The MultiMediaCard Association Finalizes MMCmicro(TM) Card Specification; Ideal Storage Solution Perfectly Suited for Multimedia-Rich Mobile Phones with Significant Space and Power Saving Considerations
SUNOL, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 21, 2005—
The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) today announced
that it has finalized the MMCmicro(TM) specification at its recent
Summer General Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.
The new MMCmicro Cards represent the third MultiMediaCard form
factor, along with MMCplus(TM) and MMCmobile(TM) Cards. Measuring
12x14x1.1 mm, they are about one-third the size of MMCmobile Cards.
The MMCmicro Card standard is designed to meet the latest market
requirements for data storage in mobile phones. It operates at either
3.3 volts or 1.8 volts and is capable of data transfer rate of up to
26MB/s (megabytes per second), the highest in performance amongst
micro-sized memory card standards in the market. In addition, 1GB
(gigabytes) of flash memory can be packaged into an MMCmicro Card with
existing NAND Flash technology. The resulting high performance and
large memory capacity in a small footprint lets mobile phone
manufacturers incorporate more multimedia features in the mobile
handsets for the consumers to enjoy a rich multimedia experience
wherever they go.
The MMCmicro Cards are similar in size to embedded flash memory,
but are readily removable to allow for upgrading to different memory
capacities and be interoperable with other consumer electronics
devices. A 256MB MMCmicro Card can hold about 250 minutes of
CD-quality music, or over 500 photos taken on a mobile phone with a
two mega-pixel camera.
According to Danny Lin, MMCA Marketing Committee Co-Chair,
"MMCmicro Cards is the latest memory card standard from the MMCA.
These micro-sized memory cards, will permit handset manufacturers to
pack large amounts of removable data storage into ever-smaller
handsets. And as more memory-intensive audio and video applications
appear on mobile handsets, they will in turn drive demand for even
greater storage capabilities."
The MMCmicro Card standard was originally proposed by Samsung
Electronics Co. for adoption by the MMCA. Samsung and other companies
have begun mass-producing the cards since March. MMCmicro Cards in
densities up to 1GB will be available this year, with 2GB and 4GB
expected in late '06 and mid '07, respectively.
About The MMCA (MultiMediaCard Association -- www.mmca.org)
The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) is the open standard
organization that defines the physical, functional and interface
specifications of MultiMediaCards (MMCs), the postage-stamp size,
removable memory cards used in mobile phone, digital imaging and
portable consumer electronics applications. While removable memory
cards are the primary focus, the MMCA also supports the adoption of
the MMC interface standard in other embedded or removable components
and subsystems, such as hard disk drives.
Founded in 1998, the MMCA provides a global forum for memory card
and semiconductor component suppliers, software vendors and
manufacturers of mobile electronic devices who jointly endorse and
promote the worldwide adoption of MultiMediaCards and the MMC
standards.
MMCA Principles:
The organization is dedicated to open, royalty-free standards;
These standards are established consensually, with the equal
participation of MMCA members;
Product interoperability and compliance are integral to the
specifications and standards.
The MMCA mailing address is P.O. Box 303, Sunol, CA 94586; Ph:
925-417-0127; Fax: 925-417-0128. More information is at www.mmca.org.
MMCmicro(TM) is a registered trademark of the MultiMediaCard
Association. Other company/product names mentioned may be trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for
identification purpose only.
Contact:
Thomas Mahon Associates
Tom Mahon, 925-200-5165
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