ASUS U2E: The SSD Version

Asus Japan announced their U2E notebook equipped with a 11.1" LCD screen in WXGA resolution (1366×768 ), now features a 32GB SSD drive. It will be available on July 12th for 1770€.

As a reminder, our U2E is powered by a Core 2 Duo U7600 CPU (1.20GHz), and features 2GB of RAM (up to 4GB), Mobile Intel GM965 Express chipset, as well as WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0, multicar-reader, 0.3 Megapixel camera, fingerprint sensor, and micro-DVI.



source akihabaranews.com

The Next Generation SSD, the Fastest Ever Signed by Mtron!

MTron, a Korean company, announced a new SSD controller. This time, our next SSD, based on the SLC chip, can achieve a reading speeding of 260MB/s and writing speed of 240MB/s. We don’t have further information, in particular about the storage capacity. In addition, Mtron announced their SSD Express Card, Mini PCI-E Card for mobile devices, and Mtron XTM 7500 for highly specialized industries such as aviation, military, and medical.

The Mtron SSD Express Card and Mini PCI-E Card can provide maximum read/write of 110/65MB/s. Concerning the last one, Mtron SSD XTM 7500, we don’t have any information about its performances, but it’s really adapted to extreme environments, like quick changes in temperature. It’s also shock resistant.

SEOUL, South Korea-- Mtron Storage Technology Co.,Ltd. (KOSDAQ:046320), a manufacturer of Solid State Drive (SSD) in South Korea, announced today that they were going to reveal new 260 MB/s controller technology at “World IT Show 2008” and OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul, Korea from June 18 to 20. Mtron also added that they would launch new SSD products equipped with the new controller technology in early 2009.

Improved from current 4-channel system with the maximum read/write speed of 130/120MB/s, Mtron’s next generation controller technology provides an outstanding performance based on its 8-channel system with the maximum read/write speed of 260/240MB/s(based on SLC) and random write IOPS 8,000(4KB). It is twice faster than current controllers and the fastest speed in the current SSD market by far.

Steve Jeon, CEO of Mtron, said, “This new controller provides not only improved performance, but also it provides high stability and reliability by minimizing errors and instability that a typical flash memory chip has. Based on the superb technology from our 1st generation controller, Mtron will lead the next generation controller industry with the latest technology.”

In addition to the announcement of new controller, Mtron uncovered their new SSD products as well. The new Mtron’s SSD products are Mtron SSD Express Card, Mini PCI-E Card for mobile devices, and Mtron XTM 7500 for highly specialized industries such as aviation, military, and medical industry.

Mtron SSD Express Card and Mini PCI-E Card deliver maximum read/write speed of 110/65MB/s, run its own software for OS installation and booting, and provide the best environment for the system running. Based on Mtron’s innovative technology, these new products are not limited to the current HDD standard sizes, and therefore can be applied in various forms and sizes for different devices and usage.

Mtron SSD XTM 7500 provides an excellent stability and performance against extreme environment such as rapid temperature change from -45℃ to 90℃. In May, this product proved its strong protection against extreme temperature, shock, and vibration when it was chosen as the primary storage for NASA’s Anita Project. It will be available on the market in August

source akihabarnews

The World's Fastest, Largest Capacity 2.5'' SSD, by Samsung

Samsung announced the development of the world’s fastest, largest capacity 2.5’’ SSD, MLC-based with SATA II interface. It provides a 256GB capacity, with a reading speed of 200MBps and writing speed of 160MBps. It's also very thin, only 9.5mm, and measures 100.3x69.85mm.
Taipei, Taiwan, May 26, 2008 - Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has developed the world’s fastest, 2.5-inch, 256 Gigabyte (GB) multi-level cell (MLC) based solid state drive (SSD) using a SATA II interface at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum held at the Westin Taipei Hotel. Samsung’s new 256GB SSD is also the thinnest drive with the largest capacity to be offered with a SATA II interface.

With a sequential read speed of 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write speed of 160MB/s,
Samsung’s MLC-based 2.5-inch 256GB SSD is about 2.4 times faster than a typical HDD. Furthermore, the new
256 GB SSD is only 9.5millimeters (mm) thick, and measures 100.3x69.85 mm.

Once introduced, the Samsung’s 256GB SSD will mark the largest capacity SSD from the global market leader in SSD sales, effectively eliminating density as a barrier to SSD adoption in the consumer space.

“With development of the 256GB SSD, the notebook PC is on the brink of a second stage of evolution. This change is comparable to the evolution from the Sony Walkman to NAND memory-based MP3 players, representing an initial step in the shift to thinner, smaller SSD-based notebooks with significantly improved performance and more than ample storage,” said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Through major advancements in proprietary controller technology, Samsung’s new MLC 256GB SSD, besides being comparable in speed to an SLC-based SSD, also boasts reliability equal to that of SLC SSDs, with a mean time between failures (MTBF) of one million hours, while costing considerably less. Power consumption is also exceptionally low at 0.9 watts in active mode.

In addition, the drive offers a sophisticated data encryption process that prevents data stored on the SSD from being accessed in an unauthorized manner, even after the SSD is removed from the PC.
Overall, the number of computing units in which SSDs are being offered is expected to increase dramatically once Samsung’s previously announced 128GB SSD and the new 256GB SSD are launched. At present, Samsung is actively involved in high-capacity SSD design-in activities for all of the top PC and server manufacturers from the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

Samsung is expected to begin mass producing the 2.5-inch, 256GB SSD by year end, with customer samples available in September. A 1.8-inch version of the 256GB SSD is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2008.

According to a Q1 2008 report by the semiconductor market research firm iSuppli, the SSD market will grow at an annualized average of 124 percent during the four-year period from 2008 until 2012. iSuppli now projects SSD sales to increase by an additional 35 percent in 2009 over what it projected last year, 51 percent more in 2010, and 89% more in 2011, and continue to show dramatic increases in subsequent years.

source akihabaranews