14 DAY TRIAL // Solid state storage devices are usually found as 2.5-inch SSDs, flash drives and memory cards, but the latest years have seen a steady rise in other form factors. Flash storage and DRAM memory solution provider ATP intends to loose the shackles a bit more.
Perhaps that idiom is not altogether fitting, since storage devices other than those three main types haven't exactly been imprisoned or suppressed. Instead, the technology behind them is just really young.
On the other hand, customer perception and lack of familiarity have definitely been stifling the progress of M.2, mSATA and slimSATA storage devices.
ATP intends to release a new wave of them, which could suggest that other corporations on the market will be doing the same. Especially considering the Micron-Seagate alliance that just got signed.
Digression aside, ATP will release a whole collection of new solid state drives by the end of the month (February 2015).
The new ATP Flash products
First off, there will be a series of industrial-grade SATAIII M.2 type 2242 and 2260 M.2 solid state drives.
The 42 and 60 in the names indicate the length of the drives in millimeters. There are two M.2 card sizes, and ATP will launch drives for both.
The shorter M.2 drives may have a lower capacity limit, but they will be good for media players and HTPCs with low-height cases. Also, they will be a better fit for laptops and tablets.
Not that the company will try to court those markets, at least not at first. Instead, it is aiming for embedded systems, like the ones used for point-of-sale terminals (such as in malls) and digital signage.
Nevertheless, they will have all the features one would expect from a storage device (ECC checking, S.M.A.R.T monitor, TRIM and Advanced Wear-Leveling), as well as Power Cycling Protection (PowerProtector) and Data Integrity Protection (AutoRefresh), so ATP could easily release a consumer off-shot eventually.
In addition to M.2 drives, the company is preparing slimSATA and mSATA storage devices, all to be launched at the same time.
Availability
ATP intends to release its NAND-Flash based storage products at the upcoming Embedded World 2015 event, set to take place at the Messe Nuremberg International Center Germany from February 24 to February 26.