Memory vendor Kingston launches the A1000-- a first foray into consumer-grade PCIe NVMe SSDs featuring 3D NAND in the single-sided PCB 2280 M.2 stick format.

The single-sided M.2 2280 (22 x 80mm) format makes the A1000 ideal for notebooks, as well as systems with limited space. The drive features a gen 3.0 x2 interface, 4-channel Phison 5008 controller and 3D NAND flash, and promises x2 the performance of SATA SSDs with read/write speeds of up to 1500MB/s and 1000MB/s.

Nimbus Data pushes the SSD size goalposts as it announces the ExaDrive DC100-- a storage device the company claims crams 100TB of 3D flash memory in the standard 3.5-inch SATA form factor.

For the curious, 100TB allows one to store 20 million songs, 20000 HD movies or 2000 iPhones worth of data. The record comes just a month after Samsung claimed to have the biggest SSD, the 30TB PM1643.

"Mainstream client systems" get a taste of Intel Optane technology with the Optane SSD 800P series, a storage device feature in the M.2 2280 form factor optimised for fast application loading, RAID and fast boot.

Designed for desktop, laptop or NUC use, the 800P devices promise "high throughput, low latency, high quality of service and industry-leading endurance" through the use of 3D XPoint technology. Connectivity comes through the NVMe PCIe 3.0 X2 interface, and Intel says the drives are ideal as a standalone SSD, in a dual-drive setup or in a multiple SSD RAID configuration (PCH- or CPU-based).

Storage vendor Qnap launches a pair of entry-level NAS devices-- the single-bay TS-128A and dual-bay TS228A, both part of the TS-x28A series of solutions aimed at private cloud and home entertainment applications.

The two NAS carry identical specifications, namely a Realtek RTD1295 quad-core 1.4GHz CPU and 1GB DDR4 RAM. Connectivity comes through x1 RJ45, x1 USB 3.1 (front) and x2 USB 2.0 (rear) ports. The difference comes in the number of drives, both connected via 6Gbps SATA and coming in the 3.5-inch format.

Such hardware, Qnap says, allows for 112MB/s downloads and 101MB/s uploads. Should the customer AES-256 encryption on performance takes a slight dip, with 112MB/s download and 93MB/s upload. The included QTS 4.3.4 OS promises easy setup, as well as enhanced snapshot features for further protection.

British flash specialist Integral Memory presents what it claims is the biggest microSD card yet-- the 512GB microSDXC V10 UHS-I U1 card, ideal for customers demanding a "massive memory boost."

The card meets the Video Speed Class 10 (V10) standard for fast data transfers, meaning it has a minimum write speed of 10MB/s. Thus the card should be ideal for HD/4K video recording in digital cameras, action cams, drones and camcorders.

Toshiba announces the RC100 series at CES 2018-- line of NMVe M.2 SSDs for the retail, system integrator and channel markets aimed at mainstream gamer and system builder customers.

The SSD line features state-of-the-art Toshiba 64-layer 3-bit-per-cell TLC (triple-level cell) BiCS flash and an in-house developed controller. Also included is Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology delivering up to 1620MB/s and 1130MB/s in sequential read/write transfer rates and up to 160000 and 120000 random read/write IOPS, without need for onboard DRAM.

The result, Toshiba promises, is performance sitting in the "sweet spot" between SATA 6Gbps and enthusiast-grade NVMe SSDs. Power efficiency is another feature, making the SSD ideal for mobile users.

The outlook for the SSD industry remains "strong," IDC reports-- global SSD unit shipments are set to increase at a CAGR of 15.1% over the 2016-2021 forecast period, while revenues grow at a 14.8% CAGR to reach $33.6 billion by 2021.

The drivers behind such a forecast are the great product availability and improved pricing dynamics as the industry moves to 3D NAND flash. The analyst says current NAND supply constraints will diminish in 2018, bringing about further price erosion. In turn, lower SSD pricing drives greater SSD adoption in PCs and other client devices.

As a result, 2016-2021 SSD shipments in the PC and CE markets are forecast to grow at a CAGR of 15.8%. Enterprise SSD demand should also remain strong throughout the period, as customers turn to flash-optimised systems for both traditional storage and server-attached solutions.

Following months of dispute Western Digital and Toshiba finally kiss and make up through an agreement to "strengthen and extend their relationship"-- specifically through a joint investment in the Fab 6 facility in Yokkaichi, Japan.

The legal dispute came about a year ago, after Toshiba decided to put its prized memory business (the Toshiba Memory Corporation, aka TMC) on sale following massive losses suffered by its nuclear power subsidiary. WD objected to the sale, claiming its consent was required due to its May 2016 acquisition of SanDisk, which included half of the Toshiba-SanDisk partnerships in NAND flash memory manufacture.

May 2017 saw WD start legal arbitration proceedings against Toshiba. In turn Toshiba filed a lawsuit against WD in Japanese courts, claiming unfair competition and mishandling of trade secrets. The situation between the two companies only got more bitter from that point, making things worse for a Toshiba eager for the capital the sale of TMC would bring.