Feb 13
SanDisk just announced an absurdly fast card that can go almost three times faster than the previous champ. Why do you need all that horsepower? To chomp 4K video, of course.
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Jan 11
Some say that the future of data storage lies in cloud computing. But until high-speed Internet access is available on a global scale, we’ll still need ways to store data locally. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of bulky external hard drives and USB sticks we had paper-thin flash devices instead? Industrial designers Aditi Singh and Parag Anand think so, which is why they came up with dataSTICKIES.
Singh and Anand dream of dataSTICKIES as paper-thin flash memory devices. They based their concept on graphene, a carbon allotrope that exists in layers that are only one atom thick. Aside from being insanely thin, graphene is also durable and conducts electricity well. In theory at least, it can be used to make electronic devices that are way better than the ones that we have today, including data storage devices.
Singh and Anand imagine dataSTICKIES would be like sticky notes. You could write on them and stick them to practically any object. They even thought of a foolproof way to connect the concept device to computers. Instead of traditional connectors, dataSTICKIES would simply stick to a transparent data transfer surface located in a practical position, such as along the perimeter a monitor or on the back of a mobile device. You won’t even have to worry about running out of “ports” because you can stick multiple units on one data transfer surface.
Like sticky notes, dataSTICKIES would also make it easier to associate data with the physical world. For example, you could use posters with tear-off strips of dataSTICKIES to distribute vast amounts of information. Or spam. Or malware. Okay I’m starting to hate that poster idea.
Singh and Anand’s concept was honored at the 2013 Red Dot Design Award. It’s certainly a great idea, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything like it soon. Stick a browser on your computer and head to the dataSTICKIES website for more on the concept.
[via Gadgetify]
Oct 23
You can always use more memory cards. Whether you’re a weekend warrior with your DSLR or a music hoarder on your smartphone, these bite-size bits of storage tend to fill up quickly, and they’re easy to lose at that. So take the chance while you’ve got it, and stock up on Sony memory cards at Amazon. They’re mad cheap today.
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Aug 18
Rumors are abundant about the iPhone 5S and they just keep coming. In fact, AppleInsider got the scoop from Ming-Chi Kuo, a KGI analyst, on several rumors, including the prediction that the next-gen iPhone will feature a 128GB option along with the gold casing we previously reported on. While many of the features of the […]
Jul 16
Toshiba is coming out with an ultra-fast series of SD cards that they’re calling Exceria Pro, and the company is claiming that the new SD cards are the fastest around, with speeds hitting as fast 240 MB/s. These cards are aimed at professionals, such as photographers who need photos saved quickly.
The card will come in 16GB and 32GB variants and will offer crazy-fast write speeds that are about as fast a typical solid state drive, thanks to the UHS-II standard that the new cards are using. They don’t have any other fancy features, though, like WiFi transferring, but many photographers and videographers should get a kick out of just the speeds alone.
Besides the Exceria Pro cards, there will also be some regular Exceria SDXC cards that will have capacities of 32GB or 64GB. These will also operate under the UHS-II standard, but they’ll have a maximum write speed of 120 MB/s, which is still pretty darn quick if you ask us, so we wouldn’t count those out just yet.
Toshiba hopes to have these bad boys out by October, with the regular Exceria SD cards releasing in November. Prices have yet to be announced, but it’s said that the 64GB Exceria SDXC card will cost around $250. That’s certainly not cheap change, and we don’t expect point-and-shoot operators to carry these cards around on their person, but if you’re in the media business and need a fast memory card, these will probably do.
VIA: PC World
Toshiba Exceria Pro SD card touted as “world’s fastest” is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 11
It would appear that as Apple begins a move away from reliance on Samsung to create the most massive amount of its mobile products’ flash memory, the Korean company is seeking outside help to create enough product for its own Galaxy lineup. Two reports have surfaced today that suggest both Apple and Samsung to be seeking new means and ways of accessing enough product for the innards of their smartphone and tablet lineups. While Apple has bee reported to be teaming up with Taiwan Semiconductor on one hand, Samsung has been tipped to be purchasing memory from Elpida Memory and Toshiba.
The first report comes from EE Times where their “observers of the electronics and computer industries” – aka nameless sources – have said that Apple has “thrown out” their contract with Samsung for microprocessor manufacturing and is teaming up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. for the immediate future. Apple’s next-generation A7 processor has also been rumored to have been taped out by this company already – that’s a few steps behind actual production!
Meanwhile Digitimes – a group we must remind you has been as reliable as unreliable with their sources in the past, but do have some top-level contacts that end up revealing valuable information rather often – suggest that Samsung is currently unable to fill even their own requirements for memory products. With their Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets pumping out sales like no tomorrow, this report suggests that they’ll be looking for help!
Samsung’s own supply of memory products is already falling short of demand, including that for its Galaxy-series smartphones and tablets, industry sources have claimed.
Also interesting is the added suggestion that Samsung isn’t using these purchased parts for their own Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets. Instead, this source suggests, Samsung is keeping its own production reserved for its own mobile products while the rest is shipped out to non-Samsung devices.
They noted that Samsung reportedly is buying more chips from Japanese firms while continuing to use its in-house produced chips for its Galaxy-series mobile devices. This is reportedly happening when Samsung has actually implemented a strategy to tightly control its chip output, the observers pointed out.
That’s a rather sizable claim to be making, and unless Samsung comes forth to say it’s true, we suggest you down a bit of salt while you think about it. If Samsung was indeed reserving its whole DRAM and NAND flash memory production for its own mobile products, notebooks, PCs, and the like, they’d have to integrate their whole business and depend solely on those mobile products to win. Samsung is simply too massive to do such a thing without some big-time decision-making being made.
Samsung hunts for memory help as Apple tipped to jump ship is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 07
We’ve certainly seen 1TB flash drives before, but today at CES, Kingston unveiled the world’s highest-capacity USB 3.0 flash drive, the HyperX Predator, with a capacity of 1TB — 1,024 large, sweet gigabytes. While the high capacity usually gets priority over speed in most flash drives, Kingston’s Predator doesn’t skimp on that, promising read/write speeds of up to 240MB/s and 160MB/s, respectively.
It’s certainly not as fast as most of the SSDs that ship in many of today’s laptops, but it’s definitely plenty fast for a storage device that fits in your pocket, and we’re assuming that most people won’t expect SSD-type speeds anyway, considering it’s just a flash drive and nothing more.
The HyperX Predator comes in at a size of 2.84″ x 1.06″ x 0.82″ without the attached keyring, and it jumps to 3.49″ long with it on. It’s a pretty average size for a flash drive, so don’t expect anything spectacular in that respect once you get your hands on it. Either way, it’s still plenty portable to take with wherever you go, and the zinc metal alloy casing keeps it safe from the elements.
The 1TB HyperX Predator will be available later in Q1, and while the price hasn’t been disclosed yet, the 512GB version of the same flash drive model is available now for a staggering $1,750, so we’re guessing the 1TB version will be at least double that. The company is also releasing 32GB and 64GB versions for those who don’t quite want to spend that much dough.
Kingston announces HyperX Predator 1TB USB 3.0 flash drive is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Dec 04
Ah! here you are something that IS actually interesting, the Paketta from King Jim! This tiny (75x52x20mm and 40G) 8 or 16GB flash drive comes with a WiFi BGN module that once connected to a PC or powered by any USB compatible device will give you the possibility to access its contents wirelessly from any devices running a dedicated app that is so far only available for Windows XP, Vista 7 and iOS, Windows 8 and OSX software will be available Q1 2013 on King Jim support page.
Set to be sold in …
Dec 03
Despite the looming threat of being replaced by phase-change memory, contemporary memory modules aren’t quite ready to be shown the door — engineers at Macronix have found a way to revive spent NAND flash cells. Most flash modules fail after being written to and erased about 10,000 times, but Macronix found that the tired memory could be restored by baking it for extended periods of time. The team funneled the time consuming and cumbersome solution into a more practical package: a redesigned memory chip that packs onboard heaters. The new modules are designed to periodically heat focused groups of memory cells to 800 °C (1,472 °F) for a few milliseconds, effectively “healing” worn cells.
Researchers found that heated chips could tolerate more than 100 million write/erase cycles and erased faster at higher temperatures. The team said the power drain of the heaters shouldn’t effect battery life, either — chips don’t have to be heated often, and when they do, it can be done while prospective devices are recharging. Macronix will be presenting the technology at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting next week, but project deputy director Hans-Ting Lue wouldn’t say when the company plans on taking the technology to market. Lue was willing to speculate on what might become of it, however. “This may evolve into a ‘thermally assisted’ mode of operation that gives both better performance — such as the faster erasing — and better endurance flash memory.” Faster, more reliable, super-heated memory. Sounds fine by us.
[Image credit: Emily Cooper, IEEE]
Filed under: Misc
Via: PhysOrg
Source: IEEE
Dec 02
Flash memory is fast, it’s stable, but it’s not without its flaws. It has a tendency to wear out after too many write-erase cycles, for example. Now there’s a way to deal with that problem, and it could lead to self-healing NAND flash memory that could last for much, much longer than the stuff we have now. More »
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