of 2008.

With increased sales of low-cost PCs and recent efforts by most major PC manufacturers to develop their own low-cost PC offerings, the market for lower density SSDs has been experiencing explosive growth. By unit sales, the low-density SSD market is expected to increase annually by 57% until 2011, with SSDs for low-priced PCs being the main driver of market demand.

[Samsung]

[PC Watch]

Seoul, Korea – July 9, 2008: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing 1.8- and 2.5-inch multi-level cell (MLC)-based solid state drives (SSD) with a 128 Gigabyte (GB) storage capacity. Mass production of the Samsung MLC-based 64GB SSD also began this month.

“With the 64 GB and 128 GB MLC SSDs, we are satisfying the density requirements of most business users and many PC enthusiasts, who will appreciate not only the performance gains and added reliability, but also the more attractive pricing,” said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Samsung SSDs feature far greater reliability, faster boot times and faster application start-up times than hard disk drives. Power consumption for the Samsung SSD is exceptionally low in standby mode at approximately 0.2 watts and in active mode at 0.5 watts.

The Samsung MLC-based SSD has a write speed of 70MB/s and a read speed of 90MB/s - performance levels that approach those of single-level-cell (SLC)-based SSDs now in mass production. Moreover, the new 128GB SSD will last approximately 20 times longer than the generally accepted 4-5 year life span of a notebook PC hard drive.

Featuring a 3.0 gigabit-per-second interface, the 128GB MLC-based SSD consists of 64 MLC NAND flash memory chips of 16 gigabits each, optimized single-chip controller technology and advanced flash-management firmware technology. Enclosed in a brushed metallic casing, it measures 100mm x 69.8mm and is only 9.5mm thick.

Samsung is aggressively expanding its SSD market offerings. It introduced a 64GB SSD in the second half of 2007, and plans to begin producing a 256GB at the end of this year. Samsung’s mass production of 128GB SSDs helps it to maintain its position as the leading producer of SSDs in the world, with capacities ranging from 32GB to the highest available today.

Samsung expects sales of SSD units to increase 800 percent between now and 2010, keeping SSDs on pace to be the largest growth segment in the NAND flash market over the next few years.

• 8gb solid state drive
• 32gb Patriot XT drive
• 2gb RAM
• Intel Wi-Fi A/B/G/N upgraded card
• 7" LCD with touchscreen
• Air Play installed so you can transmit all of your sound to an FM radio
• Custom copper heatsink installed because it's overclocked
• Bluetooth adapter
• 2 USB hubs so all the USB devices can hook up to the Eee PC
• web cam
• speakers
• microphone
• 3 USB ports
• one external VGA port so you can hook up an external monitor
• Windows XP Professional SP3 with all the drivers installed and tested
• Screen resolution is set a 1024x768 with the hacked Video Driver

All good, even if the motherboard now looks like the Millennium Falcon's guts. [eBay—Thanks Moe]

Media Alert: Sony Transforms PCs into Ultimate Dream Machines

Subject: New VAIO PCs Feature Supercharged Models

Body: Sony today announced it would be shipping super-charged versions of its VAIO® PCs. Dubbed VAIO Premium, these units will empower users with lighting-fast processing speeds, massive amounts of storage, and innovative technologies to improve performance.

Fueling these dream machines will be the new Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processors— T9000 and T8000 series. Among the very first to ship with these chipsets, these PCs will provide business travelers and multimedia enthusiasts alike with unparalleled power and multi-tasking capabilities. The result: high-definition content management, fast-paced gaming and performance like never before.

Mass Storage Meets Ultra-portability

VAIO TZ298N/X Premium Notebook: Outfitted with a carbon fiber chassis, this notebook combines 64 gigabytes of SSD memory with 250 gigabytes of HDD space creating a roomy 314 gigabytes storage configuration. Powered with an Intel Core2 Duo processor U7700, designed for performance and low power consumption, it features an 11.1-inch widescreen display and weighs just 2.7 pounds— making it ideal for travel. The notebook is priced at about $3,600.

SSDs have no moving parts, so seek time is drastically reduced. No spinning=less battery vampirage, so your laptop lasts longer too. And finally, the lack of a deadly read-write head means you can drop your SSD-powered lappy with far less chance of weeping. Right now, SSDs are usually made with either SDRAM (like RAM used in computers) or NAND flash (like in thumb drives, iPod nanos, etc.). Flash is more common, since it doesn't need a battery even though it's slower. Problems: Gig for gig, SSD is way expensive. The beefiest you'll be able to get soon is 128GB (or maybe 256GB)—but the current 64GB 2.5" SSDs go for $1,100 and up. Still got questions?

Samsung 32GB Solid State Drive [TrustedReviews]

For those who think that June will never come, can't wait to get a sexy subnotebook with flash storage even if it doesn't come with Mac OS X and live in Japan, here's the new Sony VAIO Type G: a 12.1-inch notebook that not only comes under the 2 pounds mark (1.97 or 898 grams) battery included, but includes a 32 GB solid storage unit for $1,926.

The VAIO Type G comes short on power though: it only has a Core Solo U1300 running at 1.06GHz and the Intel 945GMS Express chipset doing the graphic work, with just up to 1.5GBytes of DDR2 RAM. Perhaps that's why it comes with Windows XP Pro instead of Vista. And perhaps that's why I will stick to my MacBook until Apple releases something better with a SDD. – Jesus Diaz

Update: battery life with the standard battery and the SDD drive is 12 hours, but the total weight increases to 2.08 pounds (945 grams). With the small battery, Sony says it will last 6 hours

SONY, "VAIO type of 32GB flash loading/approximately 859g G" [PC Watch]

Surprising, specially when you compare it to the $600 32 GB SanDisk SSD, which offers double the size for half the price, even if you have to install it. However, the Trascend 16GB will be good for the extra space that pro digital photographers need while traveling light, as well as having a quick way to back up for everyone else. – Jesus Diaz

Trascend 16GB Express Card [Akihabara News]

Seems like just yesterday SanDisk rolled out its $600 1.8-inch 32GB SSD (it was in early January), but this 2.5-inch form factor is significant because it fits right in where more of those spinning hard drives have been firmly ensconced for the past few years. It's a drop-in replacement Serial ATA (SATA) drive, and at these prices, it looks like the revolution moving away from moving parts is well underway. – Charlie White

SanDisk introduce 32GB 2.5" Solid State Disk [Tracy and Matt's Blog]

Since this is using SD cards—and four of them at that—there's no guarantee the performance will be anything above "meh". – Jason Chen

Product Page [GeekSTuff4u via Akihabara News via Crunchgear]

Its most impressive spec is its random read rate of 7300 inputs and outputs per second, 100 times faster than most hard disks, letting the thing boot Microsoft Windows Vista in 35 seconds. That's about 28 seconds faster than a garden-variety hard disk can do. It's much smaller than the 2.5-inch 32GB flash drive Samsung introduced last March, but it's still rather pricey, adding around $600 to a laptop in which it resides. Going out to equipment manufacturers now, the company says we'll be seeing notebooks with this drive inside by the middle of this year. – Charlie White

Product Page [SanDisk, via Tracy and Matt's]