Cell phones, portable music players, and other compact devices may soon be slimming down even further while continuing their rapid capacity increase, with Toshiba recently introducing 32GB embedded flash memory modules that offer what is claimed to be the largest density yet announced.
The new 32GB devices combine eight 32Gbit (4GB) NAND chips fabricated with 43nm process technology - taking up just half of the space its predecessor required. According to Toshiba, they also include integrated controllers that comply with the JEDEC/MMCA version 4.3 and SDA version 2.0 high-speed memory standards and are backward compatible with previous generation hardware.
Toshiba will begin shipping the memory modules in September. Though the company doesn't name individual customers, it is known to be a key supplier of Apple which suggests higher-capacity iPods based on flash memory could arrive towards the end of the year.