Micron and Crucial Introduce Next-Generation SSD 

Micron Technology, Inc. today announced a new personal storage class, solid state drive (SSD), continuing a legacy of developing foundational memory technology into reliable, high-performance storage solutions. The M550 SSD is designed to meet the increasingly demanding needs of high-performance computing, ultrathin, and media/video applications. It is available today to consumers, businesses and system builders under the Crucial brand and to OEM customers under the Micron brand.

The M550 SSD offers 20 times higher performance than a traditional hard drive, while consuming significantly less power. It enables quick boot-up, speedy file and program access, near instant wake from sleep, as well as ultra-efficient power management for increased battery life. In fact, the M550 draws as little as 0.15 watts during normal operation.

The M550 design tightly integrates Micron NAND and firmware to deliver up to 95,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS). The drive's sequential speeds reach up to 550 MB/s for reads and 500 MB/s writes, which maxes out the capabilities of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface. To understand the benefits of upgrading to an SSD and see the dramatic performance gains compared to traditional hard drives, watch our video.

Advanced Feature Set

The M550 SSD incorporates a host of advanced features to provide users with a powerful computing experience:

• Best-in-Class Hardware Encryption: Keeps personal files and sensitive information secure in the event of device theft or loss.
• Device Sleep Low-Power Mode: Enables the drive to draw practically no power while in sleep mode and respond instantly when the laptop is opened.
• Data Protection: Employs onboard power-loss protection and advanced error recovery techniques to protect the integrity of stored data.
• Adaptive Thermal Management: Dynamically adjusts power consumption based on system temperature for ultra-small, thermally constrained systems.
• Reliability: Our proprietary RAIN technology provides built-in fail-over protection at the NAND level.

The M550 SSD is built start-to-finish by Micron, providing the comprehensive quality control that only a NAND Flash memory manufacturer can supply. With more than 35 years of technology leadership, Micron is one of the world's largest and most trusted Flash storage manufacturers. The new drive utilizes Micron's proven 20-nanometer (nm) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND Flash to achieve terabyte capacity on the 2.5-inch form factor. Watch this behind-the-scenes video to see how Micron designs and builds SSDs.

"Built on our years of storage expertise, the M550 SSD combines leading-edge performance with an advanced feature set to create a powerful computing experience," said Darren Thomas, vice president of Micron's storage business unit. "For consumers, the Crucial M550 SSD offers a reliable storage solution from a trustworthy brand. For OEM customers, the Micron M550 SSD offers a slim, lightweight form factor for ultrathin designs, and advanced features for media and video applications."

Micron's advanced NAND Flash technology provides more storage in a smaller footprint, making it possible to pack half a terabyte of storage onto an SSD module the size of a stick of gum (80mm x 22mm). This M.2 form factor, along with the mSATA form factor, are key designs for current and next-generation ultrathin computers, including Ultrabook devices, tablets and convertible PCs. Visit micron.com/ultrathin to see how Micron SSDs transform the ultrathin experience to meet the needs of the mobile computing market.