Toshiba has announced plans to bring a 64GB NAND flash module to the market. The new package is composed of sixteen 32 gigabit NAND chips built using a 32nm manufacturing process and a dedicated memory controller. The company is already sampling the 64GB module and expects mass production to begin during Q1 of 2010.
The new high-capacity chip is aimed at smartphones, notebooks, and digital video cameras – and given Toshiba is currently the NAND supplier of choice for Apple's iPhone 3GS it's not too hard to imagine them picking the new 64GB module for upcoming product refreshes. Currently due to space constraints Apple uses either a single 16GB or 32GB NAND module on its smartphone and up to a pair of 32GB NAND packages on the iPod touch.
This latest development from Toshiba could boost maximum capacity to 64GB and 128GB respectively. If the pricing is right it could also mean that the days of the hard-drive based iPod Classic are now numbered. That said, we should note that Apple traditionally unveils new iPhone models on June and new iPods on September, so it'll still be a while before we hear any official announcements from the company.