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SanDisk’s new G3 SSD drives are set to offer read speeds equivalent to a 40,000RPM platter drive at prices that won’t make you queasy. The age of SSD laptops is looking imminent.

Coming in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB flavors, the new SSDs offer up speeds of 200MB/s read and 140MB/s write, which is nothing to scoff at. And the prices? Not too bad, with the MSRPs at $149, $249 and $499, respectively. I, for one, would very much like my next laptop to have one of those 240GB (or larger) SSDs in it, and I might just wait another generation in order to ensure that that happens. You’ve got to think that by next year’s CES these things will be pretty damned close to regular HDD prices.
SANDISK UNLEASHES WORLD’S FASTEST MLC SOLID-STATE DRIVE (SSD) FAMILY

Affordable Third-Generation SSDs Based on Multi-Level Cell (MLC) Flash Technology, Equivalent to a 40,000 rpm Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

CES 2009, South Hall, Booth # 30659, LAS VEGAS– —Jan. 8, 2009 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today unveiled its third-generation family of solid-state drives (SSDs). Using multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology, SanDisk’s G3 Series establishes new benchmarks in performance and price-performance leadership in the SSD industry.

Designed as drop-in replacements for hard-disk drives (HDDs) in notebook PCs, the initial members in the SanDisk G3 family are SSD C25-G3 and SSD C18-G3 in the standard 2.5” and 1.8” form factors respectively, each available with a SATA-II interface. Available in capacities of 60, 120 and 240GB*, the unit MSRPs are $149, $249 and $499, respectively.

The G3 SSDs are more than five times faster than the fastest 7,200 RPM HDDs and more than twice as fast as SSDs shipping in 2008, clocking in at 40,000 vRPM1 and anticipated sequential performance of 200MB/s read and 140MB/s write3. The G3 SSDs provide a Longterm Data Endurance (LDE) of 160 terabytes written (TBW) for the 240GB version, sufficient for over 100 years of typical user usage. (2,3)

“SanDisk’s G3 SSD has met the demand of a 120GB SSD at less than $250 with an exceptional user experience” said Rich Heye, sr. vp and general manager, Solid State Drives (SSD) business unit, SanDisk. “Three key features developed by SanDisk enable this new design: a new SSD algorithm called ExtremeFFSTM allows random write performance to potentially improve by as much as 100 times over conventional algorithms; reliable 43nm multi-level cell (MLC) all bit-line (ABL) NAND flash; and SanDisk’s new SSD controller, which ties together the NAND and the algorithm.”

“With large capacities and aggressive pricing, SSDs are poised to enter mainstream corporate notebooks in 2009.” Heye explained, “Given the current economic environment, corporate IT managers have also described a desire to extend the service life of existing notebooks. These notebooks are already maxed out on DRAM, and struggle to meet users’ performance expectations. These existing WinXP notebooks can be upgraded to a 60GB SSD for $149, resulting in a system that frequently outperforms a new notebook with a HDD, thereby delaying the need for large capital purchases.”

“Web-Feet Research has tested the replacement of the HDDs in three year old Notebooks with SSDs and has found an improvement in boot times, application loading and general user responsiveness that, in many cases, exceeds what a new notebook with an HDD can deliver,” said Alan Niebel, Principal at Web-feet Research. “In these challenging economic times, IT managers are looking for ways to reduce IT spending without adversely affecting their user base and the SanDisk G3 SSD solution extends the notebook replacement cycle an additional two years at minimal cost.”

The SanDisk G3 SSDs will be available to this market in mid 2009, in a 2.5” PATA configuration expressly for this purpose. In addition, the SanDisk G3 SSDs will be available on sandisk.com for do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiasts. “An SSD upgrade improves the user experience like nothing else you can do to a computer.” Heye concluded.

SanDisk’s flash technology is produced at fabrication plants in Yokkaichi, Japan, where SanDisk and its partner, Toshiba Corporation, share the output. The SSD controller and firmware were designed by SanDisk expressly for the G3 SSD.

If you would like to learn more about flash and the significant role that it plays inside laptops and other consumer electronic devices, please visit SanDisk’s SSD Academy at http://www.sandisk.com/ssd. Here you can learn about solid state drives and the great promise they present to the computing market