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Small Form Factor SSDs etc News & Milestones from
SSD History |
Viking's SATA
Cube3 DOM MIL certified
Editor:- March 3, 2010 - Viking Modular Solutions
today announced
that its SATA Cube3 128GB DOM
(launched in March
2009) has successfully completed tests pursuant to the
MIL-STD-810F
specification.
STEC samples slim SSDs with deep roots
Editor:-
March 2, 2010 -STEC
has started sampling a new family of
SlimSATA and SATA-CF
32GB/64GB flash SSDs for use in embedded markets.
Performance is
15,000 / 6,000 R/W
IOPS and R/W transfer rates are up to 135MB/s and 130MB/s respectively.
Editor's comments:- in a way this is STEC going back to its
roots. In the server
market - where it is better publicly known - STEC is dependent on the success of
partners like EMC whose
secret ingredient in the SSD cola experience is bottling the water.
STEC is also vulnerable to being substituted out for other
2.5" SSDs (or
sideswiped by PCIe SSDs)
at any time.
But STEC knows how to market to designers in embedded
markets. These are currently much smaller than the other segments in the classic
SSD market
penetration model. Nevertheless it's a way of boosting revenue.
And
here's something else to think about... which links together the oldest
segments in the flash
SSD market with the newest one for
SSD backup - which is still
at the birth stage.
The important feature in these new products is
the ratio of sleep mode power to operating mode power - which is 10 to
1. That's not too far off the ideal ratio (100 to 1) it needs to reach in the
next 5 years to support the concept of putting petabytes of SSD archive storage
into 2U racks. More about that later... In the meantime experience gained in the
unsexy (but reliability
obsessed) embedded SSD
modules market can be viewed as a long term investment in what will be
the biggest market for SSD shipments long after the
current SSD market
bubble.
New Name for 20 Year Old Austin Semiconductor
Editor:-
February 4, 2010 - Austin
Semiconductor recently announced it plans to change its name and (along
with some other companies) it will be merged into a new entity and brand to be
called Micross Components.
WEDC Launches Secure PATA SSD in PBGA
Editor:-
January 18, 2010 - White
Electronic Designs has
introduced a
4GB secure PATA SLC
SSD in a 22mm x 27mm
PBGA for embedded military applications.
This product is designed for
applications in aircraft, communications and missiles. A hardware and software
triggered fast purge
can eliminate all data in less than 10 seconds and device options include
sanitization
compliant with various government agency specifications.
New edition - the Top 10 SSD Companies
Editor:-
January 7, 2010 - StorageSearch.com
today published the 11 quarterly edition of the
top 10 SSD oems -
ranked by search volume in the 4th quarter of 2009.
This is always
one of the most popular articles on our site. I know that many SSD companies
themselves are nervous and eager to see how they've fared in this important list
which predicts future winners in the market based on the world's leading SSD
focus group.
I've tried to be more direct with my own analytical
comments too - even if it means repeating some things I've already said in other
places - because I know that most of you don't have the time to read
hundreds of SSD articles. ...read the article
Fast Purge flash SSDs
Editor:- September 25, 2009 -
StorageSearch.com today
published a new directory of Fast Purge flash SSDs.
Although
many industrial SSD vendors are offering their products with extended "rugged"
operating environment capabilities - it's the availability of fast purge which
differentiates "true military" SSDs which can be deployed in
defense applications.
Will Flash Torch Hard Disk Market? - Reprise
Editor:-
September 21, 2009 - 2 years ago StorageSearch.com
published an article -
How Solid is
Hard Disk's Future? - in which I looked at - what impact would the fast
growing solid state disk
market have on the overall hard
disk market?
Readers had asked - "Is SSDs' gain really HDDs'
loss?" - My analysis concluded - "In some segments yes. But it's not
a zero sum game."
This theme is revisited in a new article
published today by - Coughlin Associates
-
Flash
& HDD - Symbiosis, or Survival of the Fittest? (pdf).
The new
white paper, written by esteemed
storage analysts -
Tom Coughlin, Jim Handy
and Roger
F. Hoyt shows how many hard disk drives are sold because of digital
storage required to support flash
memory consumer electronics applications such as digital cameras,
camcorders, and music and video players. The paper makes the case that there
is more symbiosis than competition between hard disk drives and flash memory for
consumer electronics applications.
...read
the article (pdf)
PhotoFast Tells More About its CFast SSDs
Editor:-
August 24, 2009 - PhotoFast
today
officially
announced details
of its "1 inch"
CFast compatible MLC SSDs which had been mentioned as a component in its RAID
product launched earlier this month.
Capacities are 8, 16 and 32GB. R/W
speeds are 100MB/s and 50MB/s respectively.
Samsung Samples Netbook SSD
Editor:- June 23, 2009 -
Samsung is
sampling a SATA mini-card SSD for use in the expanding
netbook
marketplace with these key parameters:-
- footprint:- 30mm by 51mm by 3.75mm
- weight:- 8.5g
- capacity options:- 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
- R/W speeds:- 200MB/s and 100MB/s respectively
- power:- 0.3W
"The market is beginning to embrace a
smaller SSD for the
nascent netbook sector," said Jim Elliott, vp, memory marketing, Samsung
Semiconductor.
SanDisk Ships New DOM for Netbooks
Editor:- June 2,
2009 - SanDisk
started shipping its 2nd generation of PATA compatible
SSD
modules for the netbook market.
Storage clairvoyants,
IDC, project consumer
purchases of netbooks to rise from 11.5 million sold in 2008 to 50 million in
2013.
Performance of SanDisk's new pSSD is 9,000 vRPM and
capacities range from 8 to 64GB. SanDisk says it has improved the non volatile
cache to prevent "stalling" or "shuddering" which was a
problem in 1st generation netbook SSDs.
Editor's comments:- 27 companies make
miniature SSDs under 1.0"
in size. pSSD is simply a brand name of this SSD family from SanDisk -
and not new SSD jargon
term you need to know about. The traditional term for this type of product
is a DOM (disk on module). A SanDisk document describing the
1st
generation pSSD said the benefits were low cost and low weight - 1/10th
the weight that of a typical 1.8"
HDD.
WEDC Launches Rugged Miniature SSD
Editor:- May
26, 2009 - today White
Electronic Designs introduced a surface mount miniature
PATA SLC SSD (22mm x
27mm PBGA) with 1, 2 and 4GB densities for use in high reliability
embedded applications such as aircraft, communications and missiles. Military & Rugged
Storage
New Guide for SSD Wannabies
Editor:- April 28, 2009
- StorageSearch.com
published a new article today called -
"3 Easy Ways to
Enter the SSD Market."
new home page for - SSD SoCs
Editor:- April 7, 2009 -
StorageSearch.com today
launched a new directory of merchant market
SSD SoC vendors.
Intel EOLs PATA SSD DOM
Editor:- April 6, 2009 - a
report on TGDaily.com
says that Intel
is EOLing its
Z-P230
SSD module which was aimed at the netbook market.
If you look at the
1.0" SSDs directory
here on StorageSearch.com you'll
see that 25 companies now make SSD chips, DOMs or modules designed to
fit into very small footprints.
Hagiwara Unveils CFast Storage Card
Editor:- March
26, 2009 - Hagiwara
Sys-Com has extended its range of
1" SSDs - with
the launch of the
CFast Storage
Card which will ship in Q2.
These industrial grade SSDs are form
factor compatible with CF cards, but have a
SATA interface.
Capacities range from 2GB to 16GB. See also:-
CFast -
Evolution of the CompactFlash Interface (pdf) |
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| Viking
Launches SATA Cube SSD............................................. |
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| Editor:- March 10,
2009 - Viking Modular
Solutions has launched the
SATA Cube
- a miniature flash SSD
which provides upto 256GB capacity in a small 30x32mm footprint. |
Sustained R/W speeds are
110MB/s and 79MB/s respectively. It's available as a BGA device or with a
MicroSATA connector.
The SATA Cube3 is an ideal solution for OEMs that
require the benefits of non-volatile solid state storage and SATA performance in
an ultra small form factor, said Adrian Proctor, VP of Marketing for Viking
Modular Solutions.
Viking says that designers of card based SSDs on
form factors such as AMC, XMC, PMC and PCIe will find the low volumetric
density and high storage capacity of the SATA Cube a strong candidate for their
space constrained application. |
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Seagate Still
Waiting for Legal Costs Related to Cornice Litigation
Editor:-
February 18, 2009 - a report today on Law.com says Seagate is
suing its legal insurer for not paying in full the costs incurred in suing Cornice.
Cornice would have failed
in the small form factor
disk market anyway - even if it had won the case (which it didn't) -
because of the price
advantages of flash
memory compared to low capacity
HDDs.
A year
ago Seagate's legal team fired a seemingly random warning shot at the SSD
market - when it started proceedings against
STEC.
Seagate today is in a
desperate market situation. It dominates segments of the hard disk market which
are rapidly going out of fashion. And it will most likely
fail the SSD
Challenge too.
Other companies which might be in Seagate's firing
line shouldn't take comfort from today's reported setback. When markets decline
companies often switch the focus of business development activities from
their marketers to their lawyers. But they still need to retain engineers to
mine the gold (real or imagined) in their patent portfolios - because the grey
suits can't do that on their own.
SiliconDrive Blade Gets Editor Award in Electronic Design Magazine
Editor:- January 13, 2009 - SiliconSystems
announced that its SiliconDrive
Blade has been selected as a "2008 Best
Electronic Design" technology of the year winner in the embedded small
form factor category.
The awards are chosen by the editorial staff
of Electronic Design magazine from
announcements they have received during the year. Editor
Bill Wong
cited SiliconDrive Blade's innovative design as a necessary development in
accelerating wide-spread adoption of
SSDs in embedded systems.
Apacer Launches Miniature SSD
Editor:- January 3,
2009 - Apacer
launched a miniature SLC flash SSD - the
Mini
SAFD 25M - which fits into 1/2 the footprint of a
2.5" SSD.
Capacity
ranges from 256MB to 16GB and R/W speed is 35MB/s and 25MB/s respectively. A
shell is available for users who want to mount this in a 2.5" hard disk
slot.
Petite SSD Chip Seeks Reliable Rugged Assignments
Austin,
Texas - November 5 , 2008 - Austin Semiconductor, Inc. announces a
smaller, more compact 7.5 cm3 (31mm sq x 7.8mm max height) ruggedized SSD.
The SLC flash SSD offers upto 16GB capacity, has an IDE, PIO/4
interface, and MTBF of more than 2 million hours. and is designed for harsh
environment operation.
"Our unique SSD is designed for use in low power, ruggedized
environments. The device is intended for direct board mounting and has
redundant board interconnects to increase the overall product reliability, which
makes it ideal for handheld applications," says Frank Muscolino, President
of Austin Semiconductor.
...Austin
Semiconductor profile
InnoDisk Announces Smallest SATA SSD
Taiwan - June 2,
2008 - InnoDisk announced the world's physically smallest SATA SSD - the
SATADOM - measuring 39mm by 20.5mm by 8mm.
Capacity ranges
from 128MB to 8GB. The SLC flash SSD has a sustainable read speed of 24MB/sec
and write speed of 14MB/sec. ...InnoDisk profile,
Record Breaking
Storage, Miniaiture
SSDs
STEC Announces Fast 1" SSD
SANTA
ANA, Calif - April 21, 2008 - STEC, Inc. announced the MACH4 - a 1"
SATA / PATA SSD.
For a small drive - the MACH4 is fast:- with
sustained sequential reads upto 90MB/s and writes upto 55MB/s. It's expected to
be in mass production at the end of April in capacities up to 32GB. Projected
OEM pricing for the 8GB capacity point is $45.
"For the numerous
applications which were historically challenged by the severe limitations of 1
inch HDDs, STEC is now offering a much more cost-effective, higher capacity and
higher reliability alternative..." said STEC's Patrick Wilkison.
...STEC profile
March 2008
Trident Space & Defense
launched the BGADrive - an IDE compatible 32GB flash SSD in a 29mm x 29mm form
factor module for embedded applications. |
| all
SSD news /
30 years of
SSD market history | |
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""He's
probably just as scared of us"
said Megabyte, not very convincingly.
"Shut
up! And keep peddling" said his niece. | |
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| storage drives 1.0" and
smaller modules / chips oems |
AboUnion
Afaya
Aitech Defense Systems
Apacer
Austin Semiconductor
Cactus Technologies
CoreSolidStorage
EDGE Tech
Foremay
Hagiwara Sys-Com
InnoDisk
Intel
KingSpec
MagicRAM
MemoCom
Phison Electronics
PhotoFast
Pretec Electronics
SanDisk
Seagate
Silicon Storage Technology
SiliconSystems
SMART Modular
Technologies
Spansion
STEC
Toshiba
Transcend Information
Trident Space & Defense
Viking Modular Solutions
White Electronic Designs
Wintec |
| . |
6 Years Ago - flashback from
storage history
Toshiba
Introduces World's Smallest Hard Drive
January
7, 2004 - Toshiba
today announced the development of a 0.85-inch hard disk drive, the first drive
to deliver multi-gigabyte storage in a
sub-one-inch form factor.
Expected to be available in 2GB and 4GB capacities, Toshiba will start sampling
the new drive in summer 2004, with mass production to begin in late 2004
Measuring only a quarter of the size of Toshiba's 1.8-inch drive, the 0.85-inch
HDD is expected to boost the functionality of a new generation of products,
including mobile phones, digital audio players, PDAs, digital still cameras,
camcorders and external storage devices.
Toshiba initially plans to
introduce capacities of 2GB and 4GB, and anticipates achievement of even higher
densities in the 0.85-inch form factor.
A prototype of the 0.85-inch
HDD will be shown at Toshiba's booth (#12214) on the CES show floor January
8-11.
...Toshiba profile
...Later:-
in January 2010 - over 30 manufacturers now market
drives in 1" and
smaller form factors - although for economic reasons these are mostly SSDs.
The history of this market is described in
Introducing the
Miniature Storage Drive Market for 1" and smaller SSDs | | |
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