On behalf of the staff here at CDRLabs, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Drive safe, eat well and hopefully you'll get that special something you asked Santa for.

PLEXTOR, a leading developer of award-winning solid state drives (SSDs) and other high-performance digital storage devices for consumers, today announced it will introduce its first 3D NAND SSD during a “sneak peek” media event at CES 2017.

PLEXTOR will roll out 3D NAND flash in its next generation of SSDs in 2017. The company continues its efforts in delivering technological breakthroughs for a wide range of consumer needs. The new 3D NAND SSD Series features increased drive endurance, better reliability and higher performance at a lower cost.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the TS-831X - a new cost-effective 8-bay business NAS with a quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU to provide users with enhanced system performance for daily business operations. Alongside the standard models with 8GB or 16GB RAM, there is also a model with 4GB RAM (TS-831X-4G) to provide an affordable option for budget-conscious users.

"The TS-831X features a highly-competitive specification, including built-in 10GbE ports, containerized apps, and SSD caching, making it a favorable choice for small and medium-sized organizations," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "The TS-831X-4G option provides an accessible choice for budget-constrained organizations to benefit from the TS-831X's amazing functionalities without breaking the bank."

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a leading manufacturer of storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the launch of the StoreJet 25C3, an extra-slim portable hard drive with a luxury aluminum alloy housing. Featuring a slim and light design with a USB 3.0 interface for blazing-fast transfer rates, the StoreJet 25C3 portable hard drive perfectly integrates style and technology.

Extra Slim and Lightweight, High Capacity
Transcend’s StoreJet 25C3 portable hard drive is extra slim at just 9.95mm, capable of fitting inside a shirt pocket. Housed in an aluminum alloy casing, the drive weighs in at just 136g, making it ideal for business or travel. Despite its slim dimensions, the StoreJet 25C3 is available in high capacities of up to 2TB, allowing users to store and backup all of their files to a single location.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today launched the Ultimate SU900 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD, which signals further expansion in 3D NAND Flash storage. The SU900 delivers high-grade 3D MLC NAND and uses the SMI 2258 controller. Most importantly, it offers up to 2TB capacity, reinforced by performance-boosting SLC Cache Buffer and DRAM Cache. For data integrity, the SU900 offers LDPC error correction, data shaping, wear leveling, and RAID Engine. It reaches 560MB/s read and 525MB/s write, and includes a 2.5mm spacer and 3.5" bracket in the box. ADATA provides a 5-year warranty with the drive.

The time has come for 3D NAND SSDs to realize their higher density potential, and so the SU900 lineup includes a 2TB model. However, consumers can choose 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants based on needs and budgets. Flash on the SU900 is high-grade 3D MLC (multi-level cell), ensuring improved reliability, longevity, and performance. The SSD employs an SMI 2258 controller, pushing 560MB/s read, 525MB/s write, and 85K/90K IOPS. Thanks to ADATA sorting and quality assurance, the SU900 has a TBW (total bytes written) of up to 800TB and an MTBF (mean time before failure) of 2,000,000 hours.

Corsair, a world leader in enthusiast memory, high-performance gaming hardware and PC components today announced the immediate availability of the CORSAIR Force MP500 range of M.2 solid state drives, the fastest SSDs yet produced by CORSAIR. Available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities, the MP500 range delivers blistering performance up to five times faster than traditional SATA 6Gbps SSDs, offering users the next step in high-performance storage in an ultra-compact form factor.

Equipped with a Phison PS5007-E7 NVMe controller and high-bandwidth PCIe Gen. 3 x4 M.2 2280 interface, the MP500 range of drives put your data in the fast lane. Delivering phenomenal data performance including read speeds of up to 3,000 MB/s and write speeds of up 2,400 MB/s, the MP500 range of SSD accelerate system boots, game load times and file transfers beyond anything possible over a single SATA 6Gbps connection.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today launched the updated Premier SC660H and Premier SV620H external SSDs. Based on previous designs, the new models are part of the ADATA move to 3D NAND Flash in all new SSDs and in refreshes of existing models. The SC660H and SV620H feature 3D TLC NAND instead of traditional 2D NAND to provide increased reliability, durability, and efficiency. The drives connect to host PCs via USB 3.1 Gen 1, and are presented in two distinct enclosure styles. Thanks to 3D NAND, the updated SSDs are available in 256GB and 512GB as opposed to 240GB and 480GB in the original SC660/SV620. Performance is 440MB/s read and 430MB/s write in both models.

SC660H: ultra-thin and tough elegance
The SC660H measures just 9.6mm tall. Its slim enclosure uses electroplated and textured titanium, ensuring a high degree of resistance against shocks, scratches, paint chipping, and fingerprints. The SC660H weighs a mere 73g, a fraction of the bulk of an external mechanical hard drive.

SV620H: elevating external SSD design
Also light and slender, the SV620H likewise employs a sandblasted titanium enclosure that makes it shock and scratch resistant. Its flat surfaces are raised 0.75mm, so that even when moved across a desk or other area the risk of unsightly scratches is minimized. The SV620H weighs 76g, and like its SC660H sibling has a cool blue activity LED.