With Computex right around the corner and big announcements coming from persistent memory manufacturers, Toshiba has cut the line to begin shipping the new XS700 portable SSD ahead of the information flood. We spotted the new portable SSD drive on Toshiba's website two weeks ago when the company quietly eased it into the market. Since then, the XS700 went unnoticed until Toshiba Memory America's announcement.
The drive utilizes Toshiba's impressive 64-layer BiCS FLASH technology and marries it with a USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface that enables up to 550 MB/s sequential read and 500 MB/s sequential write performance. The website only lists a single capacity--240GB--at time of writing. We found the 240GB drive on Newegg today priced at $95 and covered with a 3-year warranty. Toshiba said the drive will also be available on Amazon.
"Engineered with the reliability and stability that are hallmarks of Toshiba SSDs, the XS700 is extremely rugged and has no moving parts – making it a highly durable and efficient way to safeguard data. The drive is covered in aluminum, is shock-proof and has been drop-test certified at a height of two meters. Other security-focused features include a utility that enables users to password-protect their drives and conduct maintenance, monitoring and additional tuning." - Toshiba Memory America
Like many new portable SSDs, the XS700 uses a compact design, measuring in at 2.95 x 3.74" and weighing 90g. Toshiba chose exFAT for the file system to maximize compatibility across devices, and to further round out the feature list, the company includes a software layer that allows users to password protect their data. Toshiba said the XS700 series is "starting" with the 240GB capacity drive, so more are likely to follow.
