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Modern laptop users demand SSDs for their laptops due to their inherently faster seek time and shock-proof nature.  With that in mind, Toshiba has recently announced a boost in its SSD and Flash Modules line-up, satisfying laptop and netbook users.

Toshiba said in a press release that it will be mass producing 256GB 2.5-inch SATA SSDs in Q4 2008.  The new Toshiba 256GB SSD boasts up to 120MBps reading speed and 70MBps writing speed, as expected from an SSD. Toshiba claims that the their new SSD sports an advanced Multi-level Cell (“MLC”) that improves overall read-write speed, performance, reliability and endurance. 

This move by Toshiba is a little bit slower than that of Samsung which announced the production of their own 256GB SSDs a few months back.  You should note that MLC SSDs are relatively cheaper compared to the more expensive SLC (Single-level Cell) SSDs.  This is due to the architecture of MLC SSDs which squeezes more bits into each cell, thereby lowering manufacturing cost.  Consequently, MLC SSDs may have inferior read-write speeds compared to SLC SSDs.  Regardless, MLC SSDs still surpasses the usual optical hard disks in many areas.

Apart from the new SSD, Toshiba is also reacting to the recent shift in consumers into the netbook market.  They will be rolling out small SSD Flash Modules supporting 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities in Q4 2008.

No pricing has been announced for both product line-ups.  However, we can expect the 256GB SSD to be rather reasonable as Toshiba has to compete with Samsung’s (which seems to have better read/write speeds).

Read [Toshiba Press Release] Via [CNET]