Packaging

Intel has always taken an OEM approach to it's packaging.  They always seem to come in these plain cardboard boxes.  I prefer this approach.  Does anyone really need a nice pretty box?  The smaller size and lack of glamor ultimately leads to lower costs, leading to greater savings for the end user.  Since the box will likely go into the trash and the SSD will likely go into your machine, Intel is now including a spiffy "My SSD Rocks!" sticker.  Unlike how other sticker mods might work, this one actually means your PC is going faster than normal.

Internals

Controller: Intel PC29AS21BA0 F0N2881.1 0907.

Flash: Intel 29F16B08JAMDI 092217 (16GB Flash).

Ram: Micron 48LC16M16A2 (32MB SDRAM).

Specifications

Going by the available data sheets, the G2 is very similar to the G1, but there are some improvements, on paper at least:

The latency improvements are nice, but X25's were already very speedy in that area.  The real significance here is the pricing.  *Starting* prices for these drives will be less than half that of the previous generation.  As long as the distributors can stick close to these figures, the G2 X25-M will be cheaper than nearly every other performance SSD currently on the market.