Kingston first to market with 128GB USB flash drive

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, USA: Kingston Technology Co. Inc. has released the DataTraveler 200 (DT200), the world’s first 128GB USB Flash drive. The large capacity along with password protection gives users the flexibility to carry critical data with them at all times in a very small form factor.

“The new DT200’s robust storage capability lets consumers store complete libraries of music, photos and videos. It is also a great tool for business users who carry around large databases or files,” said Andrew Ewing, USB business manager, Kingston®. “The password protection helps safeguard data and requires no admin rights, making the DT200 a terrific solution for the home or office.”

The Kingston DataTraveler 200 features a capless design to protect the USB connector when not in use and is enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost. It is available in 32-, 64- and 128GB capacities. The 128GB drive is build-to-order only. Customers who wish to purchase it can place an order through normal channels (e.g., e-tailers or resellers).

The DT200 is backed by a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support.

Features and specifications:
Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB
Dimensions: 2.77" x 0.49" x 0.89" (70.39mm x 12.52mm x 22.78mm)
Operating Temperature: 32º F to 140º F (0º C to 60º C)
Storage Temperature: -4º F to 185º F (-20º C to 85º C)
Simple: Just plug into a USB port
Practical: Durable, capless design
Guaranteed: Five-year warranty
Safeguarded: Includes Password Traveler security software for Windows
Enhanced: For Windows ReadyBoost on Vista-based systems

Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage.

Computex Taipei 2009: Latest development of SSD products

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Solid-State Disk (SSD) has been widely applied in military and industry products. With the beginning of adoption by PC, SSD soon expanded its applications to various consumer electronics.

Although the lower acceptance in low-price PC and boosting NAND Flash price since 2008 has slowed its growing momentum, SSD is still perceived as a potential product, says DRAMeXchange.

Many vendors introduced new SSD products aggressively at Taipei Computex 2009. Kingston has launched Now M and SSD Now E SSD series for commercial PC and servers. The characteristics are their effective read/write and I/O performance.

The write speed for Now M series is 170MB/s and 70 MB/s for series NOW E along with 200 million and 120 million MTBF rates respectively. Now V series SSD is mainly applied in desktop and notebook, which will be shipped in June. Both SSD series apply same MSRP that 64GB content product is about $148 (NTD$4,800) and $264 (NTD$8,600) for 128GB contents.

SanDisk also claims that hard disk stability of their new generation pSSD P2 and pSSD S2 is up to 9000vRPM and embedded nCache technology can improve the hard disk effectiveness by providing up to 320MB SRAM and supporting the writing function to achieve the system performance. Also, nCache technology can secure data’s safety under the power cut.

Other Taiwanese module houses, such like PQI, also introduced series of SSD products to the market. Based on different market demand, PQI introduced series of SSD products with different interface, high read/write speed and high compatibility such as external SSD S530&520, embedded SSD S525&518, high efficient SSD 527&S528, server-oriented SSD X-25M and SSD 521 for PATA interface upgrade market, according to DRAMeXchange.

The newly established Solid State Drive Alliance (SSDA) also joined Computex 2009 to demonstrate its progress in new technology product and future development. The exhibition for SSD products will be divided into two parts which include products for certification and products from member companies. Companies such as A-data, Jmicron, MemoCom, Memoright and Silicon Motion also demonstrated their products, which have successfully passed the 1.4 version certification.