PCPer has gone quite a while without delving into optical storage, and it’s high time we start taking a crack at it.  We’ll kick it off with Plextor’s announcement at CES – SSD’s!.  Plextor will be producing drives based on the Marvell chipset.  While we haven’t seen production models of this new controller in our lab as of yet, we should have something cooking shortly.  The new Plextor units are expected to start shipping in this quarter (Q1 2010) in capacities of 64 and 128GB.

CES 2010: Plextor Launches SSDs and New 24x External Writer with eSATA Dual Interface - Storage 3

Also announced are a new line of external CD/DVD writers that sport USB 2.0 as well as eSATA connectability.  The newest model should perform similarly to their existing 24X burner, but with the added eSATA port at the rear.  This should help get users by until USB 3.0 gains further adoption.
CES 2010: Plextor Launches SSDs and New 24x External Writer with eSATA Dual Interface - Storage 4

We expect the PX-880UE to look identical to the existing PX-880U.
CES 2010: Plextor Launches SSDs and New 24x External Writer with eSATA Dual Interface

Plextor’s first line of solid-state drives and the new PX-880UE external eSATA writer announced at CES

(Las Vegas, NV Mirage Suite – January 6, 2010) – Plextor LLC (www.plextor.com), a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media equipment, announces its first line of solid-state drives (SSDs), as well as the new PX-880UE 24X external eSATA writer, at CES. Plextor will be located in the Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) suite in the Mirage.

Plextor introduces its first generation of SSDs, using non-volatile NAND Flash memory as the storage medium. The new SSDs, which utilize Marvell controller chipsets, deliver faster speeds for system boot-up, application launch and file transfer, lower power consumption and longer battery life, among other benefits.  They will be available as 64GB or 128GB in the first quarter of 2010.

Equipped with Plextor’s unique Wear Leveling algorithm, Plextor SSDs can prevent degradation of drive performance and prolong product life. Based on PCMark and SYSMark benchmark tests, Plextor SSDs were the only drive that maintained the same level of performance regardless of whether or not the drives were clean or dirty.

“Plextor has a lot of new items in the works, and we’re excited to announce our first line of SSDs to meet consumers’ demand for low power consumption, enhanced performance and reliability,” said Christine Hsing, Marketing Manager at PLDS. “The new eSATA drive is a great move forward for us as well – it further expands consumers’ options by providing both a SATA and a USB 2.0 connection.”

The new PX-880UE is a 24X external DVD/CD writer which offers both an eSATA and USB 2.0 dual connection for faster speed, performance and versatility. The drive also features Plextor’s own PlexERASE and PlexUTILITIES, as well as LightScribe for quick and simple disc labeling.

The recently-released 12X internal Blu-ray writer, the PX-B940SA, is also available for demonstration in the suite. The drive provides users with a convenient solution for Blu-ray playback, while simultaneously offering increased storage capacity with BD writing capabilities.  Bundled with CyberLink’s TrueTheater™ HD technology, consumers can easily boost DVD video and audio quality to achieve HD-like results and smoother playback.

For more information on Plextor and its products, please visit www.plextor.com.