SiliconDrive USB Blade gets tiny for embedded storage applications

Cramming 2GB of storage space into a device no larger than a standard postage stamp isn't exactly unheard of, but SiliconSystems has done just that with its new SiliconDrive USB Blade. Hailed as the "industry's first ultra-small solid state drive for embedded storage applications," this wee device feels most at home when shoved into incredibly tight quarters on any flavor of PCB. Additionally, the USB 2.0-compliant device is designed to handle shock, vibrations and extreme temperatures, and it features read / write rates of 10MB/sec. The firm plans on releasing these in 512MB and 1GB flavors as well, and while we've no idea when to expect 'em on store shelves, evaluation units and host developer tool kits should be available in December.

[Via SlashGear]

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Nov 1st 2007 3:27AM]

It's nice, but they should have considered 1 lane PCI-e instead; it's just as compact, easy to integrate, hot-pluggable, higher bandwidth (like it matters), and is internal.

[prokanda @ Nov 1st 2007 3:44AM]

"Cramming 2GB of storage space into a device no larger than a standard postage stamp is decently impressive"

uhm... how is it all that impressive? they've "crammed" 8 gigs of storage into microSD's less than half that size... did I miss something? (yes, I know that this isn't a memory card, but it's still just a slab of memory with a connector...)

[Giles @ Nov 1st 2007 4:29AM]

Exactly what I was thinking - 32GB would be impressive but I can't find anywhere to plug this in... pointless :(

[Jon @ Nov 1st 2007 6:23AM]

Agree. micro SD and Sony M2 has already scaled to 8GB so this isn't as impressive even if it is thinner. You may as well solder them directly onto a PCB.

[whoaaaaa @ Nov 1st 2007 7:45AM]

That's not what the article says. It says it "isn't exactly unheard of" not that it's "decently impressive". Maybe you should actually read the article before posting a comment.

[Nick T @ Nov 1st 2007 9:21AM]

RE whoaaaaa

Yeah, but its not even impressive - what about Sonys MicroVault Tiny - thats about the size of a postage stamp and comes in at up to 4Gb. Plus, it fits into any standard USB slot..

See http://www.sony.net/Products/Media/Microvault/usm-h.html

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 1st 2007 9:45AM]

Folks, this doesn't have the limited read/write life of the consumer devices you are using as examples.

THIS uses the same RAM as SSD drives do, but in a USB context for doing embedded applications.

I, as a hobbyist would like to see them a little larger capacity as well, but considering they are brand new I would be willing to bet that larger capacities are in the foreseeable future.

It's a good thing, really.

[prokanda @ Nov 1st 2007 12:07PM]

@whoaaaaa:

did you not see the quotations? they usually mean that someone is being... quoted.

I took that line from the article. Maybe YOU should read the article.

[Nick T @ Nov 1st 2007 9:22AM]

Hmm - i read the wrong part of the comment - sirry - but still - its not very good. :D

N

[pokey @ Nov 1st 2007 10:37AM]

How is a proprietary interface better than SD? SD is moderately fast, can be downgraded to SPI for simple, cheap embedded applications, and handles wear leveling on the card. And if you don't need removeable media, then why not use NAND directly?