Press

Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, announced today that by expanding its Mercury brand SSD product line for Mac- and PC-compatible notebook and desktop computers, lowering retail prices by up to 30 percent and maintaining its commitment to service and support programs, its overall Solid State Drive line sales have nearly doubled over the past six months.

First to Market with Unique Solutions

Much of OWC's success in the SSD market is the result of innovative product development. The Aura® Pro SSD is the only aftermarket solution for 2012 Apple® MacBook® Air machines. To complement their first-to-market Aura models for 2010 and 2011 MacBook Air machines, OWC introduced Envoy™, the only external enclosure for use with the MacBook Air factory flash module. And for desktop power users, OWC introduced the Mercury Accelsior™, the industry's first fully supported PCIe SSD card that is both Mac- and PC-bootable. By utilizing the fastest data interface available in a Mac Pro or PC—the PCIe slot—the Mercury Accelsior offers nearly 5x the performance vs. a standard hard drive with data throughput speeds of up to 820MB/s.

A Complete SSD Line for All Types of Users

OWC's extensive Mercury™ line of SSDs includes models for current and legacy notebooks and ultrabooks, and even demanding enterprise environments. Designed for consumers who desire optimum performance and reliability, OWC Mercury brand SSDs with SandForce® DuraClass™ technology provide up to 100x higher data protection than a standard SSD. By combining the highest level of Error Correction Code (ECC), SandForce RAISE™ (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology and seven percent over provisioning, OWC is able to deliver solid state devices that provide RAID-like data protection and reliability without loss of transfer speed due to parity.

The benefit of all this built-in technology for the typical computer user is OWC SSDs can help them get the maximum performance from their multiprocessor-based systems and powerful graphics cards to extend the use life of existing computers. And this is all achieved with a more reliable computing experience than hard disk drives as SSDs have no moving parts to fail.

Optimizes Performance, Reduces Power Consumption of Existing Systems

Electronista.com recently noted that while Apple's "new and improved" SSDs can deliver read speeds of 461MB per second and write speeds of 364MB per second, several OWC high-performance SSDs are rated at up to 500MB/s. Expert SSD industry source TheSSDReview.com pointed out that SSDs that incorporate LSI SandForce Driven™ technology offer "excellent performance," achieving over 500MB/s and that these SSDs "excel in highly compressible data testing, which is the bread and butter of typical consumer use."

Larry O'Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing, emphasized that the company has seen a significant increase in SSD sales across the board as more consumers learn about how an SSD can dramatically improve the performance of their current machine that can rival or exceed the latest hardware at a fraction of the cost. "Today, people expect their technology to boot-up and launch applications without waiting" he explained. "There's just no substitute for using an SSD to deliver the same instant response they get with their smartphones and tablets. Our SSD family runs circles around hard disk drives while using a fraction of the power, running near silently, and barely generating any heat."

Jim Handy, President of Objective Analysis, said flash manufacturers have gotten their production volumes back in balance with demand and he expects to see flash technology get back to a growth mode. "Because of the unique benefits and growing list of applications for flash technologies, we expect sales to increase to more than $47 billion or 441 Exabytes (EB)," said Handy. "At least 54 percent or 204EB will be used in SSDs for computer systems," he added.

With the rapid expansion of its SSD line for a full range of Mac- and PC-compatible computer systems, OWC has seen demand more than double since early 2012 and this has enabled the company to offer prices approaching those of hard drives. To keep the interest in SSD growing, OWC has also expanded its customer value proposition.

OWC's Customer Value Proposition Guarantees:

• Only Tier 1 NAND flash will be used for highest reliability and long-term performance.
  
  
• A level of manufacturing control not typically found in other brands as OWC is the only firm with volume SSD design and production in the US.
  
  
• A 30-day risk-free 'test drive' of an OWC SSD.
  
  
• Long-term ownership satisfaction as OWC SSDs are backed by the industry's longest warranties...up to seven years.
  
  
• Free 24/7 U.S.-based support during the lifetime of product ownership.

Industry's Most Comprehensive SSD Line

The new Mercury Aura Pro for 2012 MacBook Air models enhance OWC's existing line of performance-leading, world record-breaking 3G (3Gb/s) and 6G (6Gb/s) Mercury SSDs. OWC offers SSDs for nearly every Mac and PC produced over the past decade in capacities from 30GB to 1TB with prices starting from $49.99. For more information on the complete OWC Mercury SSD line, including expert benchmark reviews, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/. For more information on the OWC catalog of over 2,900 performance upgrades and accessories, or for reseller inquires, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/