Future Seagate SSDs Will Use ''Memory Modem''
Cheaper SSDs may be headed our way thanks to a deal between Seagate and DensBits.
Seagate said on Monday that it has teamed up with DensBits Technologies to develop low-cost, high-performance SSDs for the consumer and enterprise markets. Seagate also said it made an undisclosed equity investment in DensBits.
Under the new agreement, DensBits’ Memory Modem controller technology will be integrated with Seagate’s various storage technologies to power a wide range of consumer and enterprise applications including 3 bits/cell (TLC) 1X-nm Flash-based consumer-grade SSDs, and 2 bits/cell (MLC) 1X-nm Flash-based enterprise-grade SSDs.
Based in Israel, DensBits' Memory Modem technology enables reliable data transfers to cheaper NAND flash storage chips. Features include error-correction and data management at the controller layer for smooth and quick data transfers. The error-correction aspect includes Error Correction Code (ECC) that's also used in various DRAM modules and microprocessors.
"This is yet another testament to our technology leadership, and we strongly believe that the coupling between DensBits’ unique Memory Modemcontroller technology and Seagate’s exceptional storage capabilities across the board could truly disrupt the industry," said Ilan Hen, DensBits’ Chairman and CEO.
Although the prices of SSDs are dropping rapidly, the average price per gigabyte is still considerably higher than platter-based HDDs. Seagate's move to use the Memory Modem controller with cheaper NAND flash storage chips should help make SSDs look more appealing to the general consumer, and push competitors into doing the same. This will be important as SSDs become standard key components in mobile devices like tablets and Ultrabooks.
"For the last 30 years, Seagate has delivered technology and product innovation to become the global leader in storage solutions, from high-end enterprise drives to solid-state hybrid drives," added Rocky Pimentel, Seagate chief sales and marketing officer. "Seagate is excited to be working with the talented DensBits team and believes we have a significant opportunity with our new strategic relationship to extend our leadership into the SSD market."
The deal also shows that Seagate, like its competitors, is ramping up its investment in SSD technology. This company's latest investment follows the purchase of Samsung's hard drive business last year which cost the company a hefty $1.4 billion USD.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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jacobdrj Seagate is not my favorite company, but I don't despise them either. Them investing in their own approach to SSD development is excellent for the market, just like Samsung going their own way, with Marvell, Intel, Sandforce and OCZ/Indilinx...Reply
Kind of sad it took them this long to get their feet wet... -
djscribbles More about the technology:Reply
http://www.densbits.com/Data/Upl/UFCK/DensBitsTechnologyOverview.pdf
Memory Modem is a really strange name, it doesn't exactly make me think "cutting-edge", but it seems like their claimed results are quite good. Enabling TLC cells will reduce cost quite a bit by itself. -
alidan jacobdrjSeagate is not my favorite company, but I don't despise them either. Them investing in their own approach to SSD development is excellent for the market, just like Samsung going their own way, with Marvell, Intel, Sandforce and OCZ/Indilinx... Kind of sad it took them this long to get their feet wet...Reply
i dont like seagate drives, after after having 4 fail and being on my 5th and 6th replacement drives, i have only 1 thing to say, their warranties kick ass, at least the one im on. as for the drives, a secondary backup is a must.
as for the drives... i dont need them to be more than 100mb read and write, so long as io operations are still high and the seek time is insanely low, 1ms or less, i would buy them. i have a use for a low speed storage if the seek time is fast. -
goodguy713 Reply
with that kind of reliability track record i would would never buy a seagate drive .. western digital is my all time favorite next to hitachi .. had both drives well over 3 years and neither of them have had any issues just saying .. samsung was one of the best drives you could get..
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jimmysmitty goodguy713with that kind of reliability track record i would would never buy a seagate drive .. western digital is my all time favorite next to hitachi .. had both drives well over 3 years and neither of them have had any issues just saying .. samsung was one of the best drives you could get..Reply
I just got rid of two Seagate 120GB Barracudas that were 8 years old and still good per every diag I could run on them.
Have two 5 year old 500GB Seagates in my home machine with no issues at all.
I don't think Seagate is as bad as everyone makes them out to be, there are still worse. -
ProDigit10 good to get prices down on netbooks and tablets!Reply
Good enough for netbooks, their cpu can only handle so much anyway! -
megiv fatality1515"Based in Israel..." Good to know! I will boycott this drive.. Israel receives from the US $3.09 billion a year (or an average of $8.5 million a day) in aid.. Israel is not poor, and doesn't need this money.. Yet the Jewish lobby makes a wonderful job milking billions out of Americans each year, for many decades.. Greedy scumbags! They will not get a penny out of me...Earth to fatality1515 - The US gives 3.09 billion $ "Voucher". Israel must spend this money to purchase from US factories. Do you really think that its all about some lobby? that kind of anti semi mixed with ignorance.Reply
I got a better idea - lets talk about the addiction to fossil fuel and the Arab lobby, shall we?