CDRLabs kicks off the week with a review of Plextor's new 256GB M5Pro Xtreme Series SSD, the PX-256M5Pro Xtreme. Along with the recently released Xtreme firmware, this upgraded version of the M5 Pro uses a newly engineered and redesigned PCB board that combines Marvell's 88SS9187 controller with Toshiba’s latest 19nm Toggle Mode MLC NAND flash. The end result is an SSD capable of delivering up to 540 MB/s read and 470 MB/s write speeds as well as a maximum of 100,000 random read IOPS.

Silicon Power, the world’s leading provider of memory storage solutions today introduces Velox V55 and Slim S55 to its 2.5 inch SATA III 6Gb/s solid state drive line. The new additions complete the product line and are positioned as one of the most cost effective models. Offering incredible performance at a surprisingly affordable price, it is no wonder that V55 and S55 are the smartest choices for users who are looking to upgrade their system to a SSD.

Dedicated to providing high quality products for the budget minded consumers, SP is proud to present V55 and S55 which feature the latest SATA III 6Gb/s interface with an impressive read/write speed of up to 550MB/s and 440MB/s. The V55 and S55 are ideal for computer enthusiasts, gamers and multitaskers wishing to take their computing experience to a new level; they can boot a computer in seconds and load applications in a much shorter time.

Unlike the standard SSD that is typically bulky and rigid, the SP V55 features a sleek aluminum case with a thickness of just 9mm and can be installed in desktop PCs or the standard notebooks. With merely 7mm in thickness, the S55 takes it to the next level and is perfect for ultrabooks or ultra slim notebooks.

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ASUS today announced the SDRW-08U5S-U external DVD writer, a highly portable optical drive with the thinnest form factor in its class at just 13mm. Its design includes a built-in hidden stand that saves space and reduces clutter while enabling dual-stance horizontal and vertical placement. For data protection, ASUS integrates multiple security measures, with password controls and encryption alongside encoded file name functionality. The SDRW-08U5S-U ships in Mellow Metallic, Dusty Rose, and Bright Berry color options.

The SDRW-08U5S-U employs intricate engineering to achieve a very slender 13mm side profile. In addition to making it highly attractive, the form factor contributes to easy mobility and greater usability as the SDRW-08U5S-U can be effortlessly transported and placed, making it a perfect companion for Ultrabooks and other mobile devices.

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QNAP, Inc. today announced its new budget friendly Turbo NAS lineup TS-421U and TS-420U rackmount models for the workgroups and entry-level SMBs with fast-growing needs of economical network storage. The TS-421U features with Marvell CPU 2.0 GHz, and the TS-420U features with Marvell CPU 1.6 GHz. Both models operate with 1GB DDR3 RAM, and provide sustained high performance for daily routines in file storage, sharing, and data backup.

“The TS-421U and TS-420U satisfy the requirements of SMB and workgroup users who desire high performance networked storage with low acquisition cost but won’t compromise on reliability and features,"said Laurent Cheng, product manager of QNAP. “Theydeliver high performance coupled with a broad range of business-ready applications.”

The TS-421U and TS-420U are affordable yet high performance and reliable network storage solutions. Both models support iSCSI target service with Thin Provisioning, dual Gigabit LAN ports with failover and load balancing. The offerings of 2 USB 3.0 port and 2 e-SATA ports improve data transfer speed, and are beneficial to expanding the storage capacity or backing up the NAS data.

NETGEAR, Inc., a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, today announced a new portfolio of networked-attached-storage (NAS) products which run on the newly developed ReadyNAS OS 6. These revolutionary devices are built on a custom platform designed as “storage made easy” for both the home and small to medium-sized businesses (SMB). NETGEAR also unveiled a suite of new downloadable applications for these products on the genie+ marketplace.

With a sleek new interface and a rich set of embedded or easily downloadable applications, this NAS storage portfolio pairs the latest in performance and scalability with cutting-edge technologies such as unlimited snapshots and cloud-managed replication, which dramatically reduces any possibility of data loss. Once again, NETGEAR is taking features and capabilities previously available only from expensive, large-enterprise vendors and lowering the cost while dramatically simplifying deployment and manageability to provide users with affordable, powerful, and reliable NAS storage.

Photographs, video clips, songs, websites, email, client files, and application data on physical or virtual servers — the type of information that enriches our lives and is essential to business can seem endless. With ReadyNAS, customers finally have an advanced, easy-to-use solution for centralizing, securing, and controlling access to digital assets. What’s more, cloud-based discovery and file management through NETGEAR’s ReadyCLOUD simplifies the set-up experience and enables full ongoing management of data from any web-connected device.

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Team Group Inc., one of the leading memory manufacturers in the world, introduces two brand new and unique compact flash drives, Team C12F and Team C12G, both provided with USB 2.0 interface. With modernistic features and vibrant colors, it is bound to offer you the greatest satisfaction that you seek in a flash drive.

Featuring metallic finishing and hairline patterns, Team C12F emits a simplistic and sophisticated style.  It comes with three distinctive designs, romantic blue tower, flaming red Ferris wheel, and calm-colored urban building.  The architectural features are the representation of modern style and personal characteristics.  The body of Team C12F is surprisingly designed to be a bookmarkinshape. That gives you extra practicality and experiences, absolutely making it an outstanding selection when you are choosing a portable storage device.

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Pioneer Japan sent out a press today, announcing a Mac version of its latest slot-loading Blu-ray Disc writer. Thanks to a magnesium alloy case, the BDR-XU02JM weighs in at a mere 245g and measures only 133 × 133 × 12 mm. This stylish, USB powered 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-XU02J also writes to triple- (100GB) and quad-layer (128GB) BD-R media at 6x and triple-layer (100GB) BD-RE media at 2x.

The BDR-XU02JM does not ship with any software. However, it includes support for Pioneer's PureRead2+ technology as well as a new feature called RealTime PureRead which reduces the occurrence of interpolation data during playback of audio CDs. The BDR-XU02JM is scheduled to ship in late March and is expected to retail for about 20,000 Yen ($208US).