Taiwan to introduce new memory card, the ''µcard''

Posted on Friday, August 06 2004 @ 11:05 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and some other Taiwanese IT firms will soon start mass production of a new type of memory card named "µcard". The µcard will be introduced at the Taipei International Electronics Show from October 8-12.

These new cards are expected to be the chance for Taiwanese IT firms to reduce their technology reliance upon oversea firms. Module makers in Taiwan and China at the moment license technologies from overseas rivals.

The µcard will be able to transfer 120MB of data per second, which is about 10x faster than SD memory cards. The cards also have USB 2.0 compatibility, low power, fast I/O and a compatible interface with existing memory cards.

The cards are aimed for PCs, handsets, digital cameras, digital video recorders and MP3 players.
Specifications for the μcards are being set by members of the Open Mobile Internet Alliance (OMIA), an initiative established by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA) and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA).

Sources said the specification will be discussed at this year’s Jing-tai (transliterated from Chinese) Technology Forum, an annual forum hosted by IT firms in Taiwan and China, on September 10-11. More firms from Taiwan, China and other countries may end up participating in defining the card’s specification next year.
Mass production of the µcard is slated for early 2005.

Memory cards specifications

Type

Size (WxLxH: mm)

Maximum capacity

Bandwidth (MB/second)

Low power

I/O

Players

CompactFlash

42.8x36.4x3

128GB

16.6

 

Y

CFA

Mini SD

20x21.5x1.4

4GB

12.5

Y

Y

SDA, Toshiba, Sandisk, Panasonic

MMC

24x32x1.4

4GB

2.5

Y

 

MMCA, Nokia, Samsung, Renesas

Reduced size MMC

24x18x1.4

4GB

2.5

Y

 

High speed MMC

24x32x1.4

4GB

52

Y

Y

Memory Stick

21.5x50x2.8

256MB

2.5

Y

 

Sony

Memory Stick Pro

21.5x50x2.9

2TB

20

Y

 

Memory Stick Duo

21.5x31x2.8

2TB

20

Y

 

SM

45x37x0.76

128MB

1.2

Y

 

Samsung, Toshiba

XD

20x25x1.7

8GB

5

Y

 

Fujitsu, Olympus

T-Flash

15x11x1.0

4GB

2.5

Y

 

Sandisk

μcard

24x32x1.4

2TB

120

Y

Y

OMIA

RS μcard

24x18x1.4

2TB

120

Y

Y



Source: DigiTimes


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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