Clickfree just announced its new Traveler external hard drive that uses the same file-based transfer software we reviewed in the Clickfree Portable Backup Drive back in January. The difference is that this device uses solid-state technology for faster transfers and increased durability.
Clickfree stresses that its file-based software is different from other backup solutions that only create an image of the host computer onto their drives. During this "total backup," the drive will restore operating systems and applications, but also winds up restoring viruses, malware, and corrupt files.
Clickfree's automatic backup software only restores your "irreplaceable data," including personal photos, music, video, documents, e-mails, etc...the restore wizard bundled with the drive puts these files back into their original location after a crash, and you can even backup NAS, DVDs, and other external drives.
Smaller is indeed better.
(Credit: Clickfree)Best of all, the drive uses solid-state technology, so it's much smaller than a normal hard drive, about the size of a hotel keycard. Unfortunately, solid-state prices aren't nearly as cheap as disk-based drives, so you're paying a premium for the speed and size benefits.
The Clickfree Traveler Drive is available now in 16GB ($80), 32GB ($150), and 64GB ($250) capacities. We currently have a 32GB model in the labs, so look for an in-depth review coming next week.
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RipNAS)
RipNAS announced their latest network attached storage devices this week--the Statement series--in solid-state drive and hard-disk drive formats. The RipNAS Statement is purported as the first CD ripping NAS device to come equipped with the former.
Based on the Windows Home Server OS and housed in a silver aluminum casing (designed to eliminate noise pollution), the Statement is capable of CD ripping, media streaming, and networked storage on either the 500GB SSD configuration (2 x 250GB SSDs) or the 3TB HDD configuration (2 x 1.5TB HDDs). The entire case measures 10 x 43 x 38 cm and is powered by a dual-core Atom CPU, has 2GBs of memory, and 4 USB ports.
It looks like the UK will get first dibs on the RipNAS Statement SSD and HDD for now, but no pricing information has been announced, nor the date it will be available in the U.S.
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Transcend)
Transcend, the company that introduced a solid-state-drive-based external drive the other day, on Thursday unveiled its 192GB Solid State Drive.
Despite the mundane name, the new drive is equipped with NAND flash memory and offers up to 192GB of storage, a fast sustained read performance of up to 150MBps, and up to a 90MBps write performance, according to Transcend. Its latency is rated at 0.2 milliseconds, which is practically instant.
It's a 2.5-inch SATAII drive--currently the most popular interface--and is compatible with most notebook computers or any other devices that use this storage standard.
Transcend's new SSD also has integrated Error Correction Code technology, mostly found in memory for servers, that helps ensure accurate data transfer and built-in wear leveling technology designed to give the drive long storage lifespan and reliability.
The drive will be available later next week with capacities ranging from 8GB to 192GB. It also comes in an IDE version. All drives come with a two-year warranty. The 192GB SATAII version is estimated to cost $454.
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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.
Transcend once again takes external hard drives to the next level with its stylish new portable solid-state drive. Just announced, the SSD18M is available in a small 1.8-inch size, measuring 3 inches long by 2 inches wide and draped in a chic black "gloss diamond pattern" exterior.
Unlike other external hard drives that rely on moving parts and an actual disk, solid-state hard drives work on NAND flash memory that eliminates the possibility of damage because of vibration and shock. In addition, you also get the added benefit of weight savings, power consumption, and portability thanks to its lack of internal moving parts. This model gives supports eSATA as well as USB 2.0 interfaces for connectivity, ensuring flexibility across almost all notebook and desktop PCs.
The Transcend SSD18M eSATA drive is available now in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. No word yet on pricing.
Click the read more link to view more photos.
... Read more
Updated at 11 p.m. PST with information about Apple.
Dell is doing its part to usher in the age of the super-sized solid-state drive. For the first time, Dell laptops can be configured with the newest large-capacity SSDs from Samsung.
Back in the day (last January), laptop buyers were stuck with a Henry Fordesque choice: order any solid-state drive you want with your laptop as long as it's 64GB.
What a difference a year makes. On Friday, Dell quadrupled this to 256GB. The Samsung SSD is now available as an option on Dell's XPS M1330 and M1730 laptop lines. Apple announced a 256GB SSD option on its MacBook Pro on January 6.
Dell added a 256GB solid-state drive option to its XPS M1330 and XPS M1730 laptops
(Credit: Dell)Upgrading from the base XPS configuration with the 256GB SSD will add $400, Dell said Friday. And Dell said the SSD will "be available on additional laptops in the coming weeks."
Dell has also added a 500GB hard disk drive option that will add $150 to the base configuration price.
Solid-state drives are generally faster at getting data than hard-disk drives (and in some cases, much faster), but pricing is a hurdle for consumers. SSDs still command a premium, but that premium is shrinking. SanDisk said last week that it will begin offering a 240GB SSD for $499. SSDs with this kind of capacity had been priced well over $1,000.
Updated at 9:40 a.m. PST with additional information about SLC-based solid-state drives.
Some solid-state drives are more equal than others--or, to put it another way, command higher prices than rival drives, despite being seemingly quite similar.
SanDisk's G3 Series of SSDs offer capacities up to 240GB
(Credit: SanDisk)SanDisk and Toshiba offer a good lesson. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, SanDisk said it would start shipping 240GB SSDs in "mid 2009," priced at only $499. (Next to a comparable hard-disk drive, that may be a lot of money, but for a solid-state drive, it's dirt cheap.)
At the Toshiba booth, however, the story was very different. A Toshiba representative said his company's comparable 256GB SSDs are priced at $800. And this discrepancy is coming from two companies that get their flash chips from the same source: a joint-manufacturing operation in Japan.
Below are the prices Toshiba representatives were stating on the show floor versus prices that SanDisk announced.
Toshiba/SanDisk solid-state drive pricing:
- Toshiba 512GB: $1,600, SanDisk N/A
- Toshiba 256GB: $800, SanDisk 240GB: $499
- Toshiba 128GB: $400, SanDisk 120GB: $249
- Toshiba 64GB: $175, SanDisk 60GB: $149
Throw Intel into the mix, and it gets more confusing. "Introductory" pricing for Intel 160GB versions of its X25-M and X18-M Serial ATA (SATA) solid-state drive is $945 for less than 1,000 units.
... Read moreMSI has launched a Netbook that uses both solid-state and hard-disk drives.
The U115 Hybrid, unveiled Monday, comes with a solid-state disk for most of the PC's operations, together with a hard-disk drive that can optionally be used for storage. An "ECO on mode" temporarily disengages the hard drive; MSI claimed this mode extends battery life, as solid-state drives are generally more power-efficient than their spinning-disc counterparts.
MSI's U115 Hybrid.
(Credit: MSI)Apart from its use of both SSD and HDD technologies, the U115 Hybrid closely follows the standard Netbook template.
The 10-inch screen has a resolution of 1,024 by 600 pixels. The device uses a 1.6GHz Z530 Intel Atom processor, Windows XP Home, and a gigabyte of DDR2 533MHz RAM. Bluetooth is included, as are three USB 2.0 ports.
Buyers can choose between a 1.3-megapixel or 2.0-megapixel webcam; a three- or six-cell battery; and 802.11b/g/n or 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. The machine comes with two possible combinations of drives: a 120GB hard drive with an 8GB solid-state drive, or a 160GB hard drive with a 16GB solid-state drive.
The U115 Hybrid weighs around 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) with the three-cell battery.
Although MSI claimed in its release Monday that the U115 Hybrid's battery life is "super-long", it did not specify the estimated battery life. Release details and pricing were also not mentioned in the release.
David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.
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Transcend)
I'm not sure this will help stop the downturn in the NAND flash memory market, but Transcend on Tuesday joined the league of solid-state-drive makers and introduced its new 128GB high-speed 2.5-inch drive.
The new drive features the SATA-II interface and Transcend's Multi-level cell flash memory chip. This combination allows it to offer sustained read/write speeds of up to 145MB/92MB per second, about 40 percent faster than high-speed regular 2.5-inch SATA hard drives.
Like other SSDs, the new SSD from Transcend has very low 0.2ms latency that would potentially increase the performance of software applications, as well as the overall system.
The new Transcend SSD is available in capacities ranging from 8GB to 128GB, with the 128GB version costing only $379, a very good deal. You can also find Transcend's SSDs that support the older IDE interface with capacities ranging from 8GB to 64GB.
All Transcend's SSDs are covered with a two-year warranty along with the company's worldwide support.
Less than a month ago, Intel announced its line of solid-state hard drives. We didn't have much information at the time, other than a model number and a few benchmarks provided by Intel, but we're pleased to officially announce the X25-M, or the Intel Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drive.
The drive uses NAND flash technology specifically built for computing with 10 parallel channels and optimized firmware. As stated previously, the drive will come in both 2.5 inch (X25-M) and 1.8 inch (X18-M) sizes that will fit in both desktops and laptops with the same performance specifications.
The 80GB drive will ship this week for $595. The price is certainly higher than what we've found on NewEgg.com where price range from $226 for a 60GB drive and a fairly inexpensive $435 for 120GB. The price tag for the Intel SSD factors out to about $7.43 per gigabyte compared with most of the other drives that cost about $3.50 per gigabyte. The price jump isn't exactly deal breaking if you consider the decrease in the overall cost of SSDs over the past year. Take the Apple MacBook Air, for instance. When it was released in January, a 64GB SSD upgrade would have set you back a staggering $1,000. In either case, the price of Intel's drive might be attributed to system level benchmarks and increased transfer speeds over generic brands. Our own CNET Labs is running tests on the 80GB 2.5 inch drive and we'll report our findings in a hands-on review coming later today.
