“Achieving a long-sought goal of the $48 billion memory chip industry, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. announced the commercial availability of a chip that combines traditional memory’s endurance with a hard drive’s ability to keep data while powered down,” CBS News reports.
“The chips, called magnetoresistive random-access memory or MRAM, maintain information by relying on magnetic properties rather than an electrical charge. Unlike flash memory, which also can keep data without power, MRAM is fast to read and write bits, and doesn’t degrade over time,” CBS News reports.
“Freescale, which was spun off of Motorola Inc. in July 2004, said Monday it has been producing the 4-megabit MRAM chips at an Arizona factory for two months to build inventory. A number of chip makers have been pursuing the technology for a decade or more, including IBM Corp.,” CBS News reports. “Sometimes referred to as ‘universal’ memory, MRAM could displace a number of chips found in every electronic device, from PCs, cell phones, music players and cameras to the computing components of kitchen appliances, cars and airplanes.”
“‘This is the most significant memory introduction in this decade,’ said Will Strauss, an analyst with research firm Forward Concepts. ‘This is radically new technology. People have been dabbling in this for years, but nobody has been able to make it in volume.’ Static and dynamic random access memory chips, used in PCs and elsewhere, are fast but lose data when the power is switched off. Flash memory chips, which are commonly found in music players, cameras and cell phones, retain information but are slower and degrade over time,” CBS News reports.
“Ultimately, the technology could displace the RAM found in PCs, enabling systems that boot up immediately because data don’t have to be reloaded into the memory chips. Freescale has been working on the technology for nearly a decade, said Saied Tehrani, who directs the Austin-based company’s MRAM program. He said Freescale already has customers, but he declined to name any,” CBS News reports.
CBS News reports, “Most of the companies working on MRAM have touted prototypes and research advances but have been quiet about commercial production plans. That could change after Freescale’s announcement. ‘Freescale is the first one that says, ‘I’m ready to take orders,”‘ said Merritt, the Semico analyst. ‘Other companies will start to say, ‘Here’s where I am in my program.’ We’ll see who shows up.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Johnny Bravo” for the heads up.]
Advertisements:
• Introducing the super-fast, blogging, podcasting, do-everything-out-of-the-box MacBook. Starting at just $1099.
• Get the new iMac with Intel Core Duo for as low as $31 A MONTH with Free shipping!
• Get the MacBook Pro with Intel Core Duo for as low as $47 A MONTH with Free Shipping!
• Apple’s new Mac mini. Intel Core, up to 4 times faster. Starting at just $599. Free shipping.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
