QNAP Systems, Inc. today released the quad-core TS-453mini, a 4-bay vertical NAS that suits non-spacious office environments. Featuring a stylish glossy look, easy tool-less hard drive installation, simple RAM upgrade design, a quiet exhaust for heat dissipation and LED indicators with adjustable brightness controls, the elegant TS-453mini is packed full of cutting-edge features and apps to provide day-to-day file storage, backup, sharing, synchronization and entertainment needs.

“The space-efficient vertical design and streamlined architecture with HDMI installation for easier NAS setup demonstrates our attention to deliver a better user experience for the desktop environment,” said Jason Hsu, product manager of QNAP. The TS-453mini includes numerous innovative designs in its hardware architecture, including a quiet internal compact exhaust that helps dissipate heat and reduce dust buildup, a tool-less design allowing users to easily remove the magnetic top cover to add/replace hot-swappable 3.5” hard drives, and a conveniently accessible cover at the bottom for upgrading the RAM with minimal effort. Users can easily install their NAS over HDMI, allowing for a NAS to be installed without a network connection, and free from complicated procedures and the need for network expertise.

CDRLabs has taken an in depth look at OCZ's new Vector 180 SSD. Continuing the Vector’s legacy, the Vector 180 is optimized for hardcore gaming and data-intensive applications thanks to its powerful OCZ Barefoot 3 controller. This cutting-edge controller is powered by both an ARM Cortex processor and OCZ's own Aragon co-processor and features an advanced, multi-level ECC engine, low write amplification, efficient garbage collection and adaptive flash management algorithms. The Vector 180 also adds support for OCZ's Power Failure Management Plus (PFM+) technology and is equipped with up to 960GB of Toshiba's latest Advanced 19nm (A19) MLC NAND flash. Along with 50GB of host writes per day, the drive is capable of 550MB/s read and 530MB/s write speeds and a maximum of 95,000 4KB random write IOPS.

WD, a Western Digital company, and world leader in storage solutions, today introduced the new, redesigned My Passport Ultra portable hard drives and My Passport for Mac drives. With the My Passport line now in its 7th generation, the My Passport Ultra and My Passport for Mac portable hard drives are now available in capacities up to 3 TB and in four stylish colors - Classic Black, Brilliant White, Wild Berry and Noble Blue. WD is also introducing a new optional accessory – WD Grip Pack – a soft band, available in a variety of colors, which encircles the drive, offering consumers an easy way to personalize their My Passport drives.

“With more photos being taken than ever before, it’s critical to have a high capacity, reliable external storage solution that you can carry everywhere,” said Tony Tate, general manager and vice president of Content Storage Solutions at WD. “The latest generation My Passport drives deliver an easier automatic back-up experience, hardware-based encryption for security and higher capacities than ever before. Consumers can keep all their content in their pockets, while expressing their personal styles with the colors and WD Grip Pack.”

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash storage solutions, today introduced the new SanDisk Z400s SSD, a cost effective solid-state drive (SSD) designed to replace hard-disk drives (HDDs) in computing platforms and embedded applications. PCs and embedded systems need consistent, reliable access to storage in order to meet business demands. The Z400s outperforms HDDs by 20x, while providing 5x the reliability with 20x lower average power consumption, all at a price point on par with HDDs. The SanDisk Z400s SSD joins the company’s existing portfolio of flash-based solutions that are designed to deliver a delightful user experience and reliability at an affordable price point.

“The Z400s represents a feat of engineering that addresses the needs of two distinct markets—PC OEM manufacturers and embedded application designers,” said Rizwan Ahmed, senior director of product marketing, client platform solutions, SanDisk. “With a single architecture, SanDisk is able to provide OEMs with an affordable solution for displacing HDDs in today’s cutting edge consumer devices, and help embedded application designers avoid overpaying for un-needed space—all while delivering the peak performance and high-reliability that only SSDs can supply.”