PQI is a memory manufacturer with intentions to broaden its assortment with products beside the regular memory modules and already at the end of February this year we reported about how the manufacturer was working on a 64GB flash harddrive (SSD). Then it seemed like a 3.5″ model using the SATA interface and would appear during the second quarter of 2006. Since then Samsung has launched its 32GB SSD (Solid State Drive) with two portable units and first SSD unit on the market was a fact. PQI has no intentino of being worse and has now announced that it aims to ship its 64GB SATA flash disk in the USA, Europa, Japan and Kina in August. It has been able to shrink the drive down to the 2.5″ format, perhaps to be able to compete better with Samsung and its model.
The flash drive is expected to bring a transfer rate at about 32MB/s and could with it durability and low power consumption become an interesting alternative for consumers with a lot of money. The price is nothing to brag about, ~2000 dollar for 64GB of flash. Which means that both price and capacity is twice that of Samsung’s 32GB SSD. But as usual, it’s expensive to stay on top and we’re eagerly awaiting the first flash drives with humane prices.
