Western Digital announces WD Blue, WD Green SSDs

Storage giant Western Digital has announced that it is finally turning the attention of its solid-state division to the consumer market, unveiling new WD Blue and WD Green solid-state drives (SSDs) in 2.5in SATA and M.2 2280 form factors.

While Western Digital controls a large chunk of the storage sector and offers its spinning-rust products in ranges suitable for everything from home to giant corporation use, it has previously eschewed the consumer SSD market. While its subsidiaries have offered products under different brands, WD is now going all-in with its first own-brand consumer SSD ranges featuring the company's iconic colour-coding system: WD Blue for performance and WD Green for 'everyday use.'

'There is significant demand among our core WD resellers and consumers for a broad set of flash-based storage options,' claimed Eyal Bek, senior director of Western Digital's devices business unit, at the unveiling. 'The expansive reach of the WD channel enables availability of a Western Digital SSD solution. We are very proud to have developed and launched WD Blue and WD Green SSDs, and believe they'll provide the instant-on, reliability and capacity benefits our customers have been demanding.'

The WD Blue family launches in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities in 7mm-thick 2.5in SATA and M.2 2280 form factors. Performance tops out at a claimed 545MB/sec sequential read and 525MB/sec sequential write. The WD Green range, by contrast, will be available in more wallet-friendly 120GB and 240GB capacities with 540MB/sec sequential read and 405MB/sec sequential write performance, again in 2.5in and M.2 form factors. Both ranges come with a three-year warranty, WD has confirmed.

UK pricing and availability for the new drives has yet to be confirmed. WD has set US recommended retail pricing at $79 to $299 (around £65 to £244 excluding taxes) for the Blue family, with Green pricing not yet announced.