Western Digital launches the Black2 dual drive-- an industry first according to the company since it "fuses" a 2.5-inch 120GB SSD with a 1TB HDD to create a dual-drive solution.

Designed for both consumers and service providers wanting to upgrade notebooks, small form factor desktops and single-slot/all-in-one PCs, the Black2 connects via single cable and fits standard 9.5mm slots.

The drive offloads data usage from the SSD to the HDD, increasing SSD endurance and life while providing users with greater data control. It makes no use of caching algorithms and benefits from SATA 6Gb/sec speeds.

The SD Association announces a high-performance option and symbol for SD cards supporting 4K resolution video-- the Ultra High Speed (UHS) Class 3 (U3) symbol will indicate cards capable of recording 4K video.

The classification will apply on SDXC (UHS-1 and UHS-II) and SDHC (UHS-I and UHS-II) memory cards and devices.

According to the association UHS Speed Class 3 defines minimum write speeds at 30Mbps to ensure high-quality video recording and playback from high-performance cameras and camcorders.

UHS Speed Class 3 devices will remain backwards compatible with existing SD memory cards.

Toshiba America Electronic Components (TAEC) launches an e-MMC compliant flash memory module range, using NAND chips fabricated via second generation 19nm technology.

The modules are designed for a wide variety of consumer applications, including smartphones, tablets and video cameras. All are compliant with JEDEC e-MMC version 5.0, achieve high read/write performance via HS400 interface standard and carry 64-Gigabit (equivalent to 8GB) 19mm NAND flash.

The package measures all of 11.5 x 13 x 1.0mm.

University of Twente MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology researcher Jeroen de Vries claims he has a means of storing data for long periods of time-- an optical information carrier possibly capable of outliving the human race.

Current HDDs have a life of roughly 10 years. CDs and DVDs are also relatively short-lived, as are paper, tape, clay and stone if one keeps immense scales of time in mind. As de Vrier puts it, "One scenario is that a disaster has devastated the earth and society must rebuild the world. Another scenario could be that we create a kind of legacy for future intelligent life that evolves on Earth or comes from other worlds. You must then think about archival storage of between one million and one billion years."

The storage medium de Vriers proposes consists of a tungsten wafer encapsulated in silicon nitride, a material able to withstand "extreme" temperatures. The tungsten is etched with a QR code made out of multiple, smaller QR codes, each storing different information.

Toshiba announces the MQ02ABF-series 2.5-inch/7mm laptop HDD, the first dual-platter drive in the 7mm form factor from the company with either 750GB or 1TB of storage.

The drives feature 5400rpm spindle speeds, two platters, four heads and SATA 6Gb/s interface inside a rigid chassis armed with dual-stage head positioning technologies.

According to the company the drives reach average seek times of up to 12ms.

Connected Data announces what it claims is a simple means for customers to own an unlimited, private cloud-- the Transporter Sync, a small device handling the syncing, access, protection and sharing of any files.

The Transporter Sync acts as a companion to any standard external HDD (so long it is less than 4TB in size), connecting to them via USB. Once connected it creates a private cloud, allowing the user to in turn synchronise files on any number of PCs, tablets or smartphones via iOS and Android apps.

"With Transporter Sync, we provide an affordable and simple way for [customers] to protect, share and access what matters most, with total privacy, a low one-time price and no hidden monthly fees," the company states.

The LaCie Porsche Design storage device portfolio gets an ultra-portable addition-- the Porsche Design USB key, featuring USB 3.0 connectivity and up to 32GB of storage space.

As well as a minimalist steel construction and scratch-resistant connectors the USB key promises data transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s, AES 256-bit encryption and password protection.

For further accessibility LaCie also adds 1 year of free Wuala cloud storage.

Customers wanting to upgrade their PC storage with an SSD option can now get Q Series Pro-- a Toshiba upgrade kit designed for user-upgradeable laptops available in 3 different capacities.

Compatible with ultrabooks and standard-size laptops with a 9.5mm drive bays (via included mounting spacer), the SATA 3.0 drives feature 554MB/s average sequential read speeds and 512MB/s average sequential write speeds.