After releasing the 128 GB 2.5-inch SATA II SSD, Silicon Power, the leading brand among Flash Memory Manufacturers, is expanding its SSD product line with a larger, 256GB version. Except for its larger capacity, a new version SSD delivers an outstanding performance in data transfer rate. It can reach a read speed of 165 MB/s and a write speed of 95MB/s. High-speed transfer rates, as well as the very low (0.2ms) latency, it's a benefit for SSD-equipped computers to provide faster functioning speed and boot times.

With the mentioned high speed data transfer, the new units provides the cutting edge controller and flash memory shock resistance, minimum vibration, low power consumption, no noise, no latency delay, no seek error and high reliability, enabling the operating system to work well even if it is on the move. The new 256GB SSD also features an integrated ECC (Error Correction Code) to ensure an accurate data transfer, as well as built-in wear leveling technology that guarantees long-term reliability and ultra-long storage lifespan. Customers can easily install the SSD in laptops, PCs or other devices that support SATA II SSD. Silicon Power 2.5” SSD with SATA II or IDE interface is fully compatible with RoHS requirement, with capacities ranging from 8GB to 256GB.

Fujitsu will facilitate the transfer by bringing its HDD-related businesses and functions together in a new company. Toshiba will acquire about an 80 percent stake in this company and make it a Toshiba Group subsidiary. In order to promote a smooth transfer, Fujitsu will continue to hold a stake of under 20 percent in the new company for a certain period of time, after which it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba.

The consolidation of the two companies' HDD businesses will enable Toshiba to reinforce its already strong position as a leading vendor of small form factor HDDs (2.5-inch and smaller HDDs), widely used in notebook PCs, mobile devices, automotive and consumer electronics. It will also give Toshiba entry into the enterprise HDD market for server and data storage system applications, where Fujitsu is currently a leader. Toshiba aims to build its position in the enterprise market to meet expected growth in demand for data storage systems.

Western Digital sent out a press release this morning, announcing its newly redesigned My Book World Edition network hard drives. Available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, the My Book World Edition is designed to automatically back up files from all the PCs and Macs on a home network. The drive also features integrated UPnP media server and iTunes Music server software, allowing you to stream content directly to an Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or computer using iTunes software.

WD® (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its newly redesigned My Book® World Edition™ network storage drive, simplifying the critical but tedious task of backing up an entire household's precious files. Designed for consumers who have multiple computers on a home network, the new drive will be available in 1 terabyte and 2 terabyte capacities, and is compatible with PC and Mac® computers.

Consumers are amassing increasing amounts of digital media on their computers, including irreplaceable photos, movies and documents. While 70 percent of users in a recent WD study of 1,500 U.S. consumers claimed to be "backing up," most use sporadic, tedious processes such as copying to CDs/DVDs or USB thumb drives. Having several computers multiplies the work. My Book World Edition network drives are designed to automate and simplify the backup chore for the 36 million networked homes in the U.S. according to research firm Parks Associates. Just plug the My Book World Edition drive into a network router, click a few buttons and the My Book World Edition storage device backs up the files from all the PCs and Macs on the network. Any changes to the files on these computers are automatically and continuously backed up to the drive.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announces its new external DVD writer, the SE-S084B series. The new tray-type DVD writer is a slim portable device, available in seven color choices. Samsung’s new external DVD writer is designed to meet market demand for external DVDs to complement mini-notebook and netbook PCs, a fast growing sector in the PC industry.

The SE-S084B series adopts a single interconnect cable for both data transmission and power supply. The DVD writer is connected through a USB port without the need for a separate power cable. This tray-type slim DVD writer weighs less than a pound (0.4kg) making it an attractive easy to carry portable device.