Samsung creates 64-gig flash memory chip
SEOUL, South Korea - Samsung Electronics Co. said last week that it has developed a more advanced flash memory chip that will allow increased data storage in digital products such as music players.
Samsung, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, unveiled a 64-gigabit NAND flash memory chip based on finer process technology using circuit elements that are 30 nanometers wide. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; a human hair is about 80,000 nanometers across.
The company touted the development of the chip as a worldfirst and said the new chip marks the eighth straight year that memory density has doubled and the seventh straight year that the nanometer scale has improved for NAND flash. It said it plans to begin production of the chip in 2009.
Using finer process technology allows more to be fit on a semiconductor chip and reduces power requirements. Flash memory chips are used extensively in digital music devices, digital cameras and mobile phones. The chips can retain data even when the devices they power are turned off.
Last year the company announced 32-gigabit NAND flash memory chip based on 40-nanometer process technology. Production of that chip will begin next year, said Chae Su-yeon, a Samsung spokesman.
Currently, the bulk of Samsung's flash memory chips are produced using 50-nanometer process technology, she said.
New chip can use 2 broadband networks
NEW YORK - Qualcomm Inc. last week launched a chip that will make it easier to build laptops compatible with the two dominant cellular broadband technologies in the United States.
Business-oriented laptops now are generally available with chips for either AT&T Inc.'s, Verizon Wireless' or Sprint Nextel Corp.'s networks. AT&T's network uses a technology called HSPA, or High-Speed Packet Access, while Sprint and Verizon Wireless use EV-DO, or Evolution-Data Optimized.
Both network technologies are also being rolled out overseas, with HSPA being the dominant choice.
Qualcomm's new Gobi chip can connect to either type of network, which should make it easier for laptop users to shop around for the carrier that has the best coverage and prices in their area.
The chips are available immediately, and Qualcomm expects them to appear in laptops in the second quarter of next year.
The chips may increase the choices for cellular broadband users, but those networks are competing not just with each other but with WiMax, another long-range wireless technology that promises higher data speeds on a network that's cheaper to build.
Qualcomm's chip does not support WiMax.
AOL starts mobile services to lure Web users
AOL, Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit, said last week that it is introducing wireless services to entice some of its 114 million monthly U.S. online visitors to access the company's Web sites with their mobile phones.
A mobile-phone search at aol.com will now yield results a wireless user wants, said Scott Falconer, executive vice president of AOL's mobile unit. Those include ringtones, weather, movie listings and restaurant locations, he said.
AOL is also introducing MyMobile, free software that lets users access AOL Mail, MapQuest and the Moviefone ticket service from their cell phones. At first, MyMobile will be available only for devices running Windows Mobile, Falconer said. A test version for other devices is planned for later this quarter.
The services are free and advertiser-supported, he said. AOL bought mobile Web advertising company Third Screen Media Co.
in May for an undisclosed amount.
AOL's first goal is to coax its own Internet users over to mobile Web, Falconer said, noting the company had 114 million unique monthly visitors in the U.S. in the second quarter and 200 million worldwide. It is working with mobile Web company Thumbplay to provide ringtones as search results, something it says it is the first to do. AOL and Thumbplay have a revenue-sharing agreement, Falconer said.
GPS jacket helps keep track of children
LONDON - Parents may worry less about losing their children - or at least their children's expensive winter gear - with a new jacket that includes a global-positioning tracker. Jackets released last week by the British clothing company Bladerunner have a GPS tracking device in the lining that allows parents to find the jacket anywhere in the world within a few feet.
"The jacket is not something that was released due to people losing their kids," said Adrian Davis, a partner at Bladerunner.
"It was originally made for mountain climbers, skiers and snowboarders." Davis said the company decided to make a children's version, with a slash-resistant lining, for parents concerned about their children's safety. Using Google Inc.'s mapping tools, users can watch the jacket move, with updates every 10 seconds. The tracking device's rechargeable battery lasts about 18 hours.
Users can also receive e-mail or cell phone alerts when the jacket leaves a specific area, alerting parents when a child skips school, leaves the neighborhood or goes to someone's house - so long as the child is wearing the jacket.
Bladerunner, which designed the jacket and commissioned Asset Monitoring Solutions to craft the tracking device, made headlines in the spring when it released slash-resistant clothing for children, aimed at those worried about increasing knife crime in London.
A children's tracking jacket costs $500 plus $20 a month for the tracking service. An adult jacket costs $700.
Business, Pages 24 on 10/29/2007