SanDisk used the Computex 2011 conference in Taipei to introduce a couple of tiny new storage devices.
The new drives, dubbed SSD U100 and iSSD i100, feature SATA III interfaces and can transfer data to and from the PC at roughly twice the speed of the standard Sandisk P4 drives they are intended to replace, the company said May 31 at the device-centered conference.
The solid-state disk maker demonstrated each of the new chips, which are designed specifically for use in ultra-thin notebooks such as the Mac Air, tablets and other similar devices. SanDisk claimed that the iSSD i100, which can go into laptops and tablets, is currently the world’s smallest and fastest 128GB SATA III BGA-based SSD.
On the other hand, the U100 also is destined mainly for ultra-thin laptops. It provides as much as a whopping 256GB of storage in a drive that fits into a slimmed-down SATA SSD, mSATA or mSATA mini casing.
The U100 features a SATA III interface and has been benchmarked at 450M bps read speeds and 340M bps write speeds. Powerwise, it idles at 10mW.
The i100 performs at the same read speed as the U100, but its write speed is not as good at 160M bps. However, manufacturers will undoubtedly be interested them because they are so tiny, measuring at a mere 16×20 x1.85mm for the largest drive (128GB). The i100 is obviously aimed at the burgeoning tablet market, but it can also work well in slim laptops.
The processors are expected to enter the marketplace later this year, SanDisk said.