China release SSD the size of SIM card

The Chinese company Biwin announced the release of the first Mini SSD CL100, which was previously installed exclusively in portable devices, to the retail market. The appearance of the new product is reported by Videocardz. The format of the drive resembles a SIM card, its dimensions are 15 by 17 millimeters with a thickness of 1.4 millimeters, and the weight does not exceed one gram. The device complies with the IP68 standard, which provides resistance to dust and water, and also allows you to withstand a fall from a height of up to three meters.

The CL100 is connected via the PCIe 4.0 x2 interface using the NVMe 1.4 protocol. The claimed sequential read speed reaches 3700 megabytes per second, and writes up to 3400 megabytes per second. In China, the drive is offered in versions of 512 gigabytes, one terabyte and two terabytes. The estimated cost is $85, $155 and $311, respectively. Models with 512 gigabytes and one terabyte are already available in Chinese stores and on some international platforms.

Along with the Mini SSD, the company is also releasing the RD510 card reader. It supports USB4 with speeds of up to forty gigabits per second and is equipped with a built-in cooling fan. Biwin has not yet announced whether the Mini SSD standard will be open to other manufacturers, but the market expects the spread of the new format to continue at a rapid pace.