Micron unveils new chip for cell phones

The Idaho Statesman reports that Micron Technology "unveiled a new memory chip today designed to help cell phone manufacturers produce smaller phones without losing power or storage space." The chip is a multichip package that stacks a NAND flash chip and Mobile DRAM chip in one package.

Joseph Unsworth at Gartner did not think the chips would "have an immediate impact on Micron because most cell phones still use NOR flash, a more reliable and faster memory chip. NAND flash memory, however, can store more data." Unsworth said, "It's a step in the right direction for Micron" because it combines two of the company's products — NAND flash and DRAM.

According to Unsworth, "NAND flash was used in only about 8 percent of the cell phones shipped last year, while the rest used NOR flash memory or a combination of NOR and NAND flash memory chips." He expected "more NAND flash will be used in cell phones in the next few years as consumers want more space to store music, video and contact information. By 2010, NAND flash will be used in about 40 percent of the cell phones."