SSD Reviews | High speed in your veins!

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – Reaching a new threshold in the development of flash memory, SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that it expects to start mass production of the world’s first commercial three-bit-per-cell (x3) NAND flash memory in March/April 2008. The 16-gigabit (Gb) x3 NAND flash employs SanDisk’s standard 56 nanometer (nm) flash technology and provides over 20 percent more die per wafer compared to standard NAND Multi-Level Cell (MLC) memory (2-bits-per-cell) on the same technology node. x3 enables higher manufacturing efficiency and lower die cost for the same capital investment. The new x3 flash architecture has been in development for the past two years and employs SanDisk’s most advanced patented design innovations to achieve the same performance and high reliability found in SanDisk’s 2-bits-per-cell chips. The 3-bits-per-cell technology was co-developed with Toshiba which shares with SanDisk the development and manufacturing of advanced flash memories. At the 2008 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), SanDisk and Toshiba are presenting today a technical paper describing the key technology advancements that led to the development of 16Gb 3-bits-per-cell NAND flash memory on 56nm technology with a write performance of 8 megabytes per second (MB/sec). Dr. Khandker N. Quader, senior vice president of flash memory design and product development at SanDisk, said, “Innovative patented All Bit Line (ABL) architecture with advanced proprietary programming algorithms and multi-level data storage management schemes were used to overcome the challenges of developing a 3-bits-per-cell (x3) NAND flash memory chip without sacrificing performance or reliability, thereby paving the way for widespread use of x3 across many of SanDisk’s product lines. We consider x3 as a major commercial breakthrough for flash memory that will extend Moore’s Law in this and future generations of NAND flash storage.” SanDisk believes that the introduction of 3-bits-per-cell technology with a write speed comparable to existing MLC memory positions SanDisk well to respond to the growing market demands for higher density flash memory for a wide range of applications and at a significantly lower cost compared to 2-bits-per-cell MLC on the same technology. Advanced systems-level expertise is essential to productize 3-bits-per-cell NAND memory. SanDisk’s systems-level expertise provides a unique competitive advantage to harness the power of x3 NAND memory technology. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced the introduction of Multi-Level (MLC) NAND flash memory using 43 nanometer (nm) process technology co-developed with Toshiba Corporation in Japan. This 43nm technology advancement provides twice the density per chip compared to 56nm 16Gigabit (Gb) process technology, thus lowering the die-cost while maintaining performance and reliability. During the second quarter of 2008, SanDisk intends to begin shipping products using the industry’s highest available density of single-chip MLC NAND flash memory. Shipments will start with 16Gigabit and will be followed by 32Gigabit in the second half of 2008. “We’re excited about commencing the production ramp of the 43nm generation of MLC NAND flash memory with its significantly lower cost benefits,” said Dr. Randhir Thakur, SanDisk’s executive vice president of technology and worldwide operations. “Technology features include SanDisk’s patented All Bit line (ABL) architecture with efficient programming algorithms and 8-Kilobyte (KB) page size, providing high performance capabilities. State-of-the-art lithography, other process technology innovations and industry-first 64-NAND string architecture provide lower cost per megabyte and excellent performance. The 43nm technology generation will become our major focus during 2008 as we continue to provide leading-edge technology and cost benefits to our customers” he added. SanDisk and Toshiba presented today a joint paper on 43nm 16Gb NAND flash memory at the 2008 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), highlighting the technical advancements. Continuing its leadership in the development and fabrication of advanced NAND flash technology, SanDisk has started the transition to 43nm manufacturing at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi Operations near Nagoya, Japan. SanDisk and Toshiba share output from the Yokkaichi facility and have co-developed many of the designs and technologies in MLC NAND flash. The new 43nm flash will be produced initially at Fab 4, the new 300mm wafer facility that SanDisk and Toshiba recently opened. In the second half of 2008, Fab 3 also is expected to transition to 43nm. The 43nm generation of NAND flash combined with SanDisk’s systems innovation and proprietary controllers is also expected to enable emerging markets such as Solid State Drives (SSDs) and managed NAND such as iNAND, to expand the flash storage capabilities of the rapidly growing mobile market, and to extend our leadership in differentiated high performance product lines.

WEST 2008, San Diego, CA - BiTMICRO Networks, a pioneer in intelligent flash solid state storage solutions continues its relentless pursuit for storage innovation with the announcement of the E-Disk® Altima™ E3S320 solid state flash disk. Claiming its seat as the manufacturer of the world’s first Ultra320 SCSI flash drive, this time the E-Disk® Altima™ Ultra320 SCSI drive will offer an astounding 1.6 terabytes of storage capacity in a standard 3.5-inch form factor, a most welcome development for the highly demanding enterprise, military and industrial applications.The E-Disk® Altima™ Ultra320 SCSI flash SSD is expected to deliver a rigid host of storage advantages, including sustained data transfer rates of up to 230 MB/sec (peaking at 320 MB/sec in burst mode). The E3S320 flash solid state drive will utilize single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash which, when combined with BiTMICRO’s patented wear leveling and proprietary BCH Error Correction Code technologies, delivers unprecedented data integrity and drive longevity.Given their mission critical nature and hostile operating environments, military, aerospace and industrial applications impose higher performance, security, and reliability standards for storage. E-Disk® Altima™ Ultra320 SCSI solid state drive’s rugged specifications are projected to exceed these requirements by far, with operating temperatures between –40 degrees C to 85 degrees C, operating shock of up to 1500 Gs, and patented securErase® and PowerGuard® technologies. “Ruggedness has always been the strength of flash SSDs in the military market, and the forthcoming addition of the E-Disk® Altima™ Ultra320 SSD to BiTMICRO’s line-up will shore up the company’s support for I/O intensive and high-capacity applications,” remarked Rudy Bruce, Executive Vice President for Marketing and Sales at BiTMICRO Networks. “This is a huge technological leap that virtually erased the advantages of other storage solutions in terms of capacity and performance,” Bruce explained.”Military, industrial, and enterprise applications need rugged, reliable, and high performance storage solutions manufactured to their strict requirements,” says Jeff Janukowicz, Research Manager for Solid State Drives at IDC. “SSDs deliver in these demanding applications that are not well served by other storage solutions. IDC expects over 60% of the worldwide SSD revenue in 2008 to come from these market segments.”Sampling for the E-Disk® Altima™ Ultra320 SCSI solid state disk is expected to begin in Q2 2008 and will ship in volume by Q3 2008 in capacities ranging from 16GB to 1.6TB.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NYSE:MU) today announced that it is the first company to sample an 8 gigabit (Gb) single-level cell (SLC) high speed NAND product. High speed NAND enables data to be transferred in a fraction of the time compared to conventional NAND.“As more and more of today’s popular consumer electronic and computing devices continue to move to silicon for storage, it is essential that we improve how data is accessed and transferred in NAND,” said Bill Lauer, senior director of marketing for Micron’s memory group. “With the new capabilities designed into high speed NAND, the performance benefits will be visible to the consumer, allowing them to experience a faster way of transferring digital content between devices such as computers, digital cameras, MP3 players and cell phones.”SLC high speed NAND can read data at speeds up to 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) and can write data at speeds up to 100 MB/s, achieved by leveraging the new ONFI 2.0 specification and a four plane architecture with higher clock speeds. In comparison, conventional SLC NAND is limited to 40 MB/s for reading data and less than 20 MB/s for writing data.Designed on the 50-nanometer process node, Micron’s 8 Gb SLC high speed NAND component is sampling now to major OEMs and controller manufacturers with mass production expected to commence in the second half of 2008. The company also expects to unveil future ONFI 2.0-derived NAND products in the next year.Additional information on high speed NAND is available on Micron’s website at www.micron.com/highspeed.

A new era has begun for hosting service to be provided through Solid State Drive (SSD), spotlighted as a new storage medium. SimpleX Internet, running a cafe24 (www.cafe24.com), announced that they have released the web hosting product with SSD mounted in the database (DB), the bottleneck section of web services, instead of HDD (Hard Disk Drive) for the first time in Korea. SSD (the image in the center below) is drawing particular attention due to its superiority to HDD in terms of processing speed, stability and power consumption as it stores data by using NAND flash memory chip. As is in an initial market phase, however, SSD has a challenging issue of its price per capacity.  It is 10 to 50 times higher than existing HDDs.   In spite of the cost difference, SimpleX Internet offers this service to customers at prices similar to the existing hosting service. This service employs SSD product provided by Mtron.The service employing SSD provided by café 24 is featured by instant searching and rapid processing of data. In addition, as the mounted SSD is solely dedicated to the database, more reliability is ensured during a series of process to store data in the memory. Most of all, as SSD transmits data through electric signals instead of mechanical units, users can get secure access to the input/output data. Consequently, this service is expected to have a great influence, especially on users’ sensitivity, who use various bulletin boards or storing important data.  Jae-seok Lee, the CEO of SimpleX Internet said, “More advanced hosting technology can be provided to DB which is an important section to store data by applying SSD.” He added, “More importantly, in this service, SSD has been employed in hosting which is the infrastructure for website operation for the first time in Korea.” The rapid emerging of the SSD market in the mainstream of HDD derives from the same reason as the advent of memory-based database in the mainstream of relational database. This is due to the growing need for urgent work process from customers. It might be difficult for SSD to substitute for HDD in the market immediately. However, it is expected to gradually get on the right track in the rapid processing, as does the main memory products in customer certification process or large-sized communication system.

Diamond Bar, California - Advanced Media, Inc., is a manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories. The company received two prestigious mentions during the CES 2008 show for its non-volatile 2.5” SATA Solid State Disk (SSD) available in 32, 64 and 128GB capacities. “SSD hard drives are still fairly new products, but their ability to improve hard drive performance has made them extremely attractive to consumers, said Benjamin “Zeus” Heide Editor of BCC Hardware. “Ridata has released their 32GB Turbo SSD, and the performance is fantastic. At their booth at CES 2008 they had 4 of these drives in a Raid 0 set, and were able to load Crysis game maps in under 18 seconds (Typical HDD load times for Crysis ~1:45 minutes). This extreme performance carries a hefty price tag, but the increase in performance is dramatic, and for that reason the Ridata 32GB SSD hard drive has earned our Editor’s Choice award for the Computer Hardware Components category at CES 2008.” “We are pleased the press understands that Ritek is serious about becoming a leader in the SSD market segment. Ritek engineers are working hard to increase drive capacities and performance at a strong consumer value,” remarked Harvey Liu, Advanced Media President. “Ritek’s 2.5” SATA SSD drive provides users with phenomenally fast read and write speeds. For instance, it reduces boot up and seek times to seconds, while new software programs can be installed in a fraction of the time a hard drive requires.” The Ridata SSD drive is inherently resistant to vibration, shock, and temperature extremes. Its reliability is proven by more than 4,000,000 hours Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). Data integrity is supported by static wearing leveling and Reed-Solomon ECC (RS-ECC 6/8/10 symbols). With SMART features and write endurance cycle (P/E) of more than 2,000,000 times. The Ridata 2.5” SATA SSD drive is based on NAND flash technology. It has no moving parts, which allows it to be virtually silent, run cooler, and use less power than traditional hard disk drives. NAND technology also provides the drive’s fast data transfer rates of up to 170MB per second for maximum sequential read. Using single-level-chip technology, the Ridata SSD drive provides consistent performance, handles operating temperatures up to 70˚F, and has extremely low-power consumption in comparison to a traditional hard drive. The Ridata SSD is among the lightest-weight storage drives available. It is excellent for performance-driven and rugged environments, such as laptops, gaming, industrial, professional, and military applications. Availability The Ridata burst read up to 236MB/ps and up to 170MB sequential read transfer rate 2.5” SATA –based SSD cards are available now in 32 and 64 capacities through system integrators, selected retailers, and Ridata distributors. Ridata 128 GB SSD’s will be available end of Q1 2008. Visit www.ritekusa.com for more information. 

CES, Las Vegas - Flash solid state disk (SSD) pioneer BiTMICRO Networks announced at the CES 2008 show in Las Vegas, Nevada its plan to launch an 832GB version of the E-Disk® Altima™ SATA flash SSD in 2.5-inch form factor.E-Disk® Altima™ E2A3GM flash SSD will utilize the multi-level cell (MLC) type of NAND flash, which doubles the number of bits stored per memory cell compared to the single-level cell (SLC) NAND, effectively increasing data density at low price points. What’s more, BiTMICRO will be using its EDSA™ and LUNETA™ controllers to optimize the performance of the E-Disk® Altima™ SATA flash SSD, allowing the drive to reach peak data transfer and I/O rates that are comparable with current SLC flash-equipped solid state drives.The 2.5-inch E-Disk® Altima™ E2A3GM flash SSD is estimated to deliver sustained rates of up to 100 MB per second and up to 20,000 I/O operations per second. BiTMICRO further complements this SSD-level performance with enterprise-level capacities, as the E-Disk® Altima™ SATA flash solid state disk can reach capacities of up to 832GB of pure solid-state flash storage. The drive offers SATA 3.0 Gbps support and “hot pluggable” capabilities to personal computing and enterprise applications requiring high capacity and high performance yet affordable solid state storage. “This latest product pre-announcement seeks to establish BiTMICRO’s commitment to deliver solid state storage in all market applications,” said Rudy Bruce, Executive VP for Marketing and Sales and CMO at BiTMICRO Networks. “We are excited to offer E-Disk® Altima™ SATA flash solid state drive as a PC and enterprise storage alternative offering the best-in-class capacity, performance and reliability.”“The declining cost of NAND flash memory, coupled with rising SSD densities, is enabling SSD implementation in the personal computing market,” says Jeff Janukowicz, Research Manager for Solid State Drives at IDC. “More cost-effective SSD solutions based on MLC technology, such as the E-Disk® Altima™ E2A3GM flash SSD from BiTMICRO, are positioned to take advantage of the tremendous unit growth opportunity in the personal computer SSD segment, which is expected to rise by 477% annually from 2006 to 2011.”Visit BiTMICRO Networks at Booth 72922, Innovations Plus Pavilion of the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association, the International CES is the world’s largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind.Sampling for the E-Disk® Altima™ SATA solid state disk is expected to begin in Q2 2008 and will ship in volume by Q3 2008 in capacities ranging from 32GB to 832GB

LAS VEGAS - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it has developed a multi-level cell (MLC) flash-based 128 Gigabyte (GB) solid state drive (SSD) that it will produce this year in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch versions for notebook and desktop PCs, as well as other mobile applications. The new drive offers a data writing speed of 70 megabytes per second (MB/s), the industry’s highest for MLC-based SSDs.Samsung’s 128GB SSD will be demonstrated in a notebook PC at CES 2008 in its Semiconductor Product Showcase, Room N236, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), North Hall, 2nd Floor. The complete suite of Samsung SSDs will also be displayed at Samsung Electronics’Booth 11033, in the LVCC’s Central Hall. Information regarding this product and other Samsung news at CES is available online here.The Samsung MLC-based SSD’s write speed of 70MB/s was achieved through the use of optimized controller technology and highly efficient flash-management firmware technology. Adding to its exceptional performance, Samsung’s 128GB SSD reads data at 100MB/s.“Our SSD can be used by the widest range of corporate notebooks, particularly where additional storage is needed beyond what is typical in most business applications,” said Jim Elliott, director, flash memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.Samsung’s 128GB SSDs will be available in a thin-standard 1.8-inch version that is five millimeters thick, to spur the design of thinner ultra-mobile PCs, in addition to a conventional 1.8-inch version for mobile consumer applications and a 2.5-inch version for standard-sized notebooks.Featuring a 3.0 gigabit-per-second SATA II interface, the new 128GB SSD uses native command queuing and spread-spectrum clocking to add to its higher performance levels. It also features device/host-initiated power management for an exceptionally low power consumption level of 0.5W in active mode.Samsung’s state-of-the-art wear-leveling technology, combined with its advanced flash management technology, provides high reliability for its MLC-based-SSD and a mean time between failures (MTBF) of one million hours.A pioneer in the development of SSDs, Samsung released a 32GB PATA SSD in March 2006, followed by a 64GB version using the SATA I interface in March 2007 and the first 64GB SATA II SSD in November 2007. Development of Samsung’s 128GB MLC-based SSD is a result of efficiencies enabled by the company’s unique combination of NAND flash memory, firmware and controller technology for flash management.According to market research firm Web-Feet Research, the SSD market is expected to reach US$570 million in 2007 and increase to US$6.6 billion by 2010 – a compound annual growth rate of over 120 percent.Samsung expects to begin mass producing its 128GB SSD in the first half of 2008.

CES, LAS VEGAS - ASUS, worldwide leader in component and notebook computer design and manufacturing, today announced theplan to showcase the long-anticipated 11-inch 2lb all-in-one notebook featuring a 32GB solid state drive (SSD). Theintegration of SSD allows the ASUS U2E to be shock resistant and reliable. As a part of the effort to introduce eco-friendly notebook designs, the upcoming U2E is energy efficient thanks to both its SSD and the LED back-lit panel.Luxury and Utility Fused Into OneThe U2 is designed and crafted to deliver the highest level of luxury, and presents itself as a bona fide lifestyle accessory that is infinitely useful and versatile. The luxury feast extends to the notebook chassis, where its unity of form and function is showcased with the screen and keyboard designed to join seamlessly at the polished plated hinge - reminiscent of a cufflink-inspired design. Hand polished stainless steel frame and copper etch detailing exist in sublime harmony with premium leather, creating an interplay of warmth and cool high-tech aesthetic that mirrors the principle of perfection attained from visual and tactile balance.Live Video Communication with ASUS Smart Logon Face Recognition TechnologyThe high-resolution webcam module is one of the smallest lenses available, and is integrated seamlessly into the U2’s LCD panel. For hands-free access, the webcam is complemented with the exclusive ASUS SmartLogon software that intelligently recognizes its rightful owner and grants access to the computer accordingly after a positive facial scan.

Combined with Imation’s global distribution and marketing, Mtron will be introducing variety of product lineups to the businesse enterprises and consumers.Imation’s high brand power and distribution network in the U.S and Europe will be very useful for Mtron. In northern America, Imation’s dominance in the market is expected to help Mtron to establish a strong market share and high profit.For Imation, Mtron’s SSD products will a new variety of products to their current data storage media products such as CD and DVD, taking a step forward in the growing SSD market.Imation will be starting their new SSD products sales in 2008 with a ‘powered by Mtron’ tag.Also, Mtron will be hosting a booth at CES 2008 (Las Vegas Hilton 40008) in Las Vegas to introduce their new SSD products. Mtron’s SSD products provide maximum read/write speed of 120MB/90MB/s (based on Mtron SSD Pro) and high durability against the outside environments. Based on their solid performance, Mtron received “Emerging Global Product” award from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea.Mtron is establishing their market leadership in SSD market with their variety of SSD lineup for business enterprise and mobile market. Also, Mtron has completed its new MLC-based SSD products, lowering the cost of SSD for more broad distribution.Steve Jeon, CEO of Mtron, said, “Mtron has already been establishing multiple alliances with global companies. This strategic alliance with Imation will help us to build global distribution network and marketing. Mtron will continue to find new business alliances with other global companies to improve our global marketing strategy.”Subodh Kulkarni, vice president, Global Commercial Business, R&D and Manufacturing, Imation Corp., said, “Mtron has a strong advantage in SSD products with their high performance and stability. Therefore we believe that Mtron has higher technology than any other competitors, which is the reason why we decided to form the strategic alliance. This alliance will help us to provide variety of media solutions to our consumers and enter into SSD market, establishing Imation as the leader in the media solution industries.”