Today, CDRLabs brings you a review of SanDisk's new Ultra II solid state drive. This easy, affordable upgrade solution is available in capacities ranging from 120GB up to a 960GB, and, depending on the capacity, is powered by one of two controllers from Marvell. The Ultra II is also the first SSD from SanDisk to use TLC NAND flash. To overcome the challenges typically associated with this type of NAND, the drive is equipped with SanDisk's new nCache 2.0 technology which utilizes a two-tiered caching architecture to optimize drive speed and endurance.

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ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today launches the Choice HC500 2.5” Hard Drive with TV recording support features. The HC500 external storage hard drive attaches to your smart television or PC via a super-fast USB 3.0 cable, and sports a sandblasted titanium or gold casing. Available in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities, the Choice HC500 Hard Drive comes with smart backup software that allows you back up data, and then set up your very own personal data cloud using a PC or smartphone!

Flawlessly crafted in either titanium or gold matte, the HC500 Hard Drive offers both the easy connectivity of directly attached personal data and TV media storage. For those who require direct connectivity, simply plug the hard drive into your PC or smart TV. Store and manage any kind of personal media via super-fast USB 3.0 on your PC, and then connect the HC500 to your smart TV to enjoy full-featured video capabilities such as playback, rewind and fast-forward. Too busy to enjoy your favorite TV programs? Just leave your Choice HC500 Hard Drive plugged into your television and record hours of movies and programs to enjoy later!

ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, has announced the launch of its new enterprise-class AS70R series devices, featuring high capacity rackmount network storage servers. The devices in the AS70R series are powered by Intel Core i3 3.5GHz dual-core processors (AS7009RD/AS7012RD) and Intel® Xeon E3 3.4GHz quad-core processors (AS7009RDX/AS7012RDX). All models are also compatible with the highest capacity hard disks on the market (6TB), enabling users to create substantial storage spaces of 54TB and 72TB respectively.

Furthermore, all models come with 4 gigabit Ethernet ports along with 2 expansion slots for 10GbE network or SAS cards. In addition to the built-in 4GB UDIMM DDR3 RAM (expandable to a maximum of 32GB) all devices also feature 4 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports and 2 eSATA ports for added expansion possibilities. ASUSTOR has also added a variety of output ports including HDMI and VGA, allowing IT administrators to more conveniently manage the system.

Pioneer Japan recently sent out a press release, announcing its new portable, clamshell type Blu-ray Disc writer, the BDR-XD05J2. This USB 3.0 equipped drive measures only 133 × 14.8 x 133 mm and weighs in at a mere 230g. The BDR-XD05J2 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. It also writes to triple- (100GB) and quad-layer (128GB) BD-R media at 4x and triple-layer (100GB) BD-RE media at 2x.

The BDR-XD05J2 includes features like Pioneer's PureRead2+ technology and an "advanced silent mode" for when playing movies and audio discs. It also includes a new "intelligent eco mode" which shortens the recording time and reduces the drive's power consumption when in standby mode by about 40%. The BDR-XD05J2 ships with authoring and playback software from CyberLink and is expected to hit stores in late October for about 13,000 Yen ($121US).