Samsung mass produces 128GB NAND module for smartphones and tablets

MEMORY VENDOR Samsung has announced that it is mass producing 128GB NAND modules, paving the way for smartphones and tablets to feature 128GB of internal storage.

Samsung already supplies NAND flash to several smartphone and tablet makers and now could find itself supplying next year's high-end smartphone and tablets with 128GB NAND modules. The company announced that it has started mass production of 128GB NAND modules using its 20nm process node.

Samsung cited the module's ability to be used as embedded MMC (eMMC) Pro Class 1500 and joins existing 16GB, 32GB and 64GB products in the same performance class. According to the firm, the modules have sequential read and write bandwidths of 140MB/s and 50MB/s, respectively, and use the toggle DDR2 interface.

Wanhoon Hong, executive VP of memory sales and marketing at Samsung Electronics said, "By doubling the highest density of its previous eMMC products, Samsung expects to contribute significantly to a timely release of leading-edge mobile devices. The higher data storage and faster data transmission, will bring a range of benefits to users that compare to those of ultra-slim notebook PCs."

Samsung didn't say when devices using its 128GB NAND modules will appear, but given that it has gone into mass production now, next year's crop of smartphones and tablets, perhaps including the firm's own Galaxy S4 smartphone, could see onboard storage capacity increase to 128GB. µ