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BOISE, Idaho & SANTA CLARA, Calif –BUSINESS WIRE– Feb 01, `08 — Intel and Micron Technology today unveiled a high speed NAND flash memory technology that can greatly enhance the access and transfer of data in devices that use silicon for storage. The new technology – developed jointly by Intel and Micron and manufactured by the companies’ NAND flash joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT) – is five times faster than conventional NAND, allowing data to be transferred in a fraction of the time for computing, video, photography and other consumer applications.

The new high speed NAND can reach speeds up to 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) for reading data and 100 MB/s for writing data, achieved by leveraging the new ONFI 2.0 specification and a four-plane architecture with higher clock speeds. In comparison, conventional single level cell NAND is limited to 40 MB/s for reading data and less than 20 MB/s for writing data.

“The computing market is embracing NAND-based solutions to accelerate system performance through the use of caching and solid-state drives,” said Pete Hazen, director of marketing, Intel NAND Products Group. “At up to five times the performance over conventional NAND, the high speed NAND from Intel and Micron, based on the ONFi 2.0 industry standard, will enable new embedded solutions and removable solutions that take advantage of high–performance system interfaces, including PCIe and upcoming standards such as USB 3.0.”

For example, the specific performance advantages of high speed NAND in today’s most popular devices include:

* When used in a hybrid hard drive, high speed NAND can allow the system to read and write data anywhere between two or four times the speed when compared to conventional hard drives.
* With the popularity of digital video cameras and video on demand services, high speed NAND can enable a high-definition movie to be transferred five times faster than conventional NAND.
* With the pending USB 3.0 interface, high speed NAND is expected to effectively deliver on the increased data transfer rates of the new specification, where conventional NAND would act as the bottleneck in system performance. USB 3.0 is aiming for 10 times the bandwidth of current USB 2.0 solutions, or approximately achieving 4.8 gigabits per second.
* As NAND continues to move into the PC platform, the Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI) can take advantage of high speed NAND in solutions such as Intel Turbo Memory, allowing for even better system performance. NVMHCI is designed to provide a standard software programming interface allowing operating system drivers to access NAND flash memory storage in applications such as hard drive caching and solid-state drives. More at Micron.

Applied double tunneling layer to realize 100 gigabit density.

TOKYO, Japan — Toshiba Corporation on Wednesday, Dec 12, announced that it has developed a new double tunneling layer technology applicable to future 10nm generation flash memories. This elemental technology opens the way for memory devices with densities of over 100 gigabits in the 10nm generation, which lies four generations ahead. The technology was today announced at the IEDM (International Electron Devices Meeting) held at Washington DC.

Toshiba developed a tunnel layer, which controls in and out of electron, in the SONOS (Silicon Oxide Nitride Oxide Semiconductor) type device structure, a memory structure that holds electrons in the nitride layer in the gate insulator.

The new structure sandwiches a 1.2 nm silicon nanocrystals layer between the 1nm thickness oxide films, achieving long-time data retention and high speed writing and data deletion at the same time, using the natural characteristic that resistance changes with changes in gate voltage. As the new tunnel layers are thinner than early version SONOS element tunnel layers, it is easier to migrate to advanced devices with finer lithography.

Toshiba also increased the saved electrons amount by changing the nitride film from Si3N4 to Si9N10, a material that contains more silicon, and optimized such aspects of the element structure as channel impurity concentration. The prototype has realized and maintained equivalent to over 10 years performance.

Toshiba is investigating various technologies for future advanced memories, including 3D structures, and believes that realizing operation in the 10nm generation with its new double tunneling layer technology is a step forward to future practical devices. More at Toshiba.

TOKYO, Japan — On Monday, Dec 10, Toshiba announced its entry into the emerging market for NAND-flash-based solid state drive (SSD) with a series of products featuring multilevel-cell NAND flash memories.

Offered in a range of form factors and densities, Toshiba’s solid state drives are designed primarily for notebook PCs. They will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, from January 7th to 10th. Samples and mass production will follow from the first quarter (January to March) of next year.

Moving NAND-based storage architecture forward, Toshiba’s first solid state drives offer three densities: 32 gigabytes (GB), 64GB and 128GB. SSD realize low power consumption, a fast boot time, and lightweight, but market penetration has been held back by low densities and high prices.

Toshiba’s new SSD integrate an original MLC controller supporting fast read-write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling, and achieve performance levels comparable to those of single-level NAND flash SSD. By applying MLC technology, Toshiba has realized a 128GB density in a 1.8 inch form factor. Toshiba expects the launch of its SSD line-up to speed up acceptance of solid state memory in laptops and digital consumer products, and to widen the horizons of the NAND flash market.

The new products utilize NAND flash memory fabricated with 56nm process technology, along with controller chips and DRAM, on a 70.6mm (L) x 53.6mm (W) x 3.0mm (H) platform. The maximum read speed is 100MB a second, and the maximum write speed of 40MB a second with the SATA2 interface (transfer rate of 3Gbps), which is compliant with high speed serial interface. The operating life is 1,000,000 hours. More at Toshiba.

Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group has released a statement detailing the company’s efforts to expand flash-based Windows XP support in addition to Intel’s Classmate PC and ASUS’ Eee PC, as well as Microsoft’s plans to expand flash-based Windows XP support for low-cost hardware computing devices.

REDMOND, Wash — Dec 05, 2007 — As part of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential effort to bring the benefits of technology to the next 5 billion people by transforming education, fostering local innovation, and enabling jobs and opportunity, Microsoft today announced plans to further expand flash-based Windows XP support for low-cost hardware computing devices.

This builds on the success of similar support for devices such as Intel Corporation’s Classmate PC and ASUS’ Eee PC, complementing Unlimited Potential’s focus on transforming education in emerging segments.

As part of this commitment, Microsoft plans to publish formal design guidelines early next year that will assist flash-based device manufacturers in designing machines that enable a high-quality Windows experience. In addition, there will be limited field trials in January 2008 of Windows XP for One Laptop per Child’s XO laptop. Microsoft’s goal is to provide a high-quality Windows experience on the XO device; if this is achieved, then Windows XP for the XO could be available as early as the second half of 2008.

Governments evaluating purchases of the XO should continue to consult with Microsoft regarding possible Windows XP availability date, pricing and support policies. In addition, there are no plans to offer a version of Windows that is compatible with the XO laptop for retail purchase in the U.S. and Canada.

Microsoft Unlimited Potential will continue to work with a variety of partners to support this emerging class of devices as part of its effort to help bring social and economic opportunity to the estimated 5 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology.

More information can be found at Microsoft.com/unlimitedpotential. A detailed background on Microsoft’s work to port Windows to the OLPC XO can be found at blogs.technet.com/jamesu. More at Microsoft.

Seoul, South Korea & Tokyo, Japan –BUSINESS WIRE– Dec 03, ‘07 — Samsung Electronics and Toshiba today announced that they have licensed to one another the rights to produce, market and sell memory with the specifications and trademarks of Samsung’s OneNAND and Toshiba’s LBA-NAND memory chips.

As a result of the reciprocal arrangement, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will have a broader choice of suppliers for each premium memory chip, thereby reducing any potential risk of over-dependence on a single supplier for any of the selected chips. The arrangement is expected to result in increased availability of premium-performance OneNAND and LBA-NAND flash devices worldwide.

Under terms of the agreement, Samsung will license product specifications of its integrated OneNAND and Flex-OneNAND “fusion” memory chips to Toshiba, while Toshiba will license product specifications of its single-package LBA-NAND and mobileLBA-NAND flash chips to Samsung. Both companies will develop and market products that are compatible with the respective original-source technology. Samsung and Toshiba each plan to release products next year based on the respectively licensed product specifications. More here.

Seoul, Nov 05 (Korea Newswire)– Samsung has become the first in the industry to sample 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch 64Gigabyte (GB) solid state drives (SSD) with a super-fast SATA (Serial ATA) II/native SATA interface. With a sequential write speed of 100Megabyte per second (MBps) and sequential read speed of 120MBps, the SATA II SSD is poised to expand the market for solid state drives from notebook PCs to corporate servers and other high-performance storage applications.

“The 64GB SATA II SSD is based on Samsung’s cutting-edge NAND technology with dramatically improved performance specs that are taking system performance to a whole new level of efficiency,” said Jim Elliott, director, NAND flash marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Samsung’s SATA II SSD combines a 50 nm-class, single-level-cell (SLC) 8Gb flash chip with a Samsung proprietary, high-speed SATA controller and supporting software.

The new SATA II SSD has a 3.0 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) interface speed which is twice as fast as its SATA I predecessor. Moreover, the SATA II SSD requires only half as much power as the 1.9 watts consumed by hard drives now used in notebook PCs and only one-tenth the power consumed by enterprise-class 15,000rpm hard drives in servers.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., October 30, 2007 — SiliconSystems, Inc today announced its new SiliconDrive USB Blade solid-state storage product.  SiliconDrive USB Blade is a breakthrough storage solution in an environmentally-rugged and ultra-small form factor. With an innovative industry-first form factor, SiliconDrive USB Blade is based on SiliconSystems’ next-generation storage technology platform which includes advanced versions of the company’s patented PowerArmor, SiSMART and SiliconDrive Secure technologies.

SiliconDrive USB Blade is ideally suited for space-constrained designs and as a boot drive, for operating system storage or in event and data logging applications. Dedicated to solving the needs of next-generation USB embedded systems, SiliconSystems collaborated with Samtec, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged connectors, to develop a space-saving and secure latching connector solution for the SiliconDrive USB Blade.  The innovative edge connector has spring-loaded snaps at either end of the slot to ensure the SiliconDrive USB Blade is held securely in place, allowing installation either vertically or at a right angle when space is a major design concern.

SiliconDrive USB Blade evaluation units and host developer tool kits will be available in December 2007.  Initially SiliconDrive USB Blade will be offered in capacities of 512 MB, 1GB & 2GB. More at SiliconSystems.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 30, 2007 — Eye-Fi Inc., a company dedicated to helping people navigate, nurture and share their digital memories, today unveiled the Eye-Fi Card — the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras. The Eye-Fi Card uses home Wi-Fi networks to create an effortless and convenient way for users to send photographs directly from digital cameras to PCs, Macs and online photo and social networking sites. See release entitled “Eye-Fi Announces Support from Seventeen Online Photo Destinations.”

How the Eye-Fi Card Works

During a simple set-up process, users can select from among 17 popular online photo sharing, printing, social networking or blogging sites to share their photographs, and select where on their PC or Mac they want to archive their images. Once the set-up is complete, users can focus on taking pictures and sharing memories — and not on the process of uploading photos from their camera.

Eye-Fi’s free upload service allows users to transfer an unlimited number of photos. It handles full-resolution JPEG pictures and intelligently resizes the images if required by the selected online destination.

Specs:

- Wi-Fi Security: Static WEP 40/104/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK

- Range: 90+ feet outdoors and 45+ feet indoors

- Storage Capacity: 2.0GB

- Card Dimensions: SD standard 32mm x 24mm x 2.1mm

- Card Weight: 0.1oz

The 2GB wireless SD memory card, which holds approximately 1,000 images, is available now at major online retailers including Amazon.com, Buy.com and Walmart.com for $99.99. Eye-Fi

SanDisk is proud to announce our newest format and capacity to the SD card family: microSD High Capacity (microSDHC) 8GB flash card.  Says Sandisk. The company has started shipping 8GB MicroSD for $139 and includes new MobileMate Micro Reader as a bonus. More at Sandisk.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 24, ‘07 - SanDisk said it filed three patent infringement actions on Wednesday against 25 companies that make, sell and import USB flash drives and other products. The actions, filed in the United States District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and with the United States International Trade Commission allege the defendants have infringed SanDisk patents.

The company seeks damages and a permanent injunction as well as a permanent exclusion order from the ITC banning importation of the products into the United States.

More at Reuters

Finally, there’s an exceptionally easy way to move video from your PC to your TV. Says SanDisk. MILPITAS, CA - October 22, 2007 - SanDisk today announced the U.S. availability of the Sansa TakeTV video player along with the public BETA version of Fanfare, a dynamic Web-based service that enables consumers to download television shows, movies and other premium video content to portable devices.

Sansa TakeTV Specs:

- 4GB and 8GB
- $99.99 and $149.99
- USB 2.0
- DivX(Home Theater profile), xVid, MPEG-4
- 720×576 Resolution, NTSC and PAL

Fanfare Video Downloads:

- Content Partners: CBS, Jaman.com, Showtime, Smithsonian Networks, Weather Channel, TV Guide, Survivor China, Dexter and Sleeper Cell
- Combination of free(ad supported) and paid episodes
- Will gain additional features when the full version is launched early next year
- Future plans include video being transferred via SanDisk mobile cards
- TrustedFlash–DRM (developed by SanDisk, IBM & Extend Media)
- Needs Sansa TakeTV to extract content for TV playback

More at SanDisk here and here

Vancouver, Canada - October 17th, 2007: Bissol – today unveils luxury USB Memory Sticks. The smallest 4GB USB sticks in the world.
The Bissol USB memory stick is the ultimate in data storage. Its small size allows for the discreet movement of private information, while the 4GB of storage capacity is perfect for demanding personal and business storage needs. The machined solid brass body is crafted to precision, giving the Bissol USB memory stick the same feel and look as Swiss watch mechanisms. Precision, dependability, and performance in data storage.

The Bissol USB memory stick is available in two types; brass (gold color) and electroless nickel coated brass (silver color). The Bissol USB memory stick provides a 4GB storage capacity and measures 28.9mm × 12.4mm × 2.2mm, making it the smallest in the world (as of October 15, ’07).

Product specifications - USB2.0 compliant - Support Vista READYBOOST - Plug-N-Play - Waterproof, dustproof - Dimensions: 28.9mm × 12.4mm × 2.2mm - Weight: 3.6g - Capacity: 4GB

More at Bissol

Dallas, TX - October 16, 2007 EDGE Tech Corp, a leading U.S.-based supplier of DRAM and flash memory upgrades, portable computing products, storage devices, and other experience-enhancing technology solutions, announced the release of its colossal-capacity 32GB DiskGO Flash Drive.

Encased in a sleek, silver housing, the 32GB DiskGO Flash Drive proves essential for those transporting their digital life. The drive’s vast capacity takes convenience in data portability protection and recovery to a new dimension. To put its storage enormity in perspective, it can hold more than 21,000 pictures, 32 hours of video, 8,000 songs, or 320,000 documents. EDGE offers the most competitive price on the market for a 32GB flash drive. Priced at $399.95.

With a transfer rate of up to 480Mb/s, the drive includes a free preview of CryptArchiver encryption software, which ciphers up to 25MB of data at 128-bit AES encryption. The DiskGO Flash Drive is Offered with a lifetime warranty and toll-free technical support, the drive features a durable keychain grommet, built-in pen clip, and removable cap.

More at Edge Tech here and here.

Gizmodo is reporting on Fusion-io’s new 640GB HD. In their words

“Sure, it costs $30 a GB, but Fusion-io’s new ioDrive flash card promises ridiculous 800MB/sec (Read) and 600MB/sec (Write) sustained data transfer rates. That would mean performance on par with DRAM, which would be about a thousand times faster than any existing disk drive. Basically, it’s like packing an enterprise SAN into a PCI express card.”

More at Gizmodo / Fusion-io…