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Western Digital buys solid state drive maker
TechSpot NewsAfter initially playing a bit of a wait and see game with solid state drives, suggesting an eventual entry in the low-end segment, Western Digital is now buying its way into the market by announcing the acquisition of SiliconSystems today. The $65 million all-cash deal sees the embedded systems specialist become Western Digital's solid-state storage business unit, and the expansion of the vendor’s business to include the network-communications, industrial, embedded-computing, medical, military and aerospace markets.
The company has plans beyond embedded products, of course. With access to SiliconSystems’ technology, which already includes SATA and IDE drives with 2.5 and 1.8-inch form factors, Western Digital says it is prepping SSDs for the netbook, client and enterprise markets. Integration into WD begins immediately, according to the official press release, so let’s hope to see some consumer oriented drives sooner rather than later.