The SSD 310 series is based on MLC technology and comes in two capacities, 40GB and 80GB. The larger driver offers read/write speeds of up to 200/70MB, while the 40GB version delivers 170MB/s and 35MB/s.

This is rather impressive performance considering the size of the new drives. At 51x30x5mm they are roughly eight times smaller than regular 2.5-inch drives and they feature a mini-SATA connector. The tiny dimensions will allow manufacturers to incorporate them into a wide range of mobile devices, such as very thin netbooks and tablets and there is also an interesting expansion option.

The 40GB drive is priced at $99, while the 80GB version goes for $179.