Intel's New 3D NAND Technology Allows for Greater Than 10TB Solid-State Drives

Intel and Micron on Thursday announced the availability of new 3D NAND technology that enables high-density flash devices with three times more storage capacity than other NAND technologies in production. 3D NAND technology is also more cost efficient than planar NAND, with faster performance, improved latency and new sleep modes that result in low-power use by cutting power to inactive NAND die.





The advancements pave the way for future Macs and other devices with flash memory to be equipped with greater than 10TB solid-state drives, significantly more storage capacity than the maxed out 1TB PCIe-based flash storage upgrade option that Apple offers for the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro. As planar NAND faces practical scaling limits, Intel and Micron expect that 3D NAND will shape the future of flash memory.

"Micron and Intel's collaboration has created an industry-leading solid-state storage technology that offers high density, performance and efficiency and is unmatched by any flash today," said Brian Shirley, vice president of Memory Technology and Solutions at Micron Technology. "This 3D NAND technology has the potential to create fundamental market shifts. The depth of the impact that flash has had to date—from smartphones to flash-optimized supercomputing—is really just scratching the surface of what's possible."

3D NAND has innovative process architecture with a floating gate cell that enables greater performance and increased quality and reliability. Intel and Micron expect that 3D NAND technology, which "stacks flash cells vertically in 32 layers to achieve 256Gb multilevel cell (MLC) and 384Gb triple-level cell (TLC) die," will result in continued performance gains, cost savings and widespread adoption of flash storage solutions for mobile consumer devices and enterprise deployment.



Intel and Micron claim that the 256Gb MLC version of 3D NAND is being sampled by select partners beginning this week, while the 384Gb TLC design will be sampling later this spring. Both devices are slated to enter full production in the fourth quarter, and both companies are developing separate lines of SSD solutions based on 3D NAND technology that are expected to be available within the next year.



Given that flash storage solutions using 3D NAND are not expected to be available until the end of this year at the earliest, it is unlikely that larger SSDs based on the new technology will be included in any next-generation Macs for the foreseeable future. Apple also recently refreshed the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, so those two notebook models in particular are still early in their product cycles.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, March 27

Is the Galaxy S6 really an iPhone ripoff? This leaked comparison photo lets you be the judge

Samsung has managed to make quite a name for itself over the years — in more ways than one. The company practically came from out of nowhere and skyrocketed to the top of the smartphone market in just a few short years, quickly becoming the No. 1 vendor in the world by shipment volume. Of course, the company borrowed a lot from Apple along the way, and it made a reputation for itself as a copycat as a result.

Companies borrow from each other all the time, of course, but Samsung was probably a bit more blatant about it than it should have been — see this secret 132-page guide to copying the iPhone that Samsung made back in 2010 for an example.

And now, it looks like Samsung might be back to its old tricks with the upcoming new Galaxy S6.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 26

HTC One M9 vs. Galaxy S6: Which big flagship phone did Qualcomm just tease?

With MWC around the corner, Qualcomm took to Twitter to tease that a new smartphone with a top-shelf Snapdragon 810 chip inside is going to soon launch. So far, only LG’s G Flex 2 packs the 64-bit octa-core processor, having already been announced at CES 2015 in January.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 25

HURRY: 7 awesome paid iPhone apps that are free for a limited time (includes 2 very cool widget apps!)

After starting out strong on Monday with a solid list of eight nifty paid iPhone and iPad apps that were all free to download for a limited time, we're keeping pace today with a fresh new list of seven more paid apps that are on sale for free for a limited time. Today's list includes several cool selections that you've likely never seen before, and you'll also find two apps that offer great iPhone widgets.

And of course, there are a couple of good ones from yesterday's post that are still free if you hurry.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 17

Apple might finally fix the one iPhone feature you hate most

Apple might finally fix the one iPhone feature that you hate most once the new iPhone 6s arrives, or at least that’s what one of its most recent app-related moves seems to indicate.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 13

Sorry, Samsung... It looks like the HTC One M9 will be the most beautiful smartphone ever made

HTC might not have the biggest sales numbers in the smartphone market, but there's no denying that the company makes some beautiful devices. For years, HTC's smartphones have featured designs and build quality that was a cut above most rival handsets. That trend continued right through 2014, when HTC unveiled the One M8 and showed us the most gorgeous Android phone we had ever seen.

Now, if these new renders are at all representative of reality, it looks like the HTC One M9 could be the most beautiful smartphone ever made, period.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 11

Humiliation: T-Mobile’s network ranked worse than Sprint’s in major new study

T-Mobile CEO John Legere absolutely loves trashing Sprint's network quality, which is why he's not going to be pleased to see that Sprint's network has leapfrogged his own company's in the latest major study from RootMetrics.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, February 10

Your smartphone is absolutely filthy – and these disgusting photos prove it

Remember when we called Motorola's Moto Hint one of the 10 best accessories you could buy ahead of the holidays? Bluetooth headsets might be considered nerdy or geeky by some, but if you don't already have one you might want to consider investing in a good one as soon as possible.

Why is there such urgency? It's because the screen on your smartphone is basically a vile, putrid, disgusting Petri dish.

Continue reading...

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, January 22

Apple Patents Eye-Tracking Software Feature for Possible Use on Mac and iOS

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted an Apple patent, originally filed in April of 2012, that deals with eye-tracking technology used to control a user interface on a computer or smartphone (via AppleInsider ). The specific invention involves a method for ensuring users do not lose track of a cursor while controlling their devices through eye-tracking movements.



The patent, with inventor credit going to David P. Julian, describes future Mac, iPhone, and iPad devices that could include the new camera technology, allowing movements of a user's eye to translate to the movement of a cursor on screen. The patent doesn't go into deep detail describing any further practical use of the "gaze control" technology, though it does mention in passing the possible use such advancements could have in vehicles, game consoles, and entertainment systems.





The patent mostly attempts to battle the Troxler Effect, an optical effect that causes objects in the periphery to begin to disappear when a user focuses on a particular point on-screen. This is a particularly troubling issue with retina-tracking technology, which requires a user to focus on various on-screen interface prompts to properly work.



Apple's invention seeks to counteract the Troxler Effect by monitoring eye movements and blinking to estimate when a user is likely to be losing track of a mouse pointer or other cursor due to the effect. The system would automatically move the cursor to bring it back to visibility.

In certain configurations, the eye tracking system may persistently render the movable indicator wherever the user looks in the GUI. This rendering of the movable indicator may be accurate to the degree that the movable indicator becomes a stabilized retinal image with respect to the user's eyes. As such, the movable indicator may fade with respect to the user's perception of the GUI. In other words, the movable indicator may no longer be visible to the user. In such situations, it is desirable to restore the user's perception of the movable indicator to counteract this fading effect. Accordingly, the eye tracking system described herein may automatically alter the position, appearance, or both of the movable indicator so that it is no longer a stabilized retinal image and can be perceived by the user.

A handful of older patents filed by the company have been released by the Patent and Trademark Office as of late, including a transforming home-button-to-gaming-joystick just last week. Like all other patents, the possibility of the eye-tracking tech showing up anytime soon in an Apple product is very slim, but is an interesting glimpse into the company's possible future nonetheless.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, January 20

GoPro Shares Tumble After Apple Granted Remote Control Camera Patent [Mac Blog]

Shares of personal camera maker GoPro fell 12 percent as trading volume doubled yesterday following the publication of a recently awarded Apple camera patent (via Bloomberg ). Apple was granted US patent no. 8,934,045 yesterday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a remote control camera system powered by a wrist-worn device.





Originally filed by Kodak in 2012 and subsequently acquired by Apple in a much larger patent deal, the patent details a remote digital camera system that can be controlled by a smartwatch or phone. In its description, the patent seeks to addresses a wind resistance flaw present in select GoPro cameras that may lead to image artifacts.



According to Dougherty & Co. analyst Charlie Anderson, the GoPro stock plunge was led by investors concerned that Apple may encroach on the extreme action-adventure camera market currently dominated by GoPro. Investor reaction to this patent appears to have been overblown, however, as Apple patents a variety of technology innovations, most of which are not used in consumer products. And in this case, the technology wasn't even Apple's to begin with, making it even less clear whether the company has any intention of following up on it.

Read More [...]

Posted in 2015 at 02:55PM, January 14