OCZ Technology has launched the Solid Series SSDs,  a new series of low-cost SSDs which are best suited as alternative to expensive solid-state drives in the market.

The new 2.5-inch, SATA II drives are available in 30GB, 60GB, and 120GB capacities and  a better performance compared to other equal-size notebook drives. The drives deliver an incredible 155 MB/s and 90 MB/s read/write speeds and seek times of less than 0.35ms. OCZ also claims that the Solid Series consumes half as much power than the traditional hard disk. The drives come with a mini-USB port to let OCZ offer firmware upgrades in the future.

There is no word about the pricing as of posting time.

Popularity: 100% [?]

SanDisk has developed an advanced flash filesystem that will have the potential to increase the operation of next generation Solid State Drives by 100 times over existing systems.

Called ExtremeFFS, Sandisk’s new technology operates on a page-based algorithm, which means there is no fixed coupling between physical and logical location.  When data needs to be written, the drive will put it where it is most convenient and efficient, resulting to tremendous improvement in random write performance by up to 100 times.

Sandisk will ship products carrying the ExtremeFFS technology sometime next year.

Click here to read the full announcement

Popularity: 100% [?]

Iomega, well known for personal disk storage products like Zip and Jaz drives, comes up with an easy to use network storage device called the Iomega StorCenter ix2.

The StorCenter ix2 comes in two different versions, the 1 TB and 2 TB storage capacities. The two models provide secured centralized storage for your important data that can be accessed over a local network. The ix2 features include built-in support for Bluetooth, UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) to sync different consumer devices for sharing multimedia files, an integrated iTunes server allowing users to connect other apple devices and a security software from RSA.

The StorCenter ix2 Network Storage appliance is compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux operating systems.

The 1TB and 2TB Iomega StorCenter ix2 Network Storage appliance are now available worldwide for $299.99 and $479.99 respectively.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Intel is now offering the X25-E Extreme SATA Solid-State Drive, their highest- performing solid-state drive (SSD) designed for both server and workstation. The 2.5-inch form factor X25-E SSD is designed for intense computing workload measured in IOPS and it will increase server and workstation performance by 100x compared to traditional hard-drives.

The X-25E is capable of 35,000 IOPS (Input/Output Per Second; 4KB Random ), 3,300 IOPS (4KB Random Write) and 75ms read latency. Active power draw is just 2.4 watts, and it’s capable of up to 250MB/s sequential read speeds and up to 170MB/s sequential write speeds.

The 32GB capacity drive is now available at $695 for quantities up to 1,000 while the 64GB version will become available in the first quarter of 2009. Intel’s latest SSD uses 50nm single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory technology.

Popularity: 7% [?]

NetGear has announced the availability of ReadyNAS Pro, the industry’s first six-bay desktop network attached storage solution (NAS) and the newest member of Netgear ReadyNAS family for small and medium sized businesses.

The ReadyNAS Pro delivers high availability, high performance, expandability, and serviceability in a cost-effective unit that is easy to use and quick to deploy. Some of the features of the Netgear ReadyNAS Pro include support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, NetGear’s proprietary auto-expandable X-RAID2 configuration, system monitoring, built-in backup capability, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and the ability to hold up to half a dozen SATA II drives in lockable and hot-swappable disk trays.

The ReadyNAS Pro is available in different storage capacities, the RNDP6350 has 1.5TB of storage capacity, the RNDP6310 has 3TB, and the RNDP6610 has 6TB. The ReadyNAS Pro models can be connected to the existing  local or wireless network and can be used as storage, back up and data sharing device regardless of the operating systems used by the computers in the network.

The NetGear ReadyNAS Pros are now available with prices starting at $2,000.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Good news to all geeks out there who are also beer lovers!

CNK Promotions LLC, a merchandising agency and supplier of premiums, promotional and custom marketing products, has unveiled a new Budweiser USB drive that is filled with liquid-like beer. Call it crazy, but for me this one is really a brilliant idea. Imagine, the company has to secure the electronic parts of the USB stick from the liquids inside the drive’s plastic case.

The Budweiser USB drive is available from 128 MB to 8 GB capacities and prices from $8.84 to $40 each, depending on the capacity.

I hope that the container can be opened so I can drink the beer content and refill it when the beer is already consumed.

But wait! If there is a Budweiser USB drive, there is also a Heineken USB drive.

Although this one doesn’t have any liquid inside, the design is also awesome. Below are the specs of the Heineken USB drive:

•  Storage capacities: 64MB - 8GB (HYNIX chips)
• USB 1.1/2.0 compliant, hot plug and play
• 10 years data retention
• USB 2.0 data transfer rate:Read: 17Mbps/Write: 13Mbps
• OS: Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, MAC 9.x and Linux 2.4x
• Deft configuration, shockproof & moisture-proof
• No driver needed (except Windows 98)
• Customized logo and packing are available
• Certificates: ROHS, FCC and CE
• Warranty: 5 years

Popularity: 2% [?]