Toshiba expands flash lineup

JAPANESE ELECTRONICS GIANT Toshiba has announced an expanded lineup of NAND-flash-based SSDs including the industry's first 128GB Half-Slim mSATA SG Series SSD modules.

The devices are based upon Toshiba's 32nm Multi-Level Cell NAND flash technology in its new HG3 SSD, which is supposed to provide better performance.

Both drive series are showcased at CES 2010. Mass production is expected to start in the second quarter.

The industry's first 128GB mSATA and Half-Slim modules use Toshiba's layering technology and are built for applications enabled by smaller form factors and lower power such as mini mobile PCs, netbooks and other mobiles.

The Toshiba SG2 series claims a maximum sequential read speed of 180MBps and maximum sequential write speed of 70Mbps. The 128GB modules are only one seventh the volume and one eighth the weight of 2.5-inch form factor SSDs, and consume a fraction of the power.

Toshiba says that its third generation HG3 High Performance SSDs are targeted for high end notebooks. A better MLC controller supports higher read speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling to optimise performance, which increases reliability and endurance.

The drives have a maximum sequential read speed of 250MBps and maximum sequential write speed of 180MBps and will be offered in capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB in a standard 9.5mm, 2.5-inch case, or in a special 7mm thin 2.5-inch case in capacities of 128GB or 256GB.

Smaller 1.8-inch drives will also be available in 64GB, 128GB or 256GB capacities in a standard 1.8-inch disk drive case or as case-less or LIF-modules.

The drives also offer AES data encryption to support only authorized data access. Both new series support the TRIM Command implemented in Windows 7.

Toshiba has not revealed pricing yet. µ