Today, CDRLabs brings you a review of SanDisk's new Extreme II SSD. This ultra-slim SSD is powered by Marvell's 88SS9187 "Monet" controller and is equipped with SanDisk's new 19nm eX2 ABL MLC Toggle NAND flash to deliver up to 550 MB/s sequential read and 510 MB/s sequential write speeds. The Extreme II also packs a sizeable DRAM cache and offers features like TRIM support, wear-leveling, background garbage collection and SanDisk's nCache technology which uses a large non-volatile SLC cache to improve random write performance.

Toshiba’s Storage Products Business Unit of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., a committed technology leader, announces the slim, 7mm MQ01ABFH solid state hybrid drive (SSHD) series. Equipped with Toshiba’s NAND flash and available in 500GB1 and 320GB capacities, the MQ01ABFH series is the first Toshiba SSHD drive family in 7 mm. The series continues Toshiba’s legacy of providing world-class storage products, and offers customers a complete lineup of 2.5-inch solid state hybrid drives with the previously announced 1TB and 750GB MQ01ABDH series 9.5mm SSHDs for ultrathin and thin and light notebook PCs, multimedia and gaming applications, and traditional laptop PCs.

Drawing upon its knowledge and experience in NAND flash, Toshiba optimized the NAND flash performance into a tiered-storage approach that uses the speed of the DRAM and NAND components with the high-capacity of rotating media. The SSHD delivers SSD-like performance without dependence on external drivers or assistance from the host system. The PCMark Vantage Average HDD Score, the established industry method for measuring SSHD read/write performance and responsiveness, for the MQ01ABF500H is approximately 20,000, surpassing the 16,000 industry standard result.

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Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Canvio Slim II Portable Hard Drive. With a capacity of up to 1 TB and measuring only 12.5 mm thick, the Canvio Slim II remains one of the thinnest and smallest portable hard drives available on the market—now with the ability to access and share data straight from the device. This complete external backup and storage solution is ideal for customers that carry an Ultrabook™ or other super-mobile PC.

"The original Canvio Slim was extremely popular—especially with Ultrabooks users due to its incredibly sleek design. This time around, we challenged ourselves with making a great product even better," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of product marketing and development of branded storage products, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "We were able to increase the capacity to 1 TB without compromising much on size and added features that allow you to access and share your data from anywhere at any time via internet—making the Canvio Slim II the ultimate mobile storage solution."

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Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash storage solutions, today announces the introduction of the USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk. With sequential read scores of up to 4041 MB/s and sequential write scores of up to 5388 MB/s, the USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk is a speed demon of a drive housed in a sleek aluminum casing. The USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk uses your computer’s free RAM to transfer files at an amazingly quick rate. This USB also transfers the files while you are using the program, cutting down on wait time later.

The USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk is as portable as a regular USB, giving the user the freedom to take their work anywhere. The USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk provides the power of increased productivity through its incredible speed abilities, which can be many times faster than a SSD. This drive is especially suited for creative professionals. The USB 3.0 Express Ram★Disk is an ideal drive for anyone seeking a speedy drive with great performance.

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Pioneer Japan sent out a press today, announcing its new portable, slot-loading Blu-ray Disc writer, the BDR-XS05J. This USB 3.0 equipped drive is capable of 6x BD-R, 6x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 6x. The BDR-XS05J also writes to triple- (100GB) and quad-layer (128GB) BD-R media at 4x and triple-layer (100GB) BD-RE media at 2x.

Along with a customizable, transparent panel, the BDR-XS05J includes features like Pioneer's PureRead2+ technology and noise reducing firmware. It also ships with a software bundle from CyberLink that supports BDXL recording as well as Blu-ray 3D playback. The BDR-XS05J is scheduled to ship in late June and is expected to retail for about 15,000 Yen ($266US).

Patriot, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and mobile accessories today announces an exclusive partnership with Meteor Entertainment, a leading publisher of online games, to launch a one-of-a-kind Supersonic RAGE XT promotion bundle with Meteor’s online mech action game, HAWKEN. This valued-added bundle pairs the ultra-fast 64GB USB 3.0 Supersonic RAGE XT flash drive with a game changing 7-day HAWKEN Double XP Boost for the extremely popular multiplayer mech combat video game.

Providing the enhanced transfer speeds of USB 3.0 in an extra tough rubberized housing, the Patriot Supersonic Rage XT is the perfect solution for those looking for a compact design that doesn’t compromise performance. The Supersonic Rage XT comes with a custom slide to connect design that provides best in class protection from wear and tear.

HAWKEN is an online action game that allows players to jump into the cockpit of customizable giant mechs and battle it out for online supremacy in a variety of game modes and arenas. This special Double XP Boost pack bundle will grant players the ability to level up faster, unlocking new abilities and technologies for total domination on the battlefield.

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Today, CDRLabs brings you a review of Plextor's new 256GB M5M Series mSATA SSD, the PX-256M5M. Designed for ultrabooks, tablets and other portable devices with limited space, the M5M provides high-performance and reliability in a space one-eighth the size of a standard 2.5 inch drive. This pint-sized SSD combines Marvell's 88SS9187 "Monet" controller with Toshiba's 19nm Toggle Mode MLC NAND to deliver up to 540MB/s read and 430MB/s write transfer rates. The M5M also supports Plextor's True Speed and True Protect technologies as well as the SATA Device Sleep (DEVSLP) standard which extends the battery life of a device by reducing the drive's power consumption when its not in use.