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Samsung’s new microSD card is faster than some SSDs
Samsung’s upcoming microSD card will offer a dramatic speed boost. The company’s 256GB SD Express microSD — the first of its kind — can read data at up to 800 MB/s, significantly faster than the microSDs you can buy today.
Apple's entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 may have slower SSD speeds than the M1 model
Apple's 13-inch 256GB MacBook Pro M2 may have worse SSD performance than the equivalent M1 model.
Samsung is building 256GB memory chips for smartphones
Your smartphone may soon have as much storage as a typical PC. Samsung has announced that it's mass producing 256GB embedded chips, double what it had last year, using the Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 2.0 standard. That gives them read speeds nearly twice that of typical SATA-based SSDs at 850MB/s, though write speeds are lower at 250MB/s. It also supports 45,000 IOPS, more than double the speed of last-gen UFS memory. Samsung's memory division VP says the company is "moving aggressively to enhance performance and capacity" of smartphone memory and SSD products, too.
Toshiba's new flash chips hold twice the data
Judging by recent announcements, we're about to enter a golden age of fast, nearly unlimited storage for all the high-res selfies you can shoot. Following an announcement by Intel and Micron last week, Toshiba and partner SanDisk revealed their own 256Gb flash chips. Toshiba already has the smallest flash cells in the world at 15 nanometers, which it stacks in 48 layers to maximize density. The new chips add in 3-bit tech (first used by Samsung) to squeeze even more bytes in, helping it double the storage of chips it announced just a few months ago. The result will be faster and more reliable memory for smartphones, SSDs and other devices.
SanDisk's CFast 2.0 card is the world's fastest memory card of any kind
About a year after the CompactFlash Association announced the CFast 2.0 draft spec, SanDisk has revealed its new Extreme Pro CFast 2.0 memory card. The first of its kind, SanDisk says read speeds of up to 450MB/s and write speeds of up to 350MB/s make it the world's fastest memory card, period. Speed isn't the only improvement either, as the cards claim a tougher, pinless design and even unique serial numbers that owners can register with customer support. For now however, its use is going to be quite limited. The only camera ready for it at launch is the just-announced Arri Amira, although the Arri XT and Classic (with the XR module) cameras can also use it with an adapter. For those still using traditional CompactFlash storage for their 4K shooting the company is stretching the limits there too, with a new 256GB card that it says has the highest capacity ever. That extra storage will cost you however, with a price of $1,809 for the new 256GB version. There's no word on a price for the CFast 2.0 cards or their USB 3.0-equipped reader, but pro videographers in the US and Europe should be able to find them soon at specialty shops and Arri-authorized locations.
Plextor outs M3S SSD: SATA III and an 'ironclad' five-year warranty from $199
Harken to the news of Plextor's latest 2.5-inch SSD, which beats previous offerings with three things you can't complain about: a lower price, a modest spec bump and an extra two annums beyond the usual three-year warranty. The M3S employs SATA III and a Marvell controller to deliver speeds of 525MB/s and 445MB/s for sequential reads and writes, and 70,000 and 65,000 IOPS for random reads and writes. The lowest 128GB capacity will sell for $200 from the end of this month, alongside a 256GB variant for $350 and -- from early next year -- 512GB for $700. The company's proprietary True Speed software is also in attendance, which claims to preserve "like-new" rapidity even as the drive fills up with fragmented data. You'll find further specs in the PR after the break, but alas it has none of the third-person narrative flair we saw last time.
Corsair unveils Performance Pro Series SSDs, loads 'em with 6Gb/s Marvell controllers
SandForce-equipped SSDs are seemingly all the rage nowadays, but lest we forget that others, like Marvell, have some peppy controllers of their own. Step up Corsair, who's just announced its new Marvell-equipped line of SATA 3 Performance Pro Series 6Gb/s SSDs. These 2.5-inch storage slabs can achieve 515 MB/s read and 440 MB/s sequential write speeds, and sports a TRIM-like "built-in advanced background garbage collection," which company deems helpful for RAID setups. Notably, desktop users will be pleased to know that the drives will mount into 3.5-inch slots via an included adapter. If you're interested, $280 will snag you a 128GB version, while $530 doubles the capacity to 256GB. You'll find more details in the press release past the break.
Buffalo's 256GB SSD comes with 6GBps SATA interface, silly price tag
The SSD market is about to get a little more crowded, now that Buffalo has unveiled a new, 256GB fatty. The company's SSD-N256S/MC400 has a SATA 6Gbps interface, supports multi-level cell NAND Flash memory and boasts read and write speeds of up to 405 MB/s and 223 MB/s, respectively. If you're interested in grabbing one, you'll have to shell out a cool ¥72,200 ($882). Or, you could get an even faster SSD for less money. The choice is yours.
Kingston introduces 256GB SSDNow V100 SSD for $490
They're still far from being in the bargain bin, but solid state drives are slowly but surely walking their way down from the pricing stratosphere. A week after revealing a 96GB V+ 100 model, Kingston has now uncovered a more capacious sibling that'll definitely tempt existing HDD users who have been holding tight to their platters while scoffing at the tiny SSD sizes cluttering the market. The 256GB SSDNow V100 is a 2.5-incher with sequential read speeds as high as 250MB/sec and write rates as high as 230MB/sec, and as with other Kingston SSDs, this one too packs a three-year warranty and Windows 7 TRIM support. It should be popping up on NewEgg and Buy.com soon here in the US of A for $489.99, and for those in need of an upgrade kit, it'll find its way into a pair of desktop / laptop bundles for $10 more.
Toshiba rolls out Blade X-gale SSD modules, makes MacBook Air storage look a little less proprietary
One of the most impressive aspects of Apple's recent MacBook Air redesign was undeniably the shift to ultrathin flash storage modules that could cram your gigabytes of data into picoliters of space. Needless to say, that's the sort of storage we could all do with in our lives and today Toshiba's doing us a solid by introducing its Blade X-gale SSD line to the wider world. It's basically the same stuff as in the Airs, sans Apple's bombastic marketing, and while the new SSD modules are not yet readily available to buy by consumers (who wouldn't have anywhere to put them in their laptops anyhow), system integrators are all free to start building around them as of today. The 64GB and 128GB modules are only 2.2mm tall, while the double-stacked 256GB option is 3.7mm in height, and all three can reach speeds of 220MBps while reading or 180MBps when writing. Full PR after the break.
Kingston ships 256GB DataTraveler 310 USB flash drive to affluent Yanks
No matter how you slice it, having 256GB on your keychain is pretty rad. For those living in various regions of the world not named America, they've had access to the DataTraveler 300 for just under a year. Thankfully, the Kingston finally realized that Yanks love capaciousness as well, and the DataTraveler 310 is the solution that very sect has been longing for. Hailed as the first 256GB flash drive to ship in the States, the DT 310 is capable of holding up to 54 DVDs or 51,000 JPEGs of your undercover lover, and it'll function just fine with Windows, Linux and OS X-based systems. We're told that it'll sport data transfer rates of 25MB/sec (read) and 12MB/sec (write), but chances are you'll never get the opportunity to put those claims to the test. You know, given that astronomical $1,108 MSRP. %Gallery-85947%
Micron RealSSD C300 becomes first SSD to leverage SATA 6Gbps interface
Seagate may have claimed the rights to the planet's first SATA 6Gbps hard drive, but it's Micron claiming the same feat in the SSD realm. The outfit's new RealSSD C300 is the first of its kind to natively comply with the wicked fast new specification, which will (at least in theory) provide read speeds of up to 355MB/sec and write speeds of up to 215MB/sec. It's also the first solid state drive to use ONFI 2.1 high-speed synchronous NAND, and while we're obviously eager to see what real-world benchmarks show, the demonstration vids after the break already have our mouths watering. As for availability? Tthe drive is currently sampling in 1.8- and 2.5-inch sizes, though consumers shouldn't expect to pick one up (in 128GB or 256GB sizes) until Q1 of next year. Best start saving, bud. %Gallery-79352%
Corsair's blistering P256 SSD reviewed: look out, X25-M
While just about any SSD will make your average computing experience a fair bit more awesome, it takes a really unique device to make said experience Animal-Style-Triple-From-In-N-Out special. Up until now, the general consensus was that Intel's X-25M was the crème de la crème, but it seems that Corsair's recently launched P256 may just be giving that very drive a real run for its money. After seeing a pre-production unit deliver some respectable early results, we figured it prudent to pass along bit-tech's full-on review. In most cases, the 256GB P256 either topped or fell just behind Intel's 80GB unit, though the drive did seem to suffer a bit in the random read / write tests. Still, critics felt comfortable recommending the drive, and while pricey, noted that it offered better value per gigabyte in comparison to similar 256GB units on the market.
Corsair's speedy P256 256GB solid state drive now shipping
Remember that then-named S256 we saw sneak out right around a month ago? Yeah, that bad boy's finally on sale, and it's shipping as we speak from a number of trustworthy e-tailers. Said SSD -- which now goes formally by P256 -- packs specially selected Samsung MLC flash memory and a sophisticated Samsung Controller IC, coupled with 128MB of cache memory and Native Command Queuing (NCQ) support for stutter-free performance. By the books, this one can reach speeds of up to 220MB/sec (read) and 200MB/sec (write), though you can bet you'll be paying for the haste. We're seeing it on sale for around $658 online, though Dell's listing shows a wicked steep $851.99. Either way, ouch. Full release is after the break.
Dell adding Samsung's encrypted SSDs to its arsenal
Dell's been doing both solid state and encrypted drives for some time now, but only now is the company combining both efforts and preparing to offer encrypted SSDs in the coming months. The Samsung-manufactured drives will come in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB options, and though the hardware encryption method isn't specified, we'd venture a guess it'll have something to do with Trusted Computer Group's 128-bit standards adopted by Sammy and virtually every other drive maker back in January. No word just yet on how much they'll cost, but if current prices are any indication, it won't come cheap.
Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench
My, how fast the cutting edge becomes dull. Nary four months ago, we were introduced to Corsair's first SSD: a 2.5-inch 128GB slab of MLC NAND goodness that promised 90MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds. Needless to say, those numbers weren't about to shatter any records, so the company went out and produced something that just might. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to scoop up a 256GB S256 from the company and put it through the first of many tests. As for results? Early reports show average read speeds nailing the 200MB/sec mark, while average write rates hovered just under 170MB/sec. The only issue is the breathtaking $749 price tag (expected, anyway), but at least you've apparently got a few months to save up.
Dell adds 256GB SSD option to XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops
Oh, how the times change! In August of last year we were talking up a 128GB SSD drive for Dell's XPS laptops like it was some kind of hotness -- and only $450! Now that same drive is a mere $200 upgrade, while a new 256GB SSD has been introduced to Dell's XPS M1330 and M1730 laptops for "only" $400. Sure, six months from now we're gonna be chatting up a slightly cheaper 512GB SSD and laughing at our January selves, but we just can't help ourselves and this pesky linear of progression of time we're so beholden to. Dell's also now offering a 7200RPM 500GB HDD as well, and plans to introduce both of these upgrades to additional laptops in the next few weeks.Read - Dell XPS M1330Read - Dell XPS M1730
Samsung's awe-inspiring 256GB SSD now available, still unpriced
We can think of exactly one reason Samsung still won't dish out a price on its completely mind-melting 256GB FlashSSD: because those that have to know, can't afford. The drive, which was announced way back in May of the year two-thousand and eight, doubles the performance rates of the firm's 64GB and 128GB SSDs. More specifically, we're looking at sequential read rates of 220MB/sec and sequential write rates of 200MB/sec, and in layman's terms, it's quick enough to store 25 HD movies in 21 minutes and open basic applications 10 times faster than the quickest 7,200RPM notebook drive. In other words, you want.
Toshiba rolls out 256GB laptop SSD, 32GB flash modules for netbooks
Get your flash here, red hot flash memory. Toshiba is now sampling its new 256GB SSD with a 120MB max read and 70MBps write via 3.0Gbps SATA interface -- not the fastest consumer SSD but not bad. This 2.5-inch slab measures just 3.0-mm thick and targets laptops looking to shed the 9.5-mm constraint presented by standard hard disks. Like Samsung, Tosh also announced new 8GB, 16GB and 32GB SATA flash modules aimed directly at the booming netbook market with speeds topping-out at 80MBps for reads and 50MBps for writes. All the drives feature MLC-based NAND which accounts for the less-than blazing SSD speeds. On the other hand, that should help keep the costs low when these things ship in quantity later this year.
Micron announces insanely quick RealSSD C200 SSDs
Intel's partner in solid state crime, Micron, just announced an update to its RealSSD lineup of SSDs. Based on the typically slower (and cheaper) MLC NAND process technology, the new 2.5-inch (up to 256GB) laptop and 1.8-inch (32GB to 128GB) ultra-portable storage slabs offer a 3Gbps SATA interface and ridiculous 250MBps read and 100MBps write speeds -- yes, that's fast, damn fast when you consider the 70MBps write and 90MBps read speeds of Samsung's latest consumer oriented SSDs. They even best the listed read speeds of Samsung's top-ender. Unfortunately, no prices were given though it's said to be "balanced price to performance." Expect 'em to hit the market in Q4 under the Lexar brand, and maybe even Crucial, Seagate, and Intel for all we know.
