Fujitsu and Toshiba reach agreement on hard drive business deal

It's not exactly a huge surprise at this point, but Fujitsu and Toshiba have announced today that they've signed a memorandum of understanding on the transfer of Fujitsu's hard drive business to Toshiba, and that they plan to conclude a transfer contract "at an early date." To make the transition as smooth as possible, Fujitsu says it'll spinning off all its HDD-related business into a separate company in the interim, which Toshiba will buy an 80 percent stake in and make a Toshiba Group subsidiary. Then, once things are fully transitioned, Toshiba will buy up the remaining 20 percent and make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. Notably absent from today's announcement, however, is any word of a dollar figure, though previous reports had pegged the deal at anywhere from $335 to $447 million. Toshiba also doesn't seem like it'll be resting on its laurels once the deal is complete, saying that it hopes to increase its overall HDD market share 20 percent by the year 2015.


[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: acquisition, fujitsu, hard drive, hard drive business, HardDrive, HardDriveBusiness, merger, toshiba ]

• OCZ Summit Series SSDs get boost from new Samsung MLC

OCZ Summit Series SSDs get boost from new Samsung MLC

Intel's X-25M SSD may be the current go-to drive for those primarily concerned with speed, but it looks like it could soon have some competition from OCZ's latest Summit Series drives, which get a significant boost from some new Samsung MLC memory, not to mention 64MB of on-board cache. According to PC Perspective, those additions show themselves the most in write speeds, which manage to top even the X-25M, although the Summit drive fell slightly behind when it came to read speed tests, prompting the site to still give the overall edge to the X-25M. PC Perspective does speculate, however, that, given OCZ's past track record, the drives (available in sizes up to 250GB) could come in significantly cheaper than Intel's offerings, which would make the X-25M a much harder sell even with its slight performance edge. Hit up the link below for the complete benchmarks and a peek inside the drive.



[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: mlc, ocz, ocz summit series, OczSummitSeries, samsung, samsung mlc, SamsungMlc, ssd, summit series, SummitSeries ]

QNAP busts out Core 2 Duo-equipped TS-809 Pro Turbo NAS

While QNAP's 4-bay TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS was perfectly fine for the average home-based storage junkie, small businesses need something with a bit more potential. Enter the TS-809 Pro Turbo, an 8-bay behemoth capable of housing 8 SATA hard drives (up to 16TB, or .98 million copies of Friday the 13th, when 2GB HDDs are widely available). The unit gets powered by a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, which definitely means that your next NAS may posses more processing power than the antiquated PC it's connected to. Additionally, there's 2GB of DDR2 RAM, read / write rates of 126MB/s and 111Mb/s (respectively), and support for a litany of business-related advanced features. Mum's the word on price, but you can bet it'll be up there.


[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: core 2 duo, Core2Duo, NAS, QNAP, TS-809, TS-809 Pro Turbo, Ts-809ProTurbo ]

SanDisk to begin making 'X4' flash chips

SanDisk is disclosing at a San Francisco technology conference Tuesday that it will begin mass production of memory chips that will allow consumers to store up to 64GB of data on tiny flash cards.

SanDisk X4 memory chip packs in four bits per cell(Credit: SanDisk) The Milpitas, Calif., company's X4 technology will pack four bits of data into each memory cell. To date, flash memory chipmakers typically stored one bit or two bits per cell. SanDisk--the largest supplier of retail flash cards--is making the disclosure jointly with Toshiba at the 2009 International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). The two companies will use 43-nanometer manufacturing process technology to make the chips. X4 technology, which SanDisk got when it purchased M-Systems in 2006, will yield tiny Secure Digital (SD) flash cards that hold 64GB of data. Currently, mainstream SanDisk SD cards top out at 16GB, though pricey 32GB cards are also on the market. "It is a 64-gigabit single die (chip), which is 8GB (per die), the highest capacity point in the industry," said Khandker Quader, senior vice president, memory technology & product development, SanDisk, in a phone interview Monday. In addition to the memory chip, the die also includes an X4 controller--which manages the data flow. The memory and controller "will be sold as an integrated solution," Quader said. Controllers are the secret sauce used by flash card and solid-state drive suppliers to boost performance. The importance of controllers increases as flash chip densities increase because higher densities require increasingly sophisticated controllers to deliver the necessary performance. The memory technology itself--the 4 bits per cell 64-gigabit memory--is co-developed and co-owned by SanDisk and Toshiba. The X4 controller technology is solely owned by SanDisk, Quader said. SanDisk and Toshiba also have joint manufacturing facilities in Japan. The advancement is important because NAND flash--like all silicon chasing Moore's Law--is facing challenges to increase densities "even at two bits and three bits per cell," he said. (NAND is the type of memory used in flash cards and solid-state drives.) A SanDisk paper at the ISSCC will discuss the performance of the X4 technology. Data speeds will hit 7.8 megabytes per second, Quader said. "This is comparable to what others are producing at lower bits per cell," he said. X4 flash cards will be available commercially in the first half of 2009, according to Quader. SanDisk will also present a paper on 32-nanometer X3 technology--three bits per cell--for use in thumbnail-size microSD cards (even smaller than SD cards) that boast capacities up to 16GB. X3 will also be used in solid-state drives, SanDisk said. Despite these advancements, SanDisk is still a laggard in the emerging solid-state drive market, where companies like Samsung, Toshiba, Micron Technology, and Intel are the early leaders. SanDisk announced at CES in January that it would deliver a 240GB SSD by mid-year.


[ Source: cnet.com ]

[ Tag: ]

• LaCie intros 8x d2 Blu-ray burner, LaCinema Black MAX media streamer

LaCie intros 8x d2 Blu-ray burner, LaCinema Black MAX media streamer

It was May of last year when LaCie last updated its external d2 Blu-ray burner, so it's about time we saw that 4x burn rate double to an entirely more palatable 8x. Available now for consumers in the US, the latest d2 Blu-ray Drive ($449.99) can toast both single- and dual-layer BD-Rs at 8x, and it can connect to one's machine via FireWire or USB 2.0. In related news, the outfit has also introduced a LaCinema Black MAX over in Europe, which acts to serve up all sorts of digital media (photos, video clips, music, etc.) on one's HDTV. You can order it with 500GB / 1TB of inbuilt storage, and the integrated Ethernet jack / WiFi module enables it to pull media (up to 1080p) from other locations on your network. We've nary a clue on pricing / availability for this one, but we'll leave it to those in Europe to hunt it down and brag to us Yanks.


[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: bd, blu-ray, blu-ray drive, Blu-rayDrive, external blu-ray, external blu-ray burner, ExternalBlu-ray, ExternalBlu-rayBurner, hd media streamer, HdMediaStreamer, lacie, LaCinema, LaCinema Black MAX, LacinemaBlackMax, media server, media streamer, MediaServer, MediaStreamer ]

IDrive Portable HDD backs your files up locally and online

Look, we feel your pain. There's about a gazillion options when it comes to portable hard drives, but the IDrive Portable actually does differentiate itself from the masses in one particularly useful way. Aside from being the "thinnest and lightest portable USB drive in its class," this 0.3 pound unit houses 320GB of space on a 5,400RPM HDD, and it plays nice with Windows / OS X machines. Predictably, it features a one-click backup option for storing precious data outside of your PC, but unlike the other guys, this one also includes the ability to backup online for yet another layer of protection. Of course, that online bit will run you up to $4.95 per month, but we have to say the interface looks pretty swank. Anywho, the device itself is listed as shipping within one to two days for $119.95, and all the nitty-gritty about the services is tucked away in the read link.



[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: backup, external hard drive, external hdd, ExternalHardDrive, ExternalHdd, hdd, iDrive, iDrive portable, IdrivePortable, online backup, OnlineBackup, portable drive, portable hard drive, portable hdd, PortableDrive, PortableHardDrive, PortableHdd ]

• Cisco: Making lemonade from economic lemons

Cisco: Making lemonade from economic lemons

Cisco Systems' optimistic leader John Chambers noted during the company's conference call Wednesday that the economy has gone from bad to worse as sales are expected to slip as much as 20 percent in the next quarter. But he said that Cisco is well-positioned to emerge even stronger after the economic malaise. Chambers noted that revenues for the company's third fiscal quarter, which ends in April, will be down 15 percent to 20 percent from the previous year. In dollars, this means revenue are expected to be around $7.83 billion to $8.32 billion. Analysts had expected a forecast of about $8.71 billion, according to Thomson Financial. Three months ago during the company's first-quarter earnings call, Chambers noted that the economic downturn had spread from the U.S. to Europe. This time around, he said that it is now affecting countries throughout the world. "The challenges we saw in the U.S. in our first-quarter call have spread globally," he said. Chambers said most of his customers don't expect the economy to get better until 2010. But always the optimist, he believes things will turn around more quickly than many people believe. Although he was careful not to cite a specific time frame for recovery, he said the Obama stimulus package in the U.S. and efforts by other governments throughout the world should help kick-start the economy around the globe stimulate a recovery. The U.S. will be the first to recover, he added. And even though he expressed concern for the troubled times the company faces, he emphasized that Cisco is well positioned to come out of an economic downturn even stronger. He noted past economic dips where the company emerged an even more competitive player. And he vowed to aggressively invest in new markets to ensure the same is true when the economy becomes healthy once again. "We must gain from this economic pain," he said. "This downturn is the biggest challenge of our lifetime, but it's also the biggest opportunity for the company and the country to change our economy. In an effort to stay focused on its goals, Cisco has vowed to cut $1 billion spending for fiscal 2009, which ends in July. And Chambers said the company is on track to meet that goal. But he added that Cisco is not planning any major layoffs, which he defined as a cut of at least 10 percent of the company's workforce. Instead, he said the company is realigning business units and refocusing resources and headcount on growth areas. In doing this, he said that some jobs will be lost. As a consequence, Cisco will shed between 1,500 and 2,000 through this realignment. Cisco currently employs 67,000 people worldwide. Chambers also emphasized that this activity is normal for the company and is done both in good times and in bad times. Cisco, which sells Internet equipment to service providers and large companies, reported net income of $1.5 billion on sales of $9.1 billion for is second fiscal quarter, which ended in January. Despite the fact that sales dipped 7.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago, they were slightly better than what analysts had expected. Analysts had expected revenue to dip about 12 percent year-over-year to about $9 billion. The company's earnings per share was 32 cents, down about 15.8 percent from the same period a year ago. This was better than analysts had expected. Analysts were expecting Cisco to earn 29 cents to 30 cents per share. "Cisco showcased solid financial strength during a period of significant economic challenge," Chambers said in a statement. "We remain comfortable with our long-term vision and strategy as we move into new market adjacencies and prioritize our existing opportunities."


[ Source: cnet.com ]

[ Tag: ]

• QNAP's new 4-bay Atom-based TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS

QNAP's new 4-bay Atom-based TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS

It's already been an exciting year for QNAP fanboys... not only has the company graced the world (and our pages) with a new 6-bay NAS, but it's already back for more. Billed as "the world's first 4-bay Intel Atom-based NAS," the TS-439 Pro Turbo NAS sports an Intel 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB memory, support for RAID 0/1/5/6/5+spare configurations, up to 6TB capacity (that's before you start adding external drives) and a whole host of server functions, including all the FTPing, DDNS, MySQL and XDove mail servin' your little heart desires. And if that weren't enough, the Surveillance Station feature supports video monitoring and recording from up to four IP-based cameras. No price listed, but we do have plenty of glamor shots for you in the gallery below.
 

[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: ]

Transcend rolls out high-speed 192GB 2.5-inch SSD drive

It's not exactly the most spacious 2.5-inch SSD drive available, but Transcend's new 192GB model certainly isn't any slouch either and, according to the company, it should be more than fast enough for most users as well. That's due in no small part to its SATA II interface that helps push out read / write speeds of 150MB and 90MB per second, which are further backed up by a latency of just 0.2ms, and some integrated Error Correction Code (or ECC) to ensure that data is transferred intact. No word on a price just yet, but it looks like it should be rolling out any day now, if it's not already.



[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: 2.5-inch ssd, 2.5-inchSsd, ssd, ssd drive, SsdDrive, transcend ]

• Rambus introduces 4.3Gbps mobile memory

Rambus introduces 4.3Gbps mobile memory

It's not all just lawsuits and overinflated posturing for Rambus -- the prickly memory firm will later today demo what its calling the Mobile Memory Initiative, a 4.3Gbps phone-oriented variant of the XDR RAM used in the PS3 that requires just 100mV of power. That means companies can either build super-powerful phones that take advantage of a complete MMI system's estimated 17GBps throughput, or build cheaper devices that offer performance equivalent to today's memory with fewer MMI parts. Rambus won't say who it's working with to bring out MMI, but we're going to have to wait a bit before we all score cheap HD videophones -- the first products aren't scheduled to hit until early 2010.



[ Source: Electronista ]

[ Tag: dram, memory, mmi, mobile memory initiative, MobileMemoryInitiative, ram, rambus, rdram ]

• South Koreans could see 1Gbps web connections by 2012

South Koreans could see 1Gbps web connections by 2012

The world at large still has aways to go before it catches up with Sweden's Sigbritt Lothberg, but South Korea's hoping to take a baby step in that direction by 2012. According to a new proposal by the Korea Communications Commission, it's aiming to make broadband ten times faster in its nation in under three years, and according to the plan, it'll take some $24.6 billion in order to make it happen. The central government is looking to cough up around a third of that, with the rest having to come from private telecommunications companies. We're told that the initiative could create upwards of 120,000 jobs, and citizens will be able to kiss their 100Mbps connections goodbye as they replace 'em with 1Gbps alternatives. The KCC hopes the move will enable more interactive TV services to be delivered along with additional e-commerce and home schooling; South Korean residents, however, are probably just stoked about lowering their ping times.



[ Source: GigaOM ]

[ Tag: broadband, high-speed internet, High-speedInternet, internet, korea, south korea, SouthKorea ]

Nortel quits the mobile WiMAX game

Sure, Clearwire is still busily rolling out its mobile WiMAX network across the US, but the fledgling wireless standard isn't having the best time of it lately -- Nokia just discontinued the N810 WiMAX Edition, which was easily the highest-profile WiMAX product on the market, and now Nortel is closing down its entire mobile WiMAX division. Considering Nortel's struggle to stay afloat in our super-awesome economy, the move isn't too shocking -- but at least Nortel partner Alvarion is working to pick up the pieces, so hopefully the impact on the broader WiMAX market won't be too huge.


[ Source: Engadget ]

[ Tag: alvarion, mobile wimax, MobileWimax, nortel, wimax ]