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Micron Launches M600 Client SSD for OEMs/SIs
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Micron Launches M600 Client SSD for OEMs/SIs

Micron/Crucial has been one of the go-to manufacturers for value client SSDs during the past couple of years, but the one thing that the company has lacked is a higher performing solution. The M600 that is being released today is Micron’s answer to the demand for a more high-end SSD with better performance. 

The M600 is positioned in the client segment above the M550, making it the highest-end drive that Micron offers for client workloads. Note that the M600 is a Micron-only product and is only available for OEMs and SIs, meaning there is not going to be a Crucial branded retail counterpart and you will not be seeing the M600 on the store shelves. Micron and Crucial have separated some parts of their product development because the needs of the OEM and retail markets are a bit different, so from now on the difference between Micron and Crucial SSDs will more than just the label. The engineering core should still be the same, though, and some of the features that are introduced in the M600 will find their way to Crucial branded SSDs too.

Micron M600 Specifications
Capacity 128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB
Controller Marvell 88SS9189
NAND Micron 128Gbit 16nm MLC
Form Factors 2.5″ 7mm, mSATA & M.2 2260/2280 2.5″ 7mm
Sequential Read 560MB/s 560MB/s 560MB/s 560MB/s
Sequential Write 400MB/s 510MB/s 510MB/s 510MB/s
4KB Random Read 90K IOPS 100K IOPS 100K IOPS 100K IOPS
4KB Random Write 88K IOPS 88K IOPS 88K IOPS 88K IOPS
Idle Power (DevSleep/Slumber) 2mW / 95mW 2mW / 100mW 2mW / 100mW 3mW / 100mW
Max Power 3.6W 4.4W 4.7W 5.2W
Encryption TCG Opal 2.0 & eDrive
Endurance 100TB 200TB 300TB 400TB
Warranty Three years

The M600 is available in four form factors: 2.5″ 7mm, mSATA and both 2260 and 2280 flavors of M.2. The 2260 is double-sided, whereas the 2280 is single-sided, which explains why both max out at 512GB and the 1TB model is only available as a 2.5″ 7mm drive.

The controller remains unchanged from the M550, but the M600 switches to Micron’s latest 128Gbit 16nm NAND like the MX100 did a few months ago. Despite the same hardware as the MX100 has, the M600 is a different product. The most important new feature in the M600 is what Micron calls Dynamic Write Acceleration.

Dynamic Write Acceleration (DWA) is Micron’s implementation of a pseudo-SLC cache. Instead of being static with a predetermined amount of NAND set in SLC mode, DWA is dynamic and can switch between SLC and MLC on the fly. In other words, an empty SSD will run nearly all of its NAND in SLC mode to increase performance and the size of the SLC cache decreases as the drive is filled. At 95% full, most of the NAND will now be running in MLC to meet the advertised user capacity, but the size of the SLC cache is still comparable to competitors’ static SLC caches. DWA is transparent to the user so the shown capacity of the drive will not change — the drive itself manages the change between SLC and MLC in the background.

For small drives the increased capacity and dynamic nature of the SLC cache can be beneficial. With only 128GB or 256GB of NAND and with each die being 16GB, the lower program and read latencies of pseudo-SLC will make a big difference to especially write performance. As a result even the 128GB model achieves  peak speeds of 410MB/s sequential write and 88K random write IOPS. The 512GB and 1TB 2.5″ models do not use DWA at all because they have enough NAND to provide the same performance without the need for an SLC cache, but all mSATA and M.2 models utilize DWA (including the 512GB ones).

Aside from the increased performance, the benefit of the pseudo-SLC cache is increased endurance. The 128GB model is rated at 100TB, which is a fair increase over the 72TB rating that Micron’s previous drives have had. The rating also scales linearly with capacity now, so the 1TB is good for up to 400TB. Keep in mind that the M600 is only validated for typical client usage, which allows for higher ratings because the write amplification will be lower due to a lighter workload.

In addition the M600 features the usual Micron/Crucial feature set. There is DevSleep, TCG Opal and eDrive support as well as power loss protection. The warranty is three years similar to Micron’s other client SSDs.

The M600 is available now (though only for OEMs/SIs) and we already have samples, but there is a separate embargo for the reviews, so look out for the review in the next couple of weeks.

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Rosewill Apollo RK-9100 & RGB80 Mechanical Keyboards Capsule Review

Today we’re looking at the two latest mechanical keyboards from Rosewill, the Apollo RK-9100 and the ten-keyless RGB80. Each targets a different group of users, but both have been designed with value in mind. Can they hold their own against the relentless competition? We’ll find out in this review.

Adobe Brings EchoSign App to Android
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Adobe Brings EchoSign App to Android

EchoSign is a system for managing electronic signatures on agreements, contracts, and other documents that can be transmitted electronically. The product was acquired by Adobe in 2011 to supplement their existing document services. The service allows consumers and businesses to obtain legally binding e-signatures in situations where distance or timing makes signing an agreement on an actual piece of paper impractical. With the rise of mobile devices in the workplace, including tablets, it would make sense for Adobe to offer an EchoSign app for mobile operating systems in addition to their web interface. Until now, Adobe has only offered an iOS application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Today Adobe announced the launch of their EchoSign application for Android.

The layout of the app is essentially the same as its iOS counterpart, but with a design that goes along with Android design conventions rather than iOS ones. You can see above how documents can be sent to be signed by a single person or multiple users. The signing can be done right on a device’s touchscreen.

The application also integrates with Google Drive, Box, Sharepoint, Saleforce, Evernote, and of course, Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. This covers most of the cloud storage services for documents in use today, although it’s notable that Dropbox is missing from the list. While this app isn’t going to do much for ordinary consumers, for small businesses and large corporations alike it may make the lives of Android users in the corporate world easier. If you are someone who has to use EchoSign for your job or your business, you can download the Android version from Google Play here.

NVIDIA Opens Pre-Orders For The SHIELD Tablet With LTE and 32GB Of Storage
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NVIDIA Opens Pre-Orders For The SHIELD Tablet With LTE and 32GB Of Storage

NVIDIA’s SHIELD Tablet arrived earlier this year and it was one of the first devices to use NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 platform with 4 Cortex A15 cores and a single SMX GPU based on NVIDIA’s Kepler architecture. It was a major departure from NVIDIA’s previous mobile GPU designs, and it came with a level of GPU performance that was unheard of in an ARM tablet. For the whole story you can take a look at the SHIELD Tablet review. What you may notice on the first page is the listing of a version with LTE support and 32GB of storage. At launch, the SHIELD Tablet was only available in its 16GB WiFi configuration. Today NVIDIA is opening pre-orders for the that model with 32GB of storage and LTE.

At $399, the SHIELD Tablet with LTE and 32GB of storage is $100 more expensive than the base model. This pricing is roughly in line with the cost of upgrades to other popular Android tablets like the Nexus 7, and much less expensive than upgrading an iPad to a 32GB model with LTE. The increased amount of storage and the addition of LTE are packaged together with NVIDIA’s pricing; you can’t just get one upgrade or the other.

In addition to the new model of the SHIELD Tablet, NVIDIA is announcing three new games optimized for Tegra K1 that are coming soon. The first is Beach Buggy Racing which is a kart racing game that is a sequel to Beach Buggy Blitz. The second is BombSquad which features various mini-games like capture the flag and hockey, with the addition of explosive weapons to blow up the other players. The last new title is Broadsword: Age of Chivalry which is a turn-based strategy game where the player assumes the role of the French or the British and builds their empire.

Customers in the United States on AT&T can also receive a special offer when buying the SHIELD Tablet with LTE. When activating it on a qualifying AT&T plan with a 2 year agreement, users will receive a $100 bill credit which effectively covers the cost of upgrading from the WiFi only model.

The SHIELD tablet with LTE and 32GB of storage can be pre-ordered now and it will ship on September 30th in the United States and Europe. Pre-orders can be made at Nvidia’s official SHIELD website as well as retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, GameStop, Micro Center, Newegg, and Tiger Direct. Information about where to buy in a specific region can be found in the “Where to Buy” section on NVIDIA’s website.

Adobe Brings EchoSign App to Android
  • Comments are Closed

Adobe Brings EchoSign App to Android

EchoSign is a system for managing electronic signatures on agreements, contracts, and other documents that can be transmitted electronically. The product was acquired by Adobe in 2011 to supplement their existing document services. The service allows consumers and businesses to obtain legally binding e-signatures in situations where distance or timing makes signing an agreement on an actual piece of paper impractical. With the rise of mobile devices in the workplace, including tablets, it would make sense for Adobe to offer an EchoSign app for mobile operating systems in addition to their web interface. Until now, Adobe has only offered an iOS application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Today Adobe announced the launch of their EchoSign application for Android.

The layout of the app is essentially the same as its iOS counterpart, but with a design that goes along with Android design conventions rather than iOS ones. You can see above how documents can be sent to be signed by a single person or multiple users. The signing can be done right on a device’s touchscreen.

The application also integrates with Google Drive, Box, Sharepoint, Saleforce, Evernote, and of course, Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. This covers most of the cloud storage services for documents in use today, although it’s notable that Dropbox is missing from the list. While this app isn’t going to do much for ordinary consumers, for small businesses and large corporations alike it may make the lives of Android users in the corporate world easier. If you are someone who has to use EchoSign for your job or your business, you can download the Android version from Google Play here.