Fusion-io today announced it has developed a new engineering technique for managing multi-level cell (MLC) flash technology, that combines the enterprise reliability of single-level cell (SLC) technology with the economical consumer-grade MLC flash. Fusion-io products utilizing this technology, called single mode level cell (SMLC), offer a cost-effective MLC-based solid-state solution with the endurance and performance of SLC at a much lower cost per gigabyte (GB). SMLC-based products from Fusion-io will be available starting this quarter.

The SMLC technology features bandwidth equal to SLC, with comparable endurance and write performance levels, at a cost that is substantially lower than traditional SLC solutions. Fusion-io products utilizing SMLC build on all of the innovation and reliability of the company's existing enterprise-class solid-state solutions, including its PCI Express-based form factor, chip-level redundancy and RAIDing, global wear leveling, advanced error correction and many other features beyond just performance leadership.

Fusion-io's SMLC serves as the foundation for an enterprise product line that is tailor-made for customers requiring greater performance or endurance than MLC can provide, at a lower price point than existing SLC solutions.

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Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today introduced their new line of colorful and trendy Pico Mini USB drives, available this week in capacities from 2GB to 16GB.

Like their siblings, the Pico drives, Pico Mini drives are built using COB technology which enables squeezing impressive Flash capacities into extremely small packages. At 32 x 15 x 3 mm (1.3 x 0.6 x 0.1 inches), Pico Mini drives are surprisingly tiny. Even more impressive, they tip the scales at merely 1.5 grams.

Sony today debuted its next-generation multi-function DVDirect™ DVD recorder, which can transfer both high-definition and standard-definition home videos and digital photos to DVD discs without using a computer.

The new VRD-MC6 model has a 2.7-inch color LCD screen for previewing video or up to six digital photos at a time, and its overall size is almost 60 percent smaller than its predecessor.

“Many customers still have their old home movies on tapes and are looking for an easy solution to archive their personal digital imaging content on DVD discs.  With the larger built-in LCD color screen in a smaller body, the new DVDirect model makes it easier for customers to transfer the content to DVD discs for archiving, enjoying and sharing with family and friends,” said Shige Nakayama, manger of the DVDirect business at Sony.

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Synology® Inc. today launched the new 2.5" 4-bay Disk Station DS409slim, a highly anticipated addition to the 09 series product line that brings lower power consumption, virtually quiet operations and an extremely small footprint both physically and financially while providing the same reliable data sharing and backup solution that Synology is well known for.

The DS409slim is equipped with a 1.2 GHz CPU, 128MB DDRII RAM, one Gigabit LAN port, two USB2.0 ports and one eSATA port. The snap-in disk tray requires minimal effort to install and replace disks. Supporting up to 2 TB with the combination of four 2.5" SATA or SSD hard drives of 500GB which is the largest capacity on the market, it remains stylish and compact (120 x 105 x 142 mm).

The adoption of 2.5" hard drives helps to increase shock tolerance and MTBF and reduce power consumption. The DS409slim consumes only 19 watts under normal operation with four hard drives installed. The smart fan design keeps the DS409slim's fan off under normal operations and brings quiet operation.

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