PhotoFast has announced a slick and (according to rumors, inexpensive) new line of SSDs soon to be released, code-named the G-Monster2 SFV1. Sizes are slated to be 50GB, 100GB, 200GB and 400GB, and these 2.5-inch drives feature built-in NAND memory, a SATA 3.0 interface for blazing speed, an operating life of over 1 million hours and is capable of read/write speeds of up to 260/160 MB per second, respectively.

The company has stated it will start shipping next month for prices to be announced, but expect it to be lower than we’ve seen previously.

The exotic wood shown here is very cool, but you also have the choice of stainless steel, leather and carbon as well, so plenty of unique classy materials to satisfy anyone.

Capacities are plentiful and come in a range of sizes up to 500GB, so no restricted space issues either.  The prices range from $284-$344, so there’s a bit of a premium for the nicer look, and the company offers a 1 year warranty with all drives.

Available for review with pics right now at the Brinell site.

More from the site:

Western Digital has just rolled out its latest My Book Studio desktop external drive that will come with updated features, with one of them being particularly outstanding to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the external hard drive crowd. We’re talking about a customizable e-label here, ladies and gentlemen, where it will remain always visible even when there is no power being supplied to it, making it a snap to know just how much space you have left in the drive and what contents there are within at a glance. Targeting Mac users and creative professionals, the new My Book Studio drives will boast a FireWire 800 interface that makes it a snap to transfer data and super fast speeds compared to the USB 2.0 standard, making folks who deal a whole lot with photo and video editing and graphic design happy.

You’ll also be pleased to know that the new My Book Studio drives are TimeMachine compatible, where they will come with automatic, continuous backup courtesy of WD SmartWare software. This means all your data will remain as secure as it can get for a commercial-grade data storage device, thanks to 256-bit hardware-based encryption that will provide a high level of security. All of the new My Book Studio drives will come formatted for the Mac platform and will be available in various capacities, ranging from 500GB to 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB.

It’s even designed to use less 30% power too, to show that extra special “green” touch. These will cost you $149 to $299, depending on how much space you want.

A-DATA has launched its new line of waterproof and shock resistant HD code-named ‘SH93? for mass market consumpion. Sizes will be 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB, and these external HDs feature a molded rubber case and special cushion materials which renders them (almost) impervious to water or shock of any kind.

In fact, these are graded with the military MIL-STD-810F standard for shock resistance and water submersion. We like it if you need this sort of toughness. No official release on pricing and availability yet, but ‘soon’ would be the assumption, and fairly high should be the other assumption.

Chinese maker Spark has announced out a new media player with a built-in hard drive that looks like a big egg in design.

Called the VTube as a code name, the gadget has a 2.5-inch hard drive platter inside of it, and plays back most types of video files including DAT, MPG, VOB, TS, AVI, DIVX and XVID, among others.

It’s quite small too, measuring 212mm x 150mm x 56mm, so it can travel easily as well. It connects via USB2.0 port, and also includes an AV port, HDMI port, and Wi-Fi connectivity as well.

The VTube HD hard drive media player is available for 899 Yuan (or $132 USD). It’s a Chinese website, so a translation thing like Google might be necessary.

The new model spins around at 5200RPM and includes a sizeable 8MB cache, for plenty of punch in a small package.

The Mercury On-The-Go Pro 750GB 5200RPM FireWire & USB 2.0 model sells for $270 MSRP, while the FireWire 400 only/USB  model is $250 and the plain USB 2.0-only model sells for $230, and all are well-made (thus the included 3 -year warranty).

Not to mention its cool looking, more importantly.

Transcend just announced its StoreJet 18M shockproof portable HD that fully meets U.S. military drop-test standards (MIL-STD-810F 516.5—Transit Drop). That’s tough, folks, so no need to worry about accidents of any kind.

The hard drive connects to a PC or laptop via USB and includes plenty of useful features like a OneTouch auto-backup button that backs up and synchronizes data within a few minutes. It comes in 120GB capacity for now, with possible plans for larger sizes down the road.

It’ll run you $104 for this level of toughness and data security, which isn’t too bad.

It works best when it has several computer with lots of data to backup, as t comes in mammoth 1TB (that’s terabyte) and 2TB sizes, so it isn’t really for backing up one small computer system. Its great for those valuable photos, movies and important documents, and with this drive, you can access the files anywhere in the world easily and quickly.

The new design is supposed to simplify the backup procedure - just hook it up to a network router, click a few buttons/options, and it automatically backs up all the files on the network. It even senses changes and automatically backs up the changed files, so you never have to worry about missing anything. Very cool indeed.

The 1TB drive will sell for $229.99 and the gargantuan 2TB capacity will setyou back $449.99. More info about these slick drives here.

What makes this one so unique compared to other hard drives of its ilk? Its high storage capacity for one  (up to 1.5TB of data) and is designed for mission-critical data due to its extra-durable design: It’s almost completely fireproof and waterproof and was unveiled at CES 2009 this past week.

And it starts fairly economically as well, with the low price tag checking in at only $149, it’s peace of mind for your important stuff without the inflated price tag. It can withstand up to 1,550 degrees F,  and up to 10 feet of water for 3 days, making it pretty much impervious to damage that wouldn’t take some human life with it.

Available in 500GB ($149), 1TB ($199) and 1.5TB ($299) flavors, the ioSafe Solo hooks up with PCs, Macs or Linux computers via a USB 2.0 interface. More details via company press release here.

The powerful 8cm fan ought to be plenty to keep your HD icy cool and extend its lifespan by quite a bit. The 2.5? and 3.5? SATA HDD Dock with Cooling Fan can be yours here for only $68.00 (plus shipping).