There is an underlying principle in the mad mad world of gadgets and technology. To be precise, it holds good for technologies that are commercial in nature and lead to products of mass appeal. The principle goes like this: "Whenever prices of a popular product bottom out, a technological breakthrough will make same product reach the highest prices in its class." This is true for any product that has held a mass appeal. The technological breakthroughs are achieved in nick of time for product to revive itself as darling of the masses. The same is true for ubiquitous Flash memories. The breakthrough in technology started with the arrival of "Ready Boost" technology in Microsoft Windows Vista. Next came commercial production of Solid State hybrid drives. The latest is what actually effects the Flash memory itself.
IM Flash Technologies, a joint venture between Intel and Micron, has achieved a breakthrough of sorts by developing an 8Gb SLC (single-level cell) high-speed NAND chip that can reach read speeds up to 200MBps and write speeds of up to 100MBps, which could mean faster data transfer between devices such as solid-state drives and video cards. To put it in perspective, current speeds are limited to 40MBps and 20MBps in read and write operations. This new breakthrough provides a five fold increase in speeds. Just when I was going to invest in a Samsung Hybrid drive, this new development has made me put off my plans and see how things work out.
To be sure, products based on the new NAND structure are not going to be available till late 2008 and that too at a premium. So, my principle will hold good for it. By middle of 2009, we should see a stabilisation of prices and this technology creating products that will be darling of masses. The cycle is going to repeat itself.
IM Flash Technologies, a joint venture between Intel and Micron, has achieved a breakthrough of sorts by developing an 8Gb SLC (single-level cell) high-speed NAND chip that can reach read speeds up to 200MBps and write speeds of up to 100MBps, which could mean faster data transfer between devices such as solid-state drives and video cards. To put it in perspective, current speeds are limited to 40MBps and 20MBps in read and write operations. This new breakthrough provides a five fold increase in speeds. Just when I was going to invest in a Samsung Hybrid drive, this new development has made me put off my plans and see how things work out.
To be sure, products based on the new NAND structure are not going to be available till late 2008 and that too at a premium. So, my principle will hold good for it. By middle of 2009, we should see a stabilisation of prices and this technology creating products that will be darling of masses. The cycle is going to repeat itself.
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