Samsung did not quantify the expected speed gains, but said the new software "optimizes data transactions within its memory chips as they interact with the operating system." All operations involving flash memory access become faster, including not only booting a system, but also creating, removing, reading, or writing files, according to the company.
Samsung says its embedded flash software, which will be supplied in versions for both Windows CE and Windows Mobile, includes several file systems and flash drivers. The file systems -- UniFS, PocketFS and RFS -- execute typical file operations such as creating, removing, reading, and writing files. The flash drivers UniStore, PocketStore, XSR and FSR convert file system requests into low-level flash operations including programming, reading and erasing. The drivers also prolong the flash memory's lifetime by wear-leveling and bad-block replacing, the company says.
Touting its move from 60nm production technology last year to 50nm technology this year, Samsung says its OneNAND memory is now offered in densities from 256 Megabit (Mb) to 2 Gigabit (Gb). More than 100 million units of OneNAND have sold since its introduction in 2006, and sales are expected to exceed 500 million units by the end of this year, the company adds.
Meanwhile, MoviNAND, also introduced in 2006, is said to simplify design by combining a MultiMediaCard v.4 (MMC) controller with NAND. Flex-OneNAND, introduced earlier this year, is described by Samsung as a single-die solution with the high-speed characteristics of SLC (single level cell) NAND and the high density of MLC (multi level cell) NAND.
In related news, Samsung is reportedly working with Microsoft to improve the performance of flash-based SSDs (solid-state drives) running Windows Vista. According to a report by the IDG News Service, the two companies will work together to discover optimal packet sizes for data transfers, and improved ways to read and write files. Again, however, no specific numbers were cited to quantity potential performance gains.
Further informationSamsung did not say when its new flash file systems and drivers will become available to device manufacturers. However, the software will support not only devices based on Windows Mobile and Windows CE, but also Linux, Symbian, and unspecified RTOSes (real-time operating systems), according to the company.
To read the IDG News Service report about flash-based SSDs and Windows Vista, see the
PC World website,
here.
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