Flash data storage product vendor M-Systems claimed Monday that it has developed what it calls the world’s smallest single-chip flash disk that can dramatically increase on-device storage for wireless Net devices.
The company says its 16MB Mobile DiskOnChip emulates a standard hard drive and is less than half the size of similar flash storage products, making it a cost-effective method of storing data on devices such as Net-ready phones. Previously, the company’s flash technology was used on larger devices such as set-top boxes.
The company claimed in a statement that “a major player” in the mobile market has already chosen the product as its local data storage media for high-end products, but it did not specify which vendor that was.
The Mobile DiskOnChip’s write performance is as much as 10 times faster than the storage technology currently used in wireless phones, the company says. That will make on-device applications more usable and will enable users to perform functions such as downloading large MP3 files to the phone for playback, the company says.
The company said that, besides the small size of the storage media, Mobile DiskOnChip is optimized for low power consumption. It said the chips’ I/O voltage is 1.8V. Mobile DiskOnChip is on a 9 x 11 x 1.4 mm ball grid array (BGA) package.
The company said that Mobile DiskOnChip is currently available to original equipment manufacturers but provided no pricing information.