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SanDisk Corporatin, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that it has implemented the new SATA µSSD specification into its SanDisk iSSD product line of postage stamp-sized embedded SSDs. SATA-IO, an industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of serial ATA (SATA) technology, introduced the standard today.
The number of media tablets shipped worldwide is expected to grow from 17.8 million units in 2010 to 53.5 million units in 2011. The five-year CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is 48.5 percent, according to the IDC 1Q11 Media Tablet and eReader Tracker Forecast. These thin, high-performance mobile computing platforms combine sophisticated components in a small physical area, compounding design complexity and driving the need for industry standards.
Embedded SSDs offer fast performance in a tiny footprint, making them an attractive solution for all categories of ultrathin devices. The SATA µSSD specification eliminates the module connector from the traditional SATA interface, enabling developers to produce a single-chip SATA implementation for embedded storage applications. Among the first products to implement the new standard, the SanDisk iSSD series is an ideal storage solution for OEMs developing the next generation of thin, powerful mobile computing platforms.
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The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO), the industry consortium dedicated to sustaining the quality, integrity and dissemination of Serial ATA (SATA) technology, today announced it is developing SATA Express, a new specification that combines SATA software infrastructure with the PCI Express (PCIe) interface. SATA Express enables the development of new devices that utilize the PCIe interface and maintain compatibility with existing SATA applications. The technology will provide a cost-effective means to increase device interface speeds to 8Gb/s and 16Gb/s.
Solid state (SSDs) and hybrid drives are already pushing the limits of existing storage interfaces. SATA Express will provide a low-cost solution to fully utilize the performance of these devices. Storage devices not requiring the speed of SATA Express will continue to be served by existing SATA technology. The specification will define new device and motherboard connectors that will support both new SATA Express and current SATA devices.
“The SATA Express specification provides SSD and hybrid drive manufacturers the advantages of performance and scalability enabled by PCIe 3.0 – which is available now – and the ubiquity of SATA,” said Mladen Luksic, SATA-IO president. “We expect the SATA Express specification to be completed by the end of 2011.”
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The USB 3.0 Promoter Group is announcing that it is creating a new power delivery specification which will significantly extend the capabilities and usages of cable bus power in USB applications. The new specification will enable delivery of more power via the familiar USB connectors and cables, and will coexist with the USB Battery Charging 1.2 specification and existing USB bus-powered applications.
Key characteristics of the forthcoming USB Power Delivery solution include:
- Compatible with existing cables and connectors
- Enables voltage and current values to be negotiated over the USB power pins
- Enables higher voltage and current in order to deliver power up to 100W
- Switchable source of power delivery without changing cable direction
- Coexists with USB Battery Charging 1.2 and works equally well with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0
“Building on the rapidly increasing industry momentum for using USB bus power to charge a broad range of mobile devices, the new USB Power Delivery specification extends USB’s cable power delivery capabilities beyond simple battery charging,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. “For example, charging the battery of a notebook PC, or simply powering that notebook PC while actively using the USB data connection, would be possible. Conceivably, a notebook PC could rely solely on a USB connection for its source of power.”
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Delkin Devices, Inc., leading supplier of industrial solid state storage products, announces the production release of 32GB and 64GB high performance, extended temperature CompactFlash cards. Delkin is the first manufacturer to offer 64GB CF cards with an operating temperature range of -40 to +85°C, through the use of single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash. Complementing their industrial-grade ruggedness, the Delkin 32GB and 64GB CF cards also deliver high speed performance, reading up to 105 MB/second and writing up to 95 MB/second.
In addition to their enhanced environmental specifications, Delkin’s SLC cards are up to ten times more durable than multi-level cell (MLC) flash cards, delivering over two million program/erase cycles. Delkin has engineered these cards to deliver the maximum capacity, speed, endurance and temperature tolerance, as well as shock and vibration resistance, to meet the demands of industrial applications in harsh environments.
“Delkin has taken CompactFlash to the next level by leveraging the latest advances in NAND technology and our 25 years as a leader in industrial storage,” stated James Grassman, Delkin Vice President of Sales and Business Development. “The new 32GB and 64GB cards are ideal for applications requiring large storage capacity and high speed data transfer in extreme conditions, while maintaining the ease of integration of the trusted CompactFlash form factor,” he added.
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Until recently, conventional wisdom stated that SLC-based (single level cell) solid state drives (SSDs) were the only drives suitable for demanding Tier 0 Enterprise applications. That has changed with the introduction of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies’ (Hitachi GST) new Ultrastar SSD400M MLC (multi level cell) SSD family.
As a cost-effective alternative to SLC SSDs, Hitachi GST’s Enterprise MLC SSDs are the most advanced in the industry, utilizing Intel’s 25 nanometer (nm), highest endurance Enterprise-grade, MLC NAND Flash and delivering outstanding performance. Couple this with Hitachi GST’s known quality and reliability, and the result is a compelling Enterprise-class MLC SSD that meets the performance, capacity, endurance and reliability demands of today’s Enterprise and Cloud data centers. Targeting Enterprise capacity sweet spots, the Ultrastar SSD400M family is available in a 2.5-inch form factor with a 6Gb SAS interface in capacities of 200GB and 400GB.
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Seagate has shipped its one millionth solid state hybrid drive for laptop PCs after launching the product – Momentus XT – in spring 2010. Major computer makers including Alienware, ASUS, Dell, Sony and Toshiba now offer laptops powered by the 2.5-inch drive that blends performance rivaling solid state drives with the enormous capacity and much lower cost of hard disk drives.
The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive, a 7200RPM drive with up to 500GB of capacity, boots up to 50 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives and sets new benchmarks for real-world system performance for laptops and gaming systems. Seagate's Adaptive Memory™ technology is key to the drive's speed, optimizing its performance by moving frequently used information into the 4GB of onboard solid state memory for faster bootup and application access.
"Seagate's shipment of its one millionth Momentus XT drive is just the beginning of a bright future for solid state hybrid drives," said John Rydning, research director at IDC. "Fast, capacious, and economical hybrid HDD and NAND flash storage solutions like the Momentus XT drive will be found in roughly 25 percent of all new PCs shipped in 2015."
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QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced new V3.5 NAS management software for its Turbo NAS series, embedded as firmware. The new V3.5 firmware provides compatibility with Apple’s new Mac® OS X Lion operating system, provides LDAP, antivirus, syslog server support, and more. Firmware 3.5 also includes service binding feature and enhanced MyCloudNAS service.
Firmware V3.5 provides several new security enhancements. New antivirus feature allows the administrator to scan the NAS manually or on a recurring schedule; then delete or quarantine files infected by viruses, malware, Trojans, and other malicious threats. New RADIUS server provides RAIDUS-client-enabled devices with centralized account management and authentication for network access. External drive encryption blocks unauthorized access and protects data on external drives from theft by encrypting a disk volume or a specific partition.
A NAS server that talks! Newly supported Windows® Live Messenger notification sends error and warning alerts to predefined Windows Live account. The administrator is able to receive the current system temperature, disk and volume information by typing inquiry commands on the Windows Live Messenger program.
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Seagate, today unveiled the GoFlex Turbo performance drive with SafetyNet data recovery services (DRS). SafetyNet data recovery is the first recovery service offering by a hard drive manufacturer to be included as part of the purchase price of an external drive. With the latest super speed USB 3.0 interface and RPMs clocked at 7200, the GoFlex Turbo drive is equipped to handle transfer speeds up to 40% faster than that of its USB 2.0, 5400-RPM siblings.
This latest addition to the GoFlex family was developed with the understanding that those who place a high value on their data should have the peace of mind that their data is even more secure regardless of what unforeseen incident might occur to the drive. The new GoFlex Turbo performance drive features two-years of SafetyNet data recovery services and is now available from Best Buy for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $119.99 for 500GBs and $139.99 for 750GBs.
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Active Media Products, a leading manufacturer of SSDs and DOMs, today announced three new ZIF SSD upgrade kits for the first generation MacBook Air, most Sony Vaio models and other popular laptops that include a ZIF SSD, a cloning device, a mini screwdriver and an illustrated installation booklet. AMP's cloning adapter enables customers to quickly clone their existing ZIF drive onto the new ZIF drive through a USB port.
"Our cloning adapter will help customers get up and running that much faster because now they don't need to reinstall the OS and all their applications. We included a detailed installation guide and a mini screwdriver in the box to simplify the upgrade process," stated Active Media Products VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson. AMP does not include a USB cable or cloning software in these kits.
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KINGMAX, the world renowned memory brand, has recently launched PD-03, a flash drive that is both compact and easy-on-the-go. Black exterior accentuated by 3 different colors: green (2GB/16GB), red (4GB/32GB), blue (8GB) to create a simple yet sophisticated look. PD-03 also features a thoughtful design that keeps the cap attached to the end. Whether it is for storing or sharing digital multimedia files, PD-03 is undeniably the best data storage pal.
KINGMAX PD-03 weighs merely 9 grams but comes with large capacities of up to 32GB. Whether it is for storing photos, movie, music or documents, with PD-03 all data can be transferred or stored quickly and easily. Moreover, there’s no need for driver or complex installation; just plug and play and files and entertainment are on-the-go.
