Toshiba launches a line of retail SSDs featuring 3D NAND technology-- the TR200, with 3 drives available in 240, 480 and 960GB capacities, all in a standard 2.5-inch form factor.

The TR200 SSDs carry 3rd generation 64-layer BiCS 3D flash, and offer 6Gbps connectivity via SATA interface. Sequential read/write speeds clock at 555 and 525MB/s respectively, while random read/write performance reaches up to 80000 and 87000 IOPS. In addition the drives also promise low power consumption of 1.6W, which Toshiba claims is a 60% reduction compared to rival solutions.

However the drives do not include specific DRAM for buffering duties, meaning there is no drive encryption. What Toshiba does include is a roster of OCZ drive utilities, allowing customers to check on vitals and secure-erase if required.

Western Digital presents industrial- and automotive-grade memory cards-- the SanDisk Industrial and SanDisk Automotive, aimed at specialised applications.

Aimed at industrial scenarios such as surveillance cameras, drones, factory automation and networking equipment, the Industrial and Automotive SD and microSD cards withstand temperatures ranging from -40- to 85-degrees Celsius. They also offer fast sequential read and write speeds of 50/80MB/s to handle high bit-rate video streaming applications.

Toshiba announces an 8TB version of the X300-- an internal 3.5-inch SATA HDD aimed at gamer and professional customers featuring 7200RPM performance and a 128MB cache.

According to the company the 8TB HDD features cache technology in the shape of a self-contained cache algorithm with on-board buffer management. It optimises cache allocation during read/write to provide high-level performance in real time. The 128MB cache ensures fast data access, while SATA connectivity provides 6Gbit/s bandwidth.

In addition, high-precision head positioning supported by advanced format technology (physical 4KB sector) and dual-stage actuator technology deliver high storage density and capacity.

Western Digital announces a new version of the My Cloud Home wireless backup devices, featuring a sleeker design, simpler setup and an improved app.

The first and most apparent addition to the My Cloud Home devices is the design-- a more angular, two-tone affair with a textured bottom half. This makes them very different from the more rounded "book" style of the previous versions. Also getting a redesign is the companion app, now named My Cloud Home (from just My Cloud).

Western Digital launches what it says is its highest-capacity storage system yet-- the My Book Duo, a desktop RAID system featuring capacity reaching up to 20TB.

The My Book Duo connects to PCs via USB 3.1, and provides performance reaching up to 360MB/s sequential read via USB-C port. For compatibility with older machines and connection of additional accessories (including drones, action cameras, card readers, keyboards, mice, USB drives or phones) it also features with two USB 3.0 Type-A ports.

WD adds the firmware is RAID-optimised, making it "perfect" for two-disk array systems with drive operation auto management, helping ensure read/write cycle data integrity. Security is also included in the shape of password protection and 256-bit AES hardware encryption with built-in WD Security software.

Samsung announces a successor to the Portable SSD T3-- the Portable SSD T5, with transfer speeds leveraging on the USB 3.1 gent 2 interface to reach up to 540 MBps.

The T5 is a small device measuring around the size of a business card. It weighs 51g, offers up to 2TB capacity and includes AES 256-bit hardware encryption to ensure the protection of sensitive data. Also included is Dynamic Thermal Guard Protection technology, which monitors and manages operating temperature in order to reduce overheating.

Samsung announces the next generation of 3D vertical NAND memory technology-- including the first 1-Terabit (Tb) V-NAND chip and a NGSFF (Next Generation Small Form Factor) SSD.

As the name suggests, V-NAND stacks memory cells on top of each other, allowing for more density than equivalents built on a single, 2D plane. The result also promises more speed and reliability, as well as less chance of breakdowns. The technology finds applications anywhere from smartphones to datacentres, and has already found its way in a consumer product, specifically 256 gigabit consumer SSDs.

The aforementioned 1Tb V-NAND chip was first mentioned back in 2013, during the unveiling of the technology itself. It launches next year, and will enable the creation of 2TB of memory on a single V-NAND package stacking 16 1Tb dies, making what Samsung claims is "one of the most important memory advances of the past decade."

How are customers to deal with multiple types of USB port? Silicon Power might have a solution with the Mobile C50, a flash drive featuring 3 USB connectors, Type-A, Micro-B and Type-C.

The standard Type-A connector with one side up is found at one end. Users can lift up the Type-A connector to reveal the Micro-B connector for older phones and tablets. On the other end, hidden under an elastic black cap, is the Type-C connector for modern devices.

The Mobile C50 ships with a couple of free tools-- SP Widget for PCs and SP File Explorer for devices with Type-C ports and Android. Also available from Silicon Power is Recuva File Recovery for the retreival of deleted files.