Toshiba outs and touts mSata SSDs

Dimm-style drives for MacBook Air etc

Toshiba has introduced a trio of micro Sata (mSata) solid-state drives of the type Apple has adopted for the new MacBook Air.

Available in capacities of 64GB, 128Gb and 256GB, the 10g-weight drives - which, at first glance, look a lot like memory Dimms - "are ideally suited for integration into space-sensitive products, including mini-mobile and netbook PCs", said Tosh.

They're called the Blade X-gale range, and allthree cards deliver maximum sequential read and write speeds of 200MB/s and 180MB/s, respectively. They support 3Gb/s Sata II.

Given Apple's lead, we can expect to see more of this form-factor in future netbooks and sub-notebooks.

There's no word yet on how much Toshiba's drives - which will be handy for Air owners looking for upgrades - will cost when sold to individuals. ®

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