Super Talent extends its low-cost MLC NAND chips to the 1.8" form-factor

Super Talent caused quite a stir in the solid state disk (SSD) market in early May when it announced a new lineup of "affordable" SATA-II 2.5" SSDs. Whereas most high-speed SSDs were going for thousands of dollars for capacities in the 128GB range, Super Talent dropped a 120GB SSD on an unsuspecting public for a mere $649.

Super Talent is now bringing its reduced-cost SSDs to devices in the 1.8" form-factor. The new Micro-SATA MasterDrive KX SSDs are just 5mm thick and are available in capacities of 30GB, 60GB, and 120GB. The SSDs are priced at $299, $449, and $679 respectively.

Like the 2.5" MasterDrive MX SSDs that were introduced last month, the 1.8" counterparts feature read speeds of 120MB/sec and write speeds of less impressive 40MB/sec. The meager write speeds are a result of the lower-performing multi-level cell (MLC) NAND memory chips used in the SSDs.

"In terms of performance, power consumption, and shock and vibration resistance the MasterDrive KX is substantially better than hard drives. The MasterDrive KX is an excellent upgrade for laptop users looking for greater reliability or to accelerate bootup and load times," said Joe James, Super Talent Marketing Director.

Super Talent will officialy launch the MasterDrive MX SSDs tomorrow for the UMPC market and the drives will be available shortly after for purchase from such online retailers as Newegg and NewBiiz.

Source from DailyTech