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Plextor unveils various SSD-based products at CES 2013

Plextor shows off a series of new solid-state storage products ranging from eMMC and mSATA to enterprise-standard SSDs.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews
CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
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Dong Ngo
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Plextor SSDs being showcased at CES 2013.
Plextor SSDs being showcased at CES 2013. Dong Ngo/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Plextor has more news in regard to its SSD development to share at CES 2013, in addition to introducing the M5 Pro Xtreme drive.

The storage vendor unveiled a few new solid-state storage devices today, including the M5M mSATA SSD, a Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) SSD, and its new embedded multimedia card (eMCC).

The M5M mSATA is a 6Gbps SSD. The new drive has no outer casing and is just one-eighth the size of a standard 2.5-inch drive, designed especially for ultrabooks with limited space. It features the new Marvell 88SS9187 controller, and Toshiba's new 19nm Toggle NAND. The drive comes in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities, with all of them offering sequential read speeds of up to 540 MBps. The sequential write speeds, however, are 160 MBps, 320 MBps, and 430 MBps respectively. The drive's mean time between failures is rated at 2.4 million hours, and it will be available during the first quarter of the year.

The new M5M mSATA SSDs from Plextor.
The new M5M mSATA SSDs from Plextor. Dong Ngo/CNET

As the name suggests, the NGFF SSD has a new shape and size; it's even smaller than the mSATA. With typical measurements of just 51x30x5mm (about the size of a small thumbdrive, but thinner), it's designed for use in smartphones and mobile devices. The drive is available in 128GB and 256GB capacities with sequential read and write speeds of 700MBps and 550MBps, respectively. The new NGFF SSD will also be available in the first quarter.

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And finally, the eMMC is just about the size of a small fingernail. The drive is available only in embedded applications such as digital cameras, smartphones, and tablets. According to Plextor, an eMMC is a standardized method for bundling the controller into the flash die, and now includes features such as secure erase, TRIM, and high-priority interrupt. It offers up to 128GB of storage space with high performance. Expect devices with the new Plextor eMMC in the second quarter of the year.

Plextor's new tiny eMMC storage devices for embedded application.
Plextor's new tiny eMMC storage devices for embedded applications. Dong Ngo/CNET

On top of this, Plextor also showed off its 2.5-inch standard enterprise SSDs that use Single Level Cell (SLC) NAND and Multiple Level Cell (MLC) NAND. Plextor says the SLC drive focuses on high endurance to offer extreme reliability. The MLC drive features power protection that guards against data loss in case of power outages, and is also capable of withstanding an extreme range of temperatures. The new enterprise SSDs are available now.