OCZ has unveiled the Apex SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, its midrange offering for enthusiasts, system builders, and mainstream computer users demanding the latest technology.

OCZ says the Apex Series SSDs have an excellent 1.5 million hour mean time before failure (MTBF), thus ensuring the reliability. The SSDs offers read speed up to 230 MB/sec and write speed up to 160 MB/sec.

“As the adoption of SSD drives continues to ramp, it is our goal to enable everyday consumers to take advantage of the benefits of solid state drives,” said Eugene Chang, Director of Product Management at OCZ Technology Group. “The new Apex Series is positioned at the center of our lineup and features an updated controller and internal RAID design to deliver superior performance to mainstream consumers at a very aggressive price.”

The Apex series SSD drives are available in storage capacities of 60GB, 120GB, and 250GB. Though the OCZ terms the series as ‘affordable midrange offering’, the price have not yet been announced.
 

Sandisk has joined hands with LG Electronics to develop a MicroSD card that can be loaded with content and then locked for use only in approved handsets.

Sandisk demonstrated the new technology for mobile phones that enables mobile network operators (MNOs) to offer their customers multimedia-rich services using removable flash memory cards. The content preloaded in these cards can only be used in approved handsets.

According to Sandisk, network operators can freely distribute preloaded content on removable memory cards, while restricting the accessibility of such premium content to only their network subscribers. This valuable content protection service is made possible by enabling memory cards to authenticate user credentials via data on the SIM card.

Sandisk demonstrated the new technology using the new LG KC910 Renoir handset. Sandisk says it brings flexible storage-based services to network operators by allowing IP connectivity to the memory card in the handset. The memory card serves as a network node that is remotely manageable by the operator using industry-standard TCP/IP and OMA Smart Card Web Server.

“With this advanced technology, handset manufacturers and MNOs will be able to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of consumers who want easy access to premium content on their mobile devices,” said Amir Lehr, senior director, business development, SanDisk.

HP has introduced the MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487, the home media server compatible with both Macs and PCs. The MediaSmart Server is based on the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform.

These home servers offer automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network. It can remotely stream photos and music to any Internet-connected PC or Mac.

The server includes HP Media Collector, which conveniently schedules the MediaSmart Server to copy and centralize digital files and libraries from networked PCs. iTunes music libraries can be centralized on the server for playback to any networked computer running iTunes.

The server also includes HP Photo Publisher to upload photos to Facebook, Picasa, and Snapfish. These can also backs up networked PCs using the Windows Home Server backup feature, or Macs running Leopard using Apple Time Machine software.

Each server runs an Intel Celeron 2GHz processor with 2GB of RAM. HP MediaSmart Server ex485 offers 750 GB of hard disk storage while the ex487 offers 1.5 TB of storage. Additional drives can be added for up to 9 terabytes.

HP MediaSmart Server ex485 costs $599 while the HP MediaSmart Server ex487 is $749. These can be pre-ordered beginning January 5 from online stores such as Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com. The shipment is expected to start in February.

Lacie has introduced a new version of its award-winning Ethernet Disk, a network-attached 19-inch rack-mounted storage device, aimed at small and medium business.

The Ethernet Disk features a capacity increase of up to 6TB. It is powered by the Windows XP embedded operating system that provides all the necessary features for data backup, storage and file-sharing through its Gigabit Ethernet connection.

The Lacie Ethernet Disk can support up to 100 users with customizable access rights to different shares, with up to 25 concurrent users. The Ethernet Disk is compatible with Apple Time Machine, allowing Mac users to take advantage of the continuous data protection the software provides.

The Lacie Ethernet Disk ships with Genie Backup Manager ProTM for Windows and Intego Backup Manager ProTM for Mac for scheduled file backups for workstations.

"Backing up data - even mission-critical data - always boils down to making and storing copies of data, located on your primary storage device, onto a secondary device," said Erwan Girard, LaCie Product Manager. "For this reason, the perfect backup companion for your information system should be kept simple and cost-effective. The Lacie Ethernet Disk offers computer backup and recovery, and backs itself up onto a NAS or DAS, all at the best price-per-terabyte ratio in the market. It is therefore an excellent complement to the complex and expensive technology used in front end storage servers."

The 2 TB drive is priced at $749.99, while the 2 TB and 6 TB drives are priced at $1,099.99 and $1,499.99 respectively.

VIA Technologies has announced the VIA ARTiGO A2000 barebone storage mini-server. The ARTiGO A2000 packs terabytes of storage capacity within a stylish, compact, low power and low noise system.

The VIA ARTiGO A2000 is powered by a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor and supports up to 2GB of DDR2 SO-DIMM 667/533MHz memory. It includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, 3 USB 2.0 ports and supports wireless 802.11 b/g module. A type I Compact Flash socket is located discreetly beneath the motherboard.

It supports up to 3.0 TB of storage on two 3.5” S-ATA hard drives with data transfer speeds up to 3 Gb/s. The VIA ARTiGO A2000 comes bundled with the VIA Security Suite and VIA System Management Tool for dedicated 24/7 system monitoring. The storage monitor utility can be configured to alert the user when free space is below a user-specified percentage.

“The VIA ARTiGO A2000 proves that small can be not only beautiful, but also substantial when it comes to storage capacity,” said Jerry Yuan, VIA Embedded Business Development Manager. “Building on the success of the ARTiGO A1000 Pico-ITX builder kit, VIA has once again broken the mould for barebones, creating a device that embodies VIA’s reputation for innovation and creativity in small spaces.”

The VIA ARTiGO A2000 is expected to be available this month from selected online retailers.

OCZ has introduced a new storage expansion drive in the form of Slate Series ExpressCard, meant for the latest generation of performance notebooks.

The Slate Series ExpressCard is ideal for the on-the-go notebook user. It offers convenience of an internal solution that eliminates peripheral devices such as a USB drive or external hard drive.

It offers read speed of up to 18 Mbps and write speed up to 12.5 Mbps. The Slate series is compatible with all ExpressCard standards, and comes backed by a 2-year warranty. The integrated mini-USB port allows the Slate Series to be connected externally from a hub when transferring data between your primary desktop and mobile system.

The Slate Series line will be available in storage capacities of 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB. The price and availability details are not yet released.

Link: OCZ

OCZ has unveiled the Vertex SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, offering high-performance and cost-efficient SSD for the enthusiasts demanding the latest technology.

The 2.5-inch SATA II SSD is MLC NAND-based and 200MB/sec read and 160MB/sec write speeds, and features up to 64MB onboard cache. OCZ says the Vertex Series is ideal for energy-efficient mobile computing to extend battery life and increase access time.

The OCZ Vertex drives feature a durable yet lightweight alloy housing. OCZ claims Vertex Series SSDs offer ultimate reliability with an excellent 1.5 million hour mean time before failure (MTBF). All Vertex Series SSD drives are backed with a two year warranty.

“The new Vertex Series of SSD drives are a premium MLC based SSD solution that are designed for consumers that require fast, rugged, and reliable solid state storage,” commented Eugene Chang, Director of Product Management for the OCZ Technology Group.

Vertex series SSD drives are available in ample storage capacities of 30GB, 60GB, 120GB, and 250GB for $129, $249, $469, and $869 respectively.

Link: OCZ

Super Talent has announced a new line of UltraDrive solid state drives (SSDs), the UltraDrive LE and the UltraDrive ME. Super Talent claims these enterprise class SSDs are twice as fast as the world’s speediest SATA hard drives.

Super Talent says the UltraDrive LE outperforms 10,000 RPM hard drives with sequential read/write speeds of 230/170 MB per second. The UltraDrive LE supports very high transaction speeds (IOPS). , the UltraDrive LE is based on SLC NAND Flash and is offered in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.

According to Super Talent, UltraDrive ME SSDs represent the fastest available 2.5-inch internal storage solution for SATA-II notebooks with sequential read/write speeds up to 200/160 MB per second. UltraDrive ME use company’s third generation MLC NAND based SSD and is available in capacities up to 256 GB.

While the pricing is yet to be announced, Super Talent says both the UltraDrive LE and ME SSDs will be available in January 2009.

Link: Super Talent

SanDisk reaches out to Mac users with SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise, the first secure USB flash drive to fully support Apple Mac OS X computers.

Cruzer Enterprise in Mac OS X and Windows PC environments has the same features and data security- even if used in both environments. Cruzer Enterprise safeguards all files stored on the drive with advanced hardware-based 256-bit AES USB encryption, combined with advanced password protection.

Features include log in and shut down access to the encrypted storage area, change and manage passwords. Users can also change contact information, language and other preferences, and also launch online support, view current firmware and drive information.

Available in 1, 2, 4 and 8GB configurations, Cruzer Enterprise supports Apple Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ and Mac OS X 10.5 ‘Leopard.’

Existing Cruzer Enterprise can also be upgraded by downloading a firmware update available at http://www.sandisk-enterprise.com/macupdater.

Link: SanDisk

OCZ Technology has introduced the Throttle eSATA drive, which offers performance and versatility for enthusiasts that demand the best hardware.

A sophisticated alternative to conventional USB drives, the OCZ Throttle’s primary eSATA interface offers an incredible 90MB/second read speeds and 30MB/sec write speeds. With true plug-and-play capability, you can instantaneously access your data from any computer without the need to install any additional hardware or drivers.

It also features an additional mini USB 2.0 port, in case the PC you want to use does not have an eSATA port.

“We are excited to introduce the Throttle eSATA drive, which delivers many of the key benefits of external SATA including faster transfer rates and a cost effective expansion storage for high performance computing,” said Eugene Chang, Director of Product Management for the OCZ Technology Group. “The Throttle is available in high densities and offers exceptional peak interface speeds for high performance notebooks, desktops, consumer electronics and entry level servers.”

The price has not been disclosed yet, but OCZ Throttle eSATA flash drive will be available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities.

Link: OCZ