Penny-Sized Flash Module Holds 16GB

nerdyH writes "Intel describes its new 2GB to 16GB SSDs (solid state disks) as 'smaller than a penny, and weighing less than a drop of water.' The parts are '400 times smaller in volume than a 1.8-inch hard drive,' Intel boasts, 'and at 0.6 grams, 75 times lighter.' Sampling now, with mass production set for Q1 2008, the Z-P140 is described as an 'optional' part of Intel's Menlow chipset, built in turn as part of Intel's vision for Linux-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)."

Comments

Big deal

[BrianPan]

All flash memory has been smaller than a penny and weigh less than a drop of water for a long time. Adding a package-on-package controller is an obvious next step. There's no big revolution happening here.

Re:Big deal

[Eternauta3k]

All flash memory has been smaller than a penny and weigh less than a drop of water for a long time. Adding a package-on-package controller is an obvious next step. There's no big revolution happening here.

What do you know about marketing?
:P

Re:Big deal

[russ1337]

we're way way off topic here, but to complement your story:

A buddy of mine had a job interview for an office job - in the telecoms field, and had previously only ever worked as a precision machinist (CnC type stuff in coveralls) since he left school. He asked my advice on what to wear to the interview (and subsequent job) because I worked in a corporate environment. I helped him chose a suitable suit, tie etc, and gave him some simple dress tips (for the corporate environment - and wasnt entirely sure what his office culture was like, but thought better dress up than down.

He was the only guy applying for the job that wore a tie - let alone a jacket. He got the job and wore his jacket and tie to work every day, (jacket off during working hours). In 6 weeks they made him the manager.

I've always reckoned it was that he *looked* like the boss, and it 'looks bad' with him sitting in a cube with the polo-shirts and tee-shirts. The fact he wasn't a complete muppet helped too.

Next time you think your boss is an idiot and wonder why he's your boss, you'll probably notice that the only difference between him and you, is that he dresses nicer.

So that is why the article made it to the front page - it was wearing a tie. Articles wearing greasy coveralls and have food stains down the front have no chance.

Re:Big deal

[danbert8]

Well, since we're off topic, I have another similar situation... My first day on the job as a co-op, I wore a shirt and tie, and my boss told me not to wear a tie because I was making everyone look bad (I'm pretty sure he was joking). Some people like a more casual environment.

Ultramobile devices

[morgan_greywolf]

I could see ultramobile devices using these. Not only are they small, but they consume only about 300 mW of power active, and 1.1 mW in sleep mode.

We're starting to get to a point where wearable computers will be practical. You'll be able to sew a whole computer right into a jacket or a sweater. Throw in one of those wearable displays, abd forget lugging around that heavy laptop!

That's nothing

[techpawn]

I lost a few gig of SD memory in a keyboard one time by accident. So, we're actually moving backwards in size.

And next year...

[yuri82]

And in 2009 they will have it with 64GB, and the year after 256GB...

They probably have the technology for 256GB now, but why waste it all on one release?

Er, so what?

[Speare]

Okay, so they made a chip that would fit in a microSDHC form factor. Is it faster? Is it lower-power? Is the interface more convenient? Is the chipset to host it already commonplace? Why would I want yet-another-memory-stick-format product in the already-crowded marketplace?

Re:Er, so what?

[tangent3]

and most importantly, how much does it cost per GB, compared to Flash?

It's three times bigger than microSD

[adam1101]

The dimensions of this module are 18x12x1.8mm, which is more than three times the volume of microSD (15x11x0.7mm, which includes a plastic housing). Now some of the other features are nice (IDE controller, high speeds), but the size isn't anything amazing.

Not 400 times smaller

[Anonymous Coward]

400 times smaller in volume than a 1.8-inch hard drive

Why do people say things like this?
Its size is 1/400 of a 1.8-inch hard drive, not 400*(the smallness of a 1.8-inch hard drive).

Memory low...

[nonos]

.. please insert coin !

Breakfast Cereal

[Easy2RememberNick]

It would make a great breakfast cereal if you had a whole bunch of them in a bowl covered in milk, and yes, of course, it would be called GigaBites.

Re:English Penny

[GogglesPisano]

Now this is a prime example of why standard units are so important.

As I understand it, here on Slashdot, size is expressed in units of Library of Congresses. Let's do a few quick calculations:

So, uh, lessee... a US penny is .75 inches across... the Library of Congress has approximately 530 miles of shelf space... ...carry the two...

That means that this new chip is 2.2334E-08 Library of Congresses in size.

Happy to Help!

Incorrect unit for size used please correct it.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

I find that the summary uses "penny size" to describe the size of the chip. Slashdot Standard Units Manual, clearly states that the preferred units for length is football fields, (as in my bookshelf is 0.01 football fields wide).

Similarly preferred units data size is libraries of congress (as in sigfile in /. should be less than 80 femto libraries of congress)

For weight it is locomotives. As in "The sun weighs 3.72 tera locomotives)

And for flow rate it is Amazon river. The new regulations reduced the maximum flow rate for shower heads from 1.6 atto amazons to 1.2 atto amazons.

For volume the preferred units is number of Earths that could be stuffed into it. As in "The asteroid Gzibpat has the volume of 0.1 micro Earths.

So please recalculate the volume of the chip in Earths and resubmit the story.

Truth in advertising

[somepunk]

When I saw them comparing pennies for volume and water for weight, I knew there was some funny business afoot. A drop of water weight a damn lot less than a penny, so (even allowing a lot of room for variation in density) this flash thingie is likely a lot smaller than a penny, or a lot heavier than a drop of water, or they would have chosen some smaller familiar item to compare it with. That, combined with the fact that a "drop of water" is not exactly a well defined quantity, and it screams out for a fact check.

A quick google brought up a freshman chemistry lab report, in microsoft word format, even. Not exactly the paragon of authority, but it is well known that freshman chemistry students have a far greater respect for the truth then marketers.

Their value for the mass of a drop of water is .025 grams, which is twenty-four times less than the .6 grams that the mass of the flash memory. I thought so.

It isn't hard to imagine a .6 gram drop of water, actually, just to be fair to those dorks, but I don't think it would resemble the familiar ones that most of us are accumstomed to.