Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing the industry's first PCI-Express (PCIe) solid state drive (SSD) for next-generation ultra-slim notebook PCs.

"With the Samsung XP941, we have become the first to provide the highest performance PCIe SSD to global PC makers so that they can launch leading-edge ultra-slim notebook PCs this year," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung plans to continue timely delivery of the most advanced PCIe SSD solutions with higher density and performance, and support global IT companies providing an extremely robust computing environment to consumers." Samsung started providing the new SSD to major notebook PC makers earlier this quarter. The XP941 lineup consists of 512, 256 and 128GB SSDs.

BIWIN, a world-leading expert in the development and manufacture of flash and advanced NAND flash memory, has introduced two Industrial Grade Disk-On-Modules (DOMs) with SATA interface, D5211 and D5212. They are well suited for installation needing long endurance parts with high reliability under rugged conditions.

D5211 and D5212, available in capacities of up to 16GB, are SLC NAND based modules with a PE Cycle as high as 100,000 times. The products complies with strict, industrial grade controllers to ensure a stable operating performance under extended temperature ranges between -40°C to 85°C.

Intel Corporation today announced the Intel Solid-State Drive DC S3500 Series, its latest solid-state drive (SSD) for data centers and cloud computing. Designed for read-intensive applications such as Web hosting, cloud computing and data center virtualization, the Intel DC S3500 Series is an ideal replacement for traditional hard disk drives (HDD), allowing data centers to save significant costs by moving toward an all-SSD storage model.

Intel SSDs, including the Intel SSD DC S3500 Series, enable transformational improvements in cloud infrastructure, fostering new and enriching Web experiences. End customers experience quicker Web page loads and improved response times as a result of dramatically improved data access times and reduced latency. IT managers and cloud developers are rewarded with improved total cost of ownership as a result of reduced power consumption, more consistent performance and smaller space requirements. More than half of U.S. businesses now employ cloud computing applications, and IDC predicts that worldwide spending on cloud services will reach $44.2 billion this year. Data centers powering these cloud applications need to quickly, efficiently and reliably scale to handle the tremendous growth of connected users and data traffic.

Team Group showed off its Dark L3 line of mainstream consumer SSDs. Based on the common SandForce SF-2281 platform, and built in the conventional 9.5 mm-thick 2.5 mm form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, these drives use 19 nm MLC NAND flash, and come in 60 GB, 120 GB, and 240 GB capacities. All three models offer up to 550 Mb/s reads, the 60 GB and 120 GB variants offers up to 450 MB/s writes, while the 240 GB variant offers up to 500 MB/s. All three models offer 35,000 IOPS 4K random reads, the 60 GB variant offers 25,000 IOPS 4K random writes; while the 120 GB and 240 GB variants offer up to 50,000 IOPS. Most common client SSD features such as TRIM, NCQ, and SMART, are standard issue.

ADATA showed off a new high-performance server-grade SSD, the SX2000. Built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, this drive features a PCI-Express 2.0 x4 interface (a cable runs to a PCIe riser card). It is driven by an LSI-SandForce SF-8639 controller, which is a single-chip solution that connects to the host over PCI-Express, and appears to the operating system as ATA AHCI controller, with one drive connected to it. The chip features nearly more than double the ONFI channels as an SF-2281, which reflects on the drive's advertise performance numbers: up to 1,800 MB/s reads with up to 1,800 MB/s writes; up to 200,000 IOPS 4K random reads. The controller supports all modern enterprise SSD features, including TRIM, DEVSLP support, and SMART. It ships in 100 GB, 200 GB, 400 GB, 800 GB, and 1,600 GB variants. The latter was up on display.

ADATA also showed off its SX1000 enterprise SSD, which features a more modest SATA 6 Gb/s interface, an LSI SandForce SF-2500 or SF-2600 series controller, sequential performance numbers of up to 550 MB/s reads with up to 500 MB/s writes, up to 75,000 IOPS 4K random reads/writes, can work as DAS, and most modern enterprise features. This drive will be available in 100 GB, 200 GB, and 400 GB capacities, the 200 GB variant was on display. It's unclear which kind of NAND flash the two drives use, but we're guessing it's high-endurance MLC NAND. Both offer 5-year warranties.

Toshiba Corporation today announced that the company has developed second generation 19 nanometer process technology that it will apply to mass production of 2-bit-per-cell 64 gigabit NAND memory chips later this month.

Toshiba has used the new generation technology to develop the world's smallest 2-bit per-cell 64 gigabit NAND memory chips, with an area of only 94 square millimeters. Using a unique high speed writing method, the next generation chips can achieve a write speed of up to 25 megabytes a second - the world's fastest class* in 2-bit-per-cell chips.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today announced a small but stylish addition to its DashDrive family of USB Flash drives. The new DashDrive Choice UC510 packs durability and charm into a super small and handy profile.

With this new drive, ADATA has once again made the most of Chip on Board (COB) technology, and the result is a highly water-resistant, durable device that is ultra-small and easy to carry. The drive body shines with a metallic gleam, and the capless design eliminates the need for a drive cap and the related chance of cap loss. The UC510 has a USB 2.0 interface, providing the required performance for most common data storage and transfer needs.

Mach Xtreme Technology Inc., a worldwide leader in top performance, high reliability and user-friendly designed PC components, adds 256GB model to expanding FX USB3.0 flash drives series today. This addition will join existing 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB models.

With its advanced reliability and spacious capacity, the FX 256 GB USB Flash Drive gives user easy and fast way to transfer and back-up large files. MX-FX models are compliant with next-generation USB 3.0 specifications and are optimized for newer PCs with USB 3.0 ports. The extensive compatibility testing ensures complete compatibility with ASUS mainboards and notebooks, offering consumers full USB 3.0 usability.

Toshiba Corporation today announced that its new line of high performance CompactFlash (CF) memory cards, the EXCERIA PRO series, will go on sale from April 27th in the Japanese market. Sales will also follow in Asia, Europe and North America. The initial line-up of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB cards offers the world's highest level read and write speeds and complies with the new Video Performance Guarantee Profile 2 (VPG-65) standard.

The EXCERIA PRO CF cards integrate Toshiba's high performance NAND flash memory and specially developed dedicated firmware. They achieve a read speed of 160 MB/s and write speed of 150 MB/s, the highest level yet reported.

Intel expanded its performance-segment SSD 335 series with a new entry-level 80 GB variant (model: SSDSC2CT080AK5). It joins the 180 GB and 240 GB variants, and occupies a price-point around the 110€ mark (excl VAT), which makes it particularly pricey in comparison to 120 GB drives. SSD 335 combines an LSI-SandForce SF-2281 series controller with Intel-made 20 nm MLC NAND flash.

Intel didn't update the product sheet with details of the new 80 GB model, but its bigger siblings offer sequential speeds as high as 500 MB/s reads, with up to 450 MB/s writes. Built in the 9.5 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor, SSD 335 features SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and supports most standard consumer SSD features, including TRIM and NCQ. The drive should begin showing up on online stores worldwide, in both OEM (drive-only) and retail (includes bay-adapters and data migration software) trims.

ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. a world leader in DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the start of shipments of its latest advanced in gaming technology, the XPG Gaming v2.0 Series DDR3-2600 MHz DRAM 8GB modules. These dual channel kits are designed and engineered to bring optimum performance to third generation Intel Core processors and the Z77 platform.

XPG DRAM modules signify Xtreme Performance Gear, providing the extreme speed and performance required by advanced users. The XPG Gaming series v2.0 is targeted specifically at the distinct performance and cooling needs of the worldwide gaming community. These latest DDR3 2600G 8GB modules offer new levels of data transfer speed, along with the many features that are hallmarks of the XPG series.

First shown to crowds at this year's International CES event in January, ASUS' first enthusiast SSD, the ROG RAIDR, is heading toward a mid-May launch. A few more of its pictures and specs sheets were posted by SweClockers. As detailed earlier, the RAIDR is a compound SSD in the PCI-Express add-on card form-factor, with PCI-Express 2.0 x2 interface (supports x4, x8, and x16 slots). It uses two SandForce SF2281-driven SSD subunits striped in a hardware-abstract RAID 0 configuration. The subunits use Toshiba-made 19 nm MLC NAND flash chips, with 16 KB page size.

The ROG RAIDR supports TRIM command, NCQ and SMART, despite being a RAID 0-based SSD. It is bootable, and supports Windows 8 Secure Boot. Installing an operating system on the drive doesn't require any F6 drivers, as the controller masquerades as a standard AHCI controller and a single disk, with the subunits and their RAID 0 stripe completely abstract. This way, the drive can accept TRIM commands from the OS.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, provides business update for the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Company is disclosing certain preliminary information about its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 that ended on February 28, 2013, subject to certain closing procedures and further review by the Company and its auditors. As previously reported the Company estimated that revenue in each of the unreported quarters ending August 31, 2012 and November 30, 2012 is in the range of $65 million to $85 million. This range takes into effect the impact of the reclassification of certain customer costs from operating expenses to revenue, the significant reduction in channel inventory, the timing of revenue recognition and reserves for product returns. The preliminary revenue range for the unreported fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 is estimated to be between $65 million and $70 million.

Are you still spending your quality time waiting for your computer to boot up? Have you experienced lag problems while operating multiple applications? SP/Silicon Power, the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions, today introduces an addition of the Velox series 2.5" SATA III SSD – Velox V50 to solve your problems. The Velox V50 features the latest controller technology to provide a brand new computer experience in excellent performance and cost effectiveness for those who are about to retire their traditional hard drives.

Different from the other solutions in the market, SP Velox V50 is equipped with a brand new controller, delivering a more stable and more powerful user experiences. Combining with the latest firmware and advanced controller circuit design, Velox V50 is able to maintain a long-standing IOPS performance while using it under extended period.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing a 128-gigabit (Gb), 3-bit multi-level-cell (MLC) NAND memory chip using 10 nanometer (nm)-class process technology this month. The highly advanced chip will enable high-density memory solutions such as embedded NAND storage and solid state drives (SSDs).

"By introducing next-generation memory storage products like the 128Gb NAND chip, Samsung is extremely well situated to meet growing global customer needs," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Device Solutions Division, Samsung Electronics. "The new chip is a critical product in the evolution of NAND flash, one whose timely production will enable us to increase our competitiveness in the high density memory storage market."

HGST today announced the industry's fastest and most advanced enterprise-class, multi level cell (MLC) SAS SSD family – the Ultrastar SSD800MH, Ultrastar SSD800MM and Ultrastar SSD1000MR. From the market share leader in enterprise SAS/FC SSDs, these HGST drives are the first to double today's SAS interface speed.

Designed for the most demanding applications where "hot" data is accessed frequently, such as high-frequency trading, online banking, cloud computing, online gaming, and big data analytics, HGST's new 12 Gb/s SAS SSDs help increase input/output per second (IOPS) and improve response times to mission-critical data in cloud and traditional IT datacenters environments.

Crucial started shipping its M500 line of consumer SSDs. Available in 2.5-inch SATA (7 mm-thick), mSATA, and NGFF M.2 form-factors, the drives combine Micron 20 nm MLC NAND flash with a Marvell-made processor. All three form-factors take advantage of 6 Gb/s SATA. The drive is available in 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB capacities for all three form-factors, while the 2.5-inch gets a 960 GB "terabyte-class" capacity option, as well.

Sequential read speeds on all capacities are as high as 500 MB/s, while sequential write speeds cap out at 130 MB/s and 250 MB/s for the 120 GB and 240 GB variants, respectively; and reach 400 MB/s on the 480 GB and 960 GB variants. The drives are backed by 3-year limited warranties, 1.2 million hours MTBF, and 72 TB total bytes written (TBW) write endurance (that's 40 GB per day). TRIM, NCQ, and SMART are standard issue. The 120 GB, 240 GB, 480 GB, and 960 GB variants are priced at US $129.99, $219.99, $399.99, and $599.99, respectively.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of NBA themed USB flash drives. All thirty teams will be represented in the new product lineup, which is officially licensed by the National Basketball Association and available in the United States and Canada.

Each drive is emblazoned with a vivid team logo on one side, and the NBA logo on the other. All USB flash drives deliver the best of USB 2.0 transmission, and are introduced at 16 gigabyte capacity. According to Tom Lin, Managing Director, "We have had consistently good feedback from consumers on our previous cooperation with the NBA, so this time we brought more color, higher capacity, and a convenient sliding USB connector. With the higher resolution media that people are carrying around and sharing, these flash drives will be indispensable to any basketball fans."

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of the enterprise grade SX1000L solid state drive (SSD). While the company is well-established in the consumer SSD market, this is ADATA's first offering specifically tailored towards server applications.

Taking advantage of its expertise in NAND flash memory technology, ADATA is emphasizing the reliability and performance of the SX1000L. It employs static wear-leveling technology to maximize device mean time between failures (MTBF) to 1,500,000 hours, providing the long-term dependability required by high density computing and heavy load server operations. Available in 2.5" standard SATA form factor, the SX1000L implements advanced controller technology to enhance read/write performance. Sequential read speeds reach 560 MB/sec, and sequential write is as high as 340 MB/sec, with IOPS of 73,000 and 45,000 (Maximum 4K random read and write, respectively).

Innodisk, a designer and manufacturer of SSDs for industrial applications, is pleased to announce its development of a new patent pending technology, iSLCTM. By using superior quality, preselected multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash and Innodisk's patented Flash management algorithms, iSLC nearly approaches single-level cell (SLC) performance and reliability in a more cost effective solution.

In a recently released white paper, Innodisk explores MLC NAND Flash; while more economical, it lacks the reliability and performance needed for mission critical industrial applications. MLC's popularity has been mainly driven by price. Innodisk's in-house R&D firmware team recognizes the gap in the marketplace for a Flash Storage solution that maintains high performance, reliability and endurance comparable to SLC Technology, but without the price tag. To provide a solution for this gap in the market, Innodisk developed iSLC.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today announced the release of thinner and lighter versions of its solid state drives. With a thickness of just 7 mm, these SSD models are extremely suitable for slim-design laptop and Ultrabook computers.

The standard thickness for 2.5" form factor hard disk drives is 9.5mm. However, the market trend towards thinner and lighter notebook computers has influenced the design requirements for all components, especially hard drives. ADATA's 7 mm SSDs have reduced thickness, with no loss of speed, capacity, or durability, and are evidence of the company's well-known determination to maintain competitiveness by maximizing versatility of its product offerings. The new SSDs will come with 2.5 mm plastic holders, so that they can still be used with existing 9.5 mm drive slots.

Without making much noise about it, Corsair retrofitted its Neuton GTX line of performance consumer SSDs with 19 nm Toggle-NAND flash chips made by Toshiba. The newer drives' model numbering scheme looks like "CSSD-NxxxGBGTXB-BK," where "B" denotes 19 nm Toggle NAND flash, and "xxx" denotes the capacity (120/240/480 GB). The MTBF on Corsair website appears unchanged, so does the 5-year product warranty, and rated P/E cycle count of 3,000. The Corsair Neutron GTX line of performance SSDs were launched in September 2012, originally with 24 nm toggle-NAND flash.Source: Hermitage Akihabara

Known more for its graphics cards, Galaxy has an SSD lineup, with which it targets the Greater China region. It rolled out the Thunder GT 128 Pro, a 128 gigabyte SSD in the 2.5-inch form-factor, with SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The drive utilizes Toshiba-made Toggle-NAND flash, JMicron JMF667H processor, and an unknown amount of DRAM cache. The drive offers sequential transfer rates as high as 480 MB/s reads, 300 MB/s writes, 70,000 IOPS QD64 reads, and 58,000 IOPS QD64 writes. Available in China from later this month, the Galaxy Thunder GT 128 Pro is priced at 799¥ (US $128).Source: Expreview

Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) has announced that solid state drives (SSDs) built on the company's 19nm Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash technology are now readily available across Europe. Toshiba was the first company to develop 19nm NAND SSDs and the family includes the world's smallest and highest density NAND flash drives.

Toshiba's THNSNH family addresses the storage, performance and power efficiency demands of even the most data-intensive and energy-sensitive systems. The drives are ideal for high-end notebooks, tablets, PCs, all-in-one desktop computers and industrial PCs. Capacities of 512GB1, 256GB, 128GB and 60GB are all now available in 2.5-inch form factors with a choice of 7.0 mm and 9.5 mm profiles. mSATA modules with capacities of 256GB, 128GB and 60GB are also available.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of the DashDrive Elite UE700 USB flash drive. Building on the company's past successes and increasing brand strength, the UE700 is a striking blend of technological development and design aesthetics.

The improved transfer speed of the UE700 arrives at an opportune time, with USB flash drives being called on to store and deliver personal media content of higher quality and file size than ever before. Making extensive use of the enhanced bandwidth available to the USB 3.0 interface, it delivers transfer speeds up to an unbelievable 200 MB/sec read and 100 MB/sec write, outperforming the vast majority of USB flash drives available on the market today.