(Credit:
Transcend)
If you like your thumb drive for the durability, you'll like what Transcend introduced on Monday. It's a new breed of compact external storage device that's based on 1.8-inch solid state drives (SSDs), the SSD18M.
Unlike traditional external storage devices that are based on hard-disk drives, the SSD18M is made of reliable NAND flash memory that contains no moving parts. This eliminates the possibility of mechanical failure due to shock or vibration and also provides substantial weight savings and reduced power consumption.
The new drive features both both eSATA and USB2.0 interface options. This means when portability is not required, people can use the eSATA interface, which requires a separate power adapter, to take advantage of the high throughput speeds of up to 90Mbps in reading and 50Mbps writing.
The SSD18M sports a stylish gloss diamond pattern fascia and measures only 3.1 inches by 1.2 inches by .5 inch and weighs merely 1.8 ounces. It comes in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities.
Transcend backs the new drive with a two-year warranty and a comprehensive global service network. The SSD18M is available for purchase later this week and costs $285 for the 128GB version. The 64GB and 32GB versions cost $169 and $99, respectively.
Two weeks after releasing the largest capacity 1.8-inch hard drive, Toshiba announced on Thursday its MKxx29GSG series of this small form factor storage device that's finally catching up with the regular 2.5-inch laptop hard drives in terms of speed and storage space.
Toshiba's 1.8-inch hard drive now spins faster.
(Credit: Toshiba)For a long time, 1.8-inch hard drives' performance was limited to 4,200rpm and the old-school ATA interface, making them significantly slower than the currently popular 2.5-inch hard drives that spin at 5,400rpm (or even faster at 7,200rpm) and use the SATA standard. That discrimination has ended now with Toshiba's third-generation 5,400rpm SATA 1.8 hard-drive family. The new drive features 120GB and 160GB capacities and can take advantage of the SATA-II controller standard, of which the transfer rate reaches up to 3 gigabits per second.
Other than improved performance, the new MKxx29GSG series also comes with a freefall sensor option, which enhances protection from external shock and vibration. It also offers more quiet and more energy-efficient operation. PC vendors can now make ultraportable laptops without having to compromise much of their performance, battery life, and functionality.
Toshiba's new family of 1.8-inch hard drives will be available to PC manufacturers and distribution partners in December. Right now, it's unclear how much they will cost.
The internal of Toshiba's new dual-platter 1.8-inch hard drive
(Credit: Toshiba)Toshiba announced on Tuesday two new 1.8-inch hard drives, including the single-platter 120GB (MKxx31GAL series) and the world's first dual-platter 240GB (MK2431GAH) internal hard drives. The single-platter version also includes an 80GB offering.
Generally speaking, 1.8-inch hard drives are small form factor portable hard drives, where the regular size is 2.5-inch--and used mostly in portable media players, camcorders and compact ultramobile PCs.
These two new hard drives use the Parallel ATA interface and feature the industry's highest area density at 344 gigabits per square inch. They incorporate the fourth-generation perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which Toshiba first introduced in 2005.
The new 1.8-inch HDD series uses a new mechanical and firmware design for enhanced durability, well-suited for slim mobile gadgets as well as PC applications. The new dual-platter 240GB product is especially suitable for lightweight mobile PC devices and high-end digital video camcorders.
Both new hard drives are designed to use up to 33 percent less energy than previous model and also spin faster at 4,200rpm (up from 3,600rpm). They also comes with 8MB of cache for better write and read performance.
While you might have no need to buy these new hard drives on your own, you will find likely find them incorporated into CE and mobile products shipping this holiday season. Maybe it's time you can start expecting a 240GB iPod. Now that would be really nice.
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