Samsung Electronics has begun mass producing NVM Express (NVMe) PCIe solid state drive (SSD) in a single ball grid array (BGA) package for next-generation PCs and ultra-slim notebook PCs. The new BGA NVMe SSD, named PM971-NVMe, features a compact package that contains all essential SSD components including NAND flash memory, DRAM and controller. Configuring the PM971-NVMe SSD in a single BGA package was enabled by combining 16 of Samsung's 48-layer 256Gb V-NAND flash chips, one 20nm 4Gb LPDDR4 mobile DRAM chip and a high-performance Samsung controller. The new SSD is 20x16x1.5mm and weighs only about one gram. The single-package SSD's volume is approximately a 100th of a 2.5-inch SSD or HDD, and its surface area is about a fifth of an M.2 SSD. The PM971-NVMe SSD enables sequential read and write speeds of up to 1,500MB/s and 900MB/s respectively, when TurboWrite technology is used. The performance figures can be directly compared to transferring a 5GB-equivalent, Full-HD movie in about three seconds or downloading it in about six seconds. It also boasts random read and write IOPS of up to 190K and 150K respectively. The PM971-NVMe SSD line-up will be available in 512GB, 256GB and 128GB storage options. Samsung will start providing the new SSDs to its customers in June worldwide.

Samsung Electronics has launched its 840 EVO mSATA SSD line-up, including a one terabyte (TB) version. The Samsung 840 EVO mSATA SSD is an extension of the 840 EVO line-up which was introduced in July at Samsung SSD Global Summit. The new SSD features the mSATA form factor which is approximately a quarter size of a 2.5-inch SSD, and offers the same level of high density and high performance. The new 840 EVO mSATA SSD utilizes Samsung's 128Gb NAND flash memory based on 10nm-class process technology. To form a 1TB version SSD, a total of four flash memory packages are used, each package having 16 layers of 128Gb chips. Based on the advanced memory technology, the 1TB mSATA SSD comes in a thickness of 3.85mm and a weight of 8.5g, which are approximately 40% and a 12th of a typical hard disk drive (HDD) respectively. The 840 EVO mSATA SSD line-up is available in 120GB, 250GB, 500GB and 1TB. The 1TB version offers 98,000 random read and 90,000 random write IOPS, as well as sequential read and write speed of 540MB/s and 520 MB/s. The 840 EVO mSATA SSD line-up will be available starting from December 2013 globally.

Toshiba has announced the launch of slim 7mm-height 2.5-inch, two-platter, 5,400 RPM SATA hard disk drives (HDD). The new MQ02ABF series, Toshiba's first two-platter 7mm-height HDD model, delivers up to 1TB of storage capacity and is designed for thin mobile computing applications, according to the vendor. Available in capacities of 750GB and 1TB, the MQ02ABF series features a rigid chassis design and utilizes dual stage head positioning technology. Sample shipment is scheduled to start in November.