Memory, Storage and Tablets

Sandisk Corp. showcased new flash-based disk storage for tablets and notebooks. Elsewhere, memory advancements aim to speed encryption and standby recovery and functionality. Lastly, Microsoft Corp. is beginning to make rounds with its Windows 8-based tablet prototypes.

Focal Points:

• Targeted at ultra-thin notebooks and tablets, the newest batch of solid-state drives (SSDs) from Sandisk will offer speeds up to twice as fast as their Sandisk P4 predecessors. The two newly-announced product families feature SATA III interfaces and employ a low-power architecture that can use as little as 10 milliwatts (mW). Available in sizes up to 256 gigabytes (GBs) for notebooks computers, the U100 SSD line offers read speeds up to 450 megabytes per second (MBps) and write speeds up to 340 MBps. The iSSD drives for tablets will have the same read speed, write speeds up to 160 MBps, and come in sizes up to 128 GB.  The new iNAND Extreme drives will be available later this year.
• New research from a team at North Carolina State University has produced encryption technology for non-volatile main memory (NVMM) which may eventually lead to faster startup times and much faster encryption speeds. While software-based encryption solutions can impair performance by up to 50 percent, N.C. State researchers report only a three-percent performance impact. NVMM memory is seen as a likely replacement for convention dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). In a similar vein, Intel Corp. demonstrated new features this week to speed system recovery from standby and continuously update content while in sleep mode. Intel’s Rapid Start technology uses dedicated flash memory to reinitiate system state from sleep while its Intel Smart Connect can check for items including new e-mail and social media posts periodically by waking and then reentering standby mode.
• In trying to reduce tablet failures that date back nearly a decade, Microsoft is debuting prototypes of its upcoming Windows 8-based tablets this week. The company is taking a page from Apple Inc. in its new designs by tightly controlling which hardware components vendors can use in device manufacturing. Microsoft has reportedly selected five chip manufacturers for its tablet reference design, but is said to be limiting the number of vendors to which the processor can be sold to a maximum of two. While Apple has sold more than 20 million iPads since launch, the next round of Microsoft-based tablets powered by Windows 8 are expected to hit the street no earlier than March of next year. The PC version of the operating system may be available around the same time.

Experton Group believes advancements in SSDs for client devices are advancing the power consumption, speed and reliability of the flash-based hard disk competitor. SSD benchmarks now show performance similar to, and in some cases faster than, all but the fastest high-RPM magnetic drives. While SSDs are remain at a premium up to 10 times the price of traditional disks, IT executives should be evaluating SSDs across all enterprise storage venues to help determine where and when mass adoption is most appropriate.

The new Sandisk drives are an easy choice for the mobile warrior concerned with device weight and looking and requiring a more durable alternative. NVMM encryption advancements will make their way first into high-security servers and workstations where they offer the most value; however, DRAM will remain the 800 lb. gorilla for the foreseeable future.

Though Intel’s new memory announcements this week are somewhat less revolutionary, speeding up recovery from standby has been a longstanding user complaint. IT executives should look forward to these advancements arriving late in the year in the next version of Intel’s Core processor family.

Microsoft is investing heavily in tablets and trying to tightly control the user experience. The company recognizes the growth and profitability of tablets and is not looking to repeat the errors made with its Zune media devices and the short-lived Kin phones. IT executives have been slow to adopt Microsoft Windows Phone 7 smartphones due to the platform’s relative immaturity compared with its counterparts and the lack of groundbreaking functionality. IT executives should expect that the tablet race will be won by advancements in usability and integration with mainstream applications and cloud-based services.

Apple will remain market leader in the space for a long time to come, but will not maintain the stranglehold over tablets that it has in the portable music space.