Hi Steelbom,

Q1: I'd say about the same odds as a new mechanical drive dying. If you are planning to install and change a password for the drive, make sure you update the firmware. Normally, this should have already been done, but you might get some of the first stock of drives, those had an issue with this.

Q2:

C1: Plain OEM version, has the plastic spacers to change the height from 7,5mm to 9mm

R5: Boxed retail version with CD, booklet and metal sled for desktop installation

Q3: Those webshops are taking pre-orders, so at least one wholesale distibutor has already entered the 320 Gb drives in their system. The most optimistic ETA for these is 3-4 weeks, but the dates are not guaranteed. So no, I don't think they are fakes, but you might need a little patience.

Q4: I've seen two Intel SSD roadmaps, can't vouch whether they're real or not, but I'd say Gen3 won't be out until well into next year, if that. It wouldn't be good marketing either to give Gen2 only a couple of months of sales.

Q5: That's a tough one. Prices will drop eventually, but whether this will be in the next few weeks I'm not sure. Demand seems high, and for now Intel doesn't seem to be able or willing to roll out enough units.

I hope that answered some of your questions.