Intel pumps up density of handset memory
Company packs up to 1 GB combinationof RAM and flash memory into 8 by 11 millimeter package for cell phones
Follow @infoworldCell phone designers will be able to pack more memory into their handsets using Intel Corp.'s new StrataFlash Wireless Memory System, Intel announced Tuesday at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei.
Up to a 1G-byte combination of Intel's flash memory and RAM can now fit into a package that measures eight millimeters by 11 millimeters, Intel said in a release. The company doubled the amount of information that can be stored in each memory cell, and developed a system to combine different types of memory for executing code, storing data or running applications, said Ron Smith, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Wireless Communications and Computing Group, during a keynote address in Taipei, according to the release.
As users expect their cell phones to do more tasks beyond making calls, such as browsing the Internet or downloading movies, increasing amounts of memory are required to process those tasks. But heavy and bulky cell phones don't sell well in many parts of the world, requiring flash memory companies like Intel to find new ways to cram more memory into the same space.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, is shipping samples to its customers, and expects to start producing the packages in volume by February, it said in the release.
