Nov/Dec 2004

The days of limited memory capacity on mobile devices may soon be over. Samsung Electronic has developed a 1 gigabit flash memory device for next-generation mobile computing and communication handsets, and says it has a read speed four times faster than offered with current flash performance.

What's more, it is said to be able to handle continuous, multi-shot capturing of 5-megapixel images and real-time recording of VGA resolution video. That's direct capture of video to solid-state memory, with no need for a rotating disk - something that could also have an impact on larger computers and other devices.

The product uses a new technology called OneNAND, which combines the high-speed data read function of NOR flash and the advanced data storage of NAND flash in a single chip. It features a 66MHz synchronous interface and cache read function that makes possible an enhanced read performance of 108MBytes per second (MBps).