The Intel 335 Series Solid State Drive made an unexpected appearance in Japan.  Under SKU code SSDSC2CT240A4K5 this SSD is now on sale in Japan. This particular model has a 240 GB capacity, and obviously comes with a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface. The controller empowering the product is the SandForce SF-2281 controller combined with 20 nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.

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About a week or two ago Crucial released a new firmware update for the Crucial M4 SSDs, the firmware update is 010G. Last week I updated my M4 towards that firmware as I was still running the old firmware that could crash at 5000 used hours of the SSD ( a known and fixed problem). If it ain't broke, then don't try to fix it, however with that 4000 or 5000 something used hours bug in mind I figured, it is time to update the firmware. With a backup in place I re-flashed the SSD, all data was still there which made it a lovely silent upgrade. But ...

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Western Digital (WD) has released two new models of their My Book and My Book Duo external hard drives. The Thunderbolt devices are now available in an 8 TB model which uses a pair of 4 TB drives in an internal RAID 0 configuration. The device has two Thunderbolt I/O connectors that allow you to daisy-chains with other My Book Duo units, or other devices. Now the scary part, the  8 TB variant is priced at $849.99. WD also introduced a 4 TB variant of its My Book USB 3.0 hard drive. The My Book encloses a single 4 TB hard drive priced at US $250.

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LaCie now released  the Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series, a new SATA 6Gbps SSD storage product that delivers read speeds of up to 635MB/s. This new storage solution is available at LaCie's website in 512GB and 1TB capacities, with prices starting at $699. We actually reviewed this unit a short while ago.

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Promise just released the Pegasus J2 Ultra-Portable Thunderbolt Storage device. It's amongst the smallest and fastest ultra-portable Thunderbolt storage device. Available in 256GB and 512GB capacities, the Pegasus J2 is flash-based, which makes it super-durable and quiet. Powered in AC mode, it will be able to achieve a fast 750 MB/s transfer speed. The Pegasus J2 is the perfect complement for Apples MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

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ADATA today introduced the DashDrive Elite HE720. It is claimed as the world’s slimmest USB 3.0 external storage device. Measuring at only 8.9mm thick, the storage device is encased in a stainless steel enclosure, which makes it more durable. The DashDrive Elite HE720 has a 500 GB of storage space, a blue LED light indicator and a one-touch button for backing up your digital files.

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LaCie released a new version of its Rugged storage solutions that features both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 connectivity, very clever. The latest Rugged series is available in a 1TB HDD model and a 120GB SSD model, with prices starting at $199.99. The SSD version delivers the fastest performance, it promises transfer speeds of up to 380MB/s, while the HDD version is limited to 110MB/s.Both versions feature a rugged enclosure that promises to protect your data against drops of up to 1.2 meters. Additionally, the disk also includes AES 256-bit encryption to protect your data.

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Toshiba has released the new MQ01ABD series hybrid hard drives, for notebooks though. Built in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor, the drives embed a dual-platter hard drive with 8 GB of SLC NAND flash memory, and 32 MB cache for the hard drive component. The hard drive component has a maximum spindle speed of 5,400 RPM. Available in 750 GB (MQ01ABD075H) and 1 TB (MQ01ABD100H) variants, the drives support SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and Advanced Format. 

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Yes I haven't heard from them before either ..  Green House hits back with a new line of SSDs, the GH-SSD32A. Coming in 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities, these 2.5-inch SSDs are equipped with MLC NAND Flash memory chips, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a SandForce SF-2281 controller, TRIM support, a built-in ECC function and can deliver read and write speeds of up to 550MB/s and 500MB/s, respectively.

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The CompactFlash Association (CFA) announced the CFast2.0 draft specification. This new standard promises a theoretical maximum performance of 600MB/s, four times as much as current CF memory cards. On top of that, the new specification also introduces a new sleep mode that should save battery power. SanDisk announced it is currently sampling CFast2.0 memory cards to camera manufacurers.

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Synology  announced the a new 5-bay expansion unit, the DX513, a quick and effortless storage expansion solution for selected DiskStations with hot-swappable drive design aimed at businesses and power users.As storage drives on Synology DiskStations reach their capacity limits, the DX513 provides an immediate solution to remedy this by scaling up DiskStation storage allowance through an additional five bays

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Silicon Power has introduced a new line of SSDs, the Slim S70. Coming in 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB sizes, these slim 2.5-inch SSDs (7mm thick) are packed with a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface.

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Seagate announced it will show off its new solid state hybrid drives (SSHDs) at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco:
Seagate Technology announced today that they will be working with Intel Corporation to demonstrate new advancements in solid state hybrid drives (SSHD) at this year’s Intel Developer Forum taking place September 11-13, 2012, at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco. In the Advanced Technology Zone of the event, Intel will demonstrate Seagate’s latest solid state hybrid drive design, accelerated with Intel® Smart Response Technology, which run common office productivity applications almost on par with solid state drives. 

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ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today launched the DashDrive HV610 external hard drive, which combines a unique picture puzzle design concept with a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. A removable smart cover provides a convenient and novel way to store the transmission cable.

The exterior of the HV610 body comes in choice of two attractive monochrome patterns, each with interlocking shiny and matte puzzle piece lines, and a matching USB cable stored in the cool ice-blue cover, demonstrating the most eye-catching street fashion style.

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Integral UK has just released a new line of SSDs, the Crypto. Available in four different storage capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, these 2.5-inch SSDs are equipped with MLC NAND Flash memory chips, a SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, a built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption, TRIM support and can deliver read and write speeds of up to 240MB/s and 200MB/s, respectively.

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Samsung announces mass production of the eMMC Pro Class 1500 flash storage memory for mobile phones and tablets. This new memory is four times faster than previous eMMC solutions. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has now begun volume production of an ultra-fast embedded memory for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices in 16-, 32- and 64-gigabyte (GB) densities.

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Crucial introduces the v4, a new SATA 3Gbps solid state disks for users on a small budget. Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today introduced the Crucial v4 Solid State Drive (SSD), designed to deliver substantial yet affordable performance gains for mainstream SATA 2 (3Gb/s) systems, the primary performance capability of computers purchased before 2011. Available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities with MSRPs of $49.99, $69.99, $99.99, and $189.99 respectively, the Crucial v4 SSD can be purchased now through select global channel partners, or direct through www.crucial.com.

The Crucial v4 SSD offers read speeds up to 230MB/s and write speeds up to 190MB/s, enabling faster startup times, faster application downloads, faster transfer data speeds, and increased reliability compared to traditional hard drives. The v4 SSD joins the m4 SSD and Adrenaline Solid State Cache Solution to round out the award-winning Crucial SSD portfolio.

"The Crucial v4 SSD boils down to two things: performance and value," said Robert Wheadon, senior worldwide product manager, Crucial. "Most consumers realize that SSDs help their computers start quicker and run faster, and are a more durable alternative to hard drives, but many don't realize that most SSDs outperform the data transfer capabilities of their SATA 2 machines. With the Crucial v4 SSD, we've come up with a product that's designed to bring the most value out of a SATA 2 system without paying for extra performance that can't be used."

Leveraging the industry-leading memory, design, and manufacturing capability of Micron Technology, Inc., the Crucial v4 SSD is backed by a three-year limited warranty, and is compatible with both PC and Mac

Seagate announced disappointing financial results, the company failed to meet expectations with a net income of $1.06 billion on revenue of $4.48 billion. One of the interesting things said during the conference call was a statement that the company is interested in buying a SSD maker that has a significant share of the enterprise market, thereby confirming last week's rumors that Seagate is looking into buying OCZ.

After the market closed on Monday, Seagate announced that the company missed market expectations. Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter 2012 (ended June 30th, 2012) reached $4.48 billion with a net income of $1.06 billion. However, investors punished the stock, dropping it down by almost 8% in after hours trading. For the whole fiscal year 2012, the company reported record revenue of almost $15 billion, 27% higher than in the year before (before the acquisition of Samsung's hard drive business). Those $14.94 billion in revenue were enough to report an annual net income of $3.11 billion or $6.72 EPS (Earnings Per Share). The company's assets in cash and cash equivalents reduced from $2.67 to $1.71 billion, while the company still has $2.86 billion in long term debt.

As such, we expected an interesting conference call and one of first things that we noticed was that Kenneth Massaroni, Executive VP, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) was missing from the call. While most of analysts were tip-toeing around the issue of whether or not the company will acquire OCZ Technology, the question finally came up. According to Reuters, on that direct question Chief Financial Officer Pat O'Malley stated that Seagate Technology "would be interested in buying an SSD maker that has a "significant" share of the enterprise market." Furthermore, Pat stated that "We don't do any comments on official policy on M&A until it's done," ending the discussion about the upcoming acquisition of a strong player in the booming Solid State market.

It's so tiny that it's sexy ...  Mach Xtreme has announced a new line of mSATA mini-SSDs, the MXSSD2MMSK-M. Available in both 32GB and 64GB sizes, these ultra-compact SSDs are compliant with JEDEC MO-300B standard, feature MLC NAND Flash memory chips and capable of delivering read and write speeds of up to 210MB/s and 100MB/s, respectively. Pricing and release date are still unknown at the moment. [Mach Xtreme]

Novak is about to release a new USB 3.0 cloning docking station namely the NV-HSC353U3. This standalone cloning docking station (no computer required) comes with a USB 3.0 connection interface and provides two SATA slots for 2.5-inch & 3.5-inch HDDs. The NV-HSC353U3 will start shipping from August 3rd for 3,480 Yen (about $44). [Product Page]

Micron Japan will release a new line of mSATA SSDs, the Crucial m4. Coming in four different capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, these SSDs are equipped with a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface and promise to deliver read/write speeds of up to 440/50 MB/s (32GB Model), 500/95 MB/s (64GB Model), 500/260 MB/s (128GB & 256GB Models), respectively. The Crucial m4 mSATA SSDs will start shipping from late July for 5,100 Yen (about $65), 7,200 Yen (about $92), 11,800 Yen (about $151) and 23,800 Yen (about $305), respectively.

We review the Corsair Force GS 240GB SSD. Corsair introduces the Force GS series, and they are equipped with the 2281 series SandForce controller. Paired with SanDisk Toggle Toggle NAND flash ICs that will increase read and write performance to 555MB/s and 525 MB/s respectively which makes the Force GS the fastest SSDs they have ever brought to market.

With 4K random write performance estimated at 90,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second) the product is definitely in the right performance bracket we like to see Corsair in. But have a peek at the review.

If you are looking for a new ultra-portable USB 3.0 flash drive, then check out the Patriot Memory Supersonic Rage XT. Available in 32GB and 64GB of storage capacities, the Supersonic Rage XT offers read and write speeds of up to 180MB/s and 50MB/s, respectively. The storage device features a custom retractable USB housing and a high quality NAND/IC controller. The Patriot Supersonic Rage XT USB 3.0 drive also provides plug-and-play compatibility with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

Add SSD performance to an existing hard drive at an economical price with the new Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD. This simple upgrade combines the capacity of an existing hard drive with the speed of a Solid State Drive. The addition of a Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD will accelerate boot times, application launches, and general system performance

Dataplex Cache software makes the innovative combination of a hard drive and an SSD possible. Frequently accessed data and applications are cached to the SSD automatically. Less frequently used data stays on the hard drive. Further boosting performance - Mushkin's caching policy includes both reads and writes. Supercharged performance is the result.

The Mushkin Catalyst Cache SSD is available in 50 GB and 100 GB capacities and works with any SATA interface. A SATA 6 Gb/s system can yield up to 550 MB/s read/ 515 MB/s write - blazing speed at a fraction of the cost of a traditional SSD.

"The Catalyst Cache SSD really is the best of both worlds. Users will experience amazing speed while maintaining large amounts of data on their computer. The best part, it's an upgrade that wont break the bank." - Brian Flood, Mushkin director of product development.

The Mushkin Catalyst SSD is available now from authorized Mushkin resellers and distributors.

Specifications of MSI's upcoming Reflex solid state disk lineup appeared on the web. This 2.5" SATA 6Gbps SSD series is based on the SandForce SF-2281 controller.

MSI Reflex drives will be available in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capacities at a 2.5-inch form factor with bundled 3.5-inch mounting bracket. Speeds differ according to storage volume which is similar to any brand as more NAND means more usable channels: the RX-60 comes at a 525MB/s read and 495MB/s write speed with 85,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS); the RX-120 ups the performance to 550MB/s read and 515MB/s write with 90,000 IOPS; the RX-240 tops the range at 560MB/s read, 525MB/s write and again 90,000 IOPS.

The MSI SSDs will be sold in selective markets at customer request. We will not sell any MSI SSD