Corsair is the latest company to join the suddenly crowded solid state drive (SSD) market, introducing a new 2.5-inch 128GB SSD.
Corsair's first SSD offering features 90 MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds -- both are midrange speeds, and isn't anything spectacular -- but the company is looking to just get its feet wet. The Corsair S128 is an MLC NAND-based SSD uses a Samsung NAND flash memory controller -- not a JMicron 602 controller -- and Corsair hopes the drive will offer better, more reliable performance.
The Corsair 2.5-inch 128GB S128 SSD will cost around $330 (£239, €255), and it's unknown when the drive will be released. It can be found online through several retailers for pre-order.
The memory maker plans to also release another generation of SSDs before the end of 2009, as the drives will have faster read/write speeds. Unconfirmed reports indicate Corsair is interested in topping Intel's current speeds for 128GB SSDs, and may want to reach speeds of 400MB/s before the year is over.
SSDs still may be too expensive for the average consumer, but more manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon, which could lead to price drops in the future. Corsair is a well respected memory manufacturer, and its entrance into SSD may help draw more interest towards the developing technology.
