Isn't it amazing how flash memory has grown over the years? Not too dissimilar from your ego, right? Just two years ago SanDisk was only offering 16GB modules in the high end of its iNAND embedded flash range, and today the same company presented a new MLC NAND chip with four times the capacity. The trick in this 64GB 32nm silicon gem is the same-old X3 flash technology (along with undisclosed, but evidently significant, "innovations in flash management"), which allows each cell to store three bits. Go on, OEMs -- just shove one of these chips into our next phone and we'll promise to leave you alone until next February. Wait, did we say "promise?" Try... we meant try.

Continue reading SanDisk's 64GB iNAND embedded flash adds memory girth to handhelds

SanDisk's 64GB iNAND embedded flash adds memory girth to handhelds originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SanDisk's X4 tech packs four bits of data into each memory cell, compared with the typical one or two bits. That means they'll be able to far exceed the 32GB limit on SDHC, microSDHC and others, and they've started shipping.

Right now, they're only shipping in 8GB and 16GB capacities, which have been long available, but soon they'll be releasing 64GB and even higher flash memory. The X4 tech doesn't yet extend to SSDs, though it's not really clear why, but it's still great news for us gadget hounds. Many smartphones, especially those running Android, WinMo and BlackBerry OS, rely on microSDHC cards for memory, and a 64GB or even higher capacity card would make those much more viable as, say, multimedia machines. SanDisk assures us that the price will not skyrocket, which is a relief. X4 chips should start appearing in stores very soon. [CNET]

It's impossible not to love the concept of doubleTwist, the all-devices-welcome quasi-iTunes music manager, but up to this point the software has been pretty barebones. Now, things are gettin' ser-i-ous: doubleTwist has a built-in music store, courtesy of Amazon.

To put this into context, doubleTwist debuted not just as an alternative music manager for people with or without Apple players, but as a giant, coded jab at iTunes, Apple, and the way they do business. After launch, DVD Jon, who created doubleTwist, spent a few months waging a small-scale PR war, hanging Apple-baiting banners in San Francisco and parodying their famous "1984" ad. With Amazon MP3 store integration, that ad's promise—to "bring you choice"—has come true, and it's worth a thousand PR stunts

As has been the case with every other aspect of doubleTwist, the music storefront looks like a simpler version of the one in iTunes. Navigation and searching are about as simple as they could be, as are downloads, which only take a few clicks. The whole experience will be familiar to anyone weened on Apple's bloated beast, apart from a few things: Amazon's album prices are often lower than iTunes', and of course, you can immediately sync any music you download—there's only music, by the way—to practically any device you own, be it a Pre, a BlackBerry, a Sandisk, an iPod, or whatever.

The first version is Mac-only and tied to Amazon's US store, but Windows (and international) versions are on their way. [doubleTwist via Techcrunch]