SanDisk’s Next-Generation iNAND Extreme Embedded Flash Drive to Enable New, More Responsive Flagship Android Smartphones and Tablets

  • SanDisk enhances its premium embedded flash storage with an advanced new architecture for consistently high performance
  • Ideal for robust mobile photography, video and gaming applications
  • Boasts three times the random write speed and twice the sequential read speed compared to the current iNAND Extreme EFD
  • iNAND family of products has already enabled hundreds of millions of Android-based mobile devices

SanDisk introduces its next-generation iNAND Extreme embedded flash drive for smartphones and tablets. (Photo: Business Wire)

Mobile World Congress 2014

BARCELONA, Spain--()--MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), a global leader in flash storage solutions, today announced the next generation of its iNAND Extreme™ embedded flash drive (EFD) – the fastest, thinnest and most sophisticated embedded storage product from SanDisk to date. Currently being sampled to select customers worldwide in capacities up to 64GB1, iNAND Extreme enables mobile device manufacturers to push design boundaries and create a new wave of exceptionally responsive Android™-based smartphones and tablets that consistently deliver outstanding performance through the lifespan of the mobile device.

“Smartphones and tablets have come into their own as computing devices, with advanced applications such as 4K video, quad-core processors, and incredibly high resolution cameras becoming more and more pervasive,” said Bob O’Donnell, founder and chief analyst, TECHnalysis Research, LLC. “As the mobile capabilities become richer, higher capacity and more sophisticated storage is essential to both provide a great user experience, as well as unlock the true potential of these types of applications.”

"We’ve incorporated our latest memory technology and a truly unique new architecture to create an all new iNAND Extreme,” said Drew Henry, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile and Connected Solutions, SanDisk. “iNAND Extreme works with the latest processing technology to reduce latency and take application performance to the next level, from playing 4K video to faster multi-shot, to more responsive gaming apps. iNAND Extreme enables mobile device manufacturers to develop a new generation of faster, more reliable smartphones and tablets that perform exceptionally well.”

Better Mobile User Experiences through New Technology Advancements

The enhanced iNAND Extreme features a completely new architecture that works with the latest mobile processors to bring an outstanding user experience to Android-based smartphones and handsets. The advanced architecture includes a unique dual-core design, innovative new hardware and software data management algorithms, and the latest e.MMC 5.0 specification, resulting in significantly lower latency and higher bandwidth. This means that smartphones and tablets with iNAND Extreme can smoothly navigate multiple applications simultaneously, and are responsive enough to record or play back 4K video, and take and share even higher resolution images.

Android-based devices enabled with iNAND Extreme also perform at high levels throughout the life of the device, even as the storage continues to fill up. iNAND Extreme now incorporates a sophisticated error correction mechanism, which significantly enhances storage endurance and makes it more resistant to fragmentation and other issues that slow down storage and mobile device performance over time.

Deeply Integrated with the Mobile Ecosystem

SanDisk, which works with all leading handset and tablet providers, worked closely with leading application processor vendors to optimize the new iNAND Extreme for use in the design of high-performance, next-generation mobile devices.

The iNAND Extreme is supported by advanced simulation, trouble-shooting and engineering tools that enable mobile manufacturers to quickly and easily integrate the device into mobile device designs. This offers the potential to significantly reduce the time from product development to product availability.

Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging Enables Slim, Powerful Mobile Devices

The new iNAND Extreme is the first iNAND product to be built on SanDisk’s industry-leading 1Y nanometer (nm) process technology, which represents its second-generation 19nm manufacturing technology. This enables SanDisk to offer 64GB of storage capacity in a package just 11.5mm x 13mm in size and as thin as 1.0 mm.

iNAND Products: Expanding the Possibilities of Storage in the Mobile World

iNAND Extreme is part of the iNAND family of products, which have made incredible mobile experiences possible on hundreds of millions of devices. The iNAND™ product family offers an embedded storage solution for every performance segment. The iNAND product family includes iNAND, iNAND Ultra™ and iNAND Extreme EFD products. SanDisk's iNAND solutions, available in EFDs and MCP (Multi-Chip Package) forms, provide tablets, smartphones, e-Book readers, personal media players and personal navigation devices with faster system responsiveness, improved multitasking and browsing performance, longer battery life and an enhanced user experience.

Features and Specifications:

  • Built on the eMMC 5.0 HS400 specification
  • Sequential write/read speeds up to 80/300 MB/s; Random write/read speeds up to 3000/6000 IOPS
  • New dual CPU and dual channel hardware architecture
  • Unique software enhancements enable improved responsiveness and ensure performance consistency
  • Enhanced infrastructure support and tools help mobile manufacturers to improve handset and tablet time to market

Availability

Samples of the next generation iNAND Extreme are currently available to customers with general availability in the second quarter of 2014.

SanDisk at Mobile World Congress

SanDisk will be displaying the new iNAND Extreme EFD in the company’s Mobile World Congress booth, Stand # 7A61, located in Hall 7. The company will also be displaying the new 128GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC™ UHS-I memory card, the world’s largest capacity microSD card (announced separately today).

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, is a global leader in flash storage solutions. For more than 25 years, SanDisk has expanded the possibilities of storage, providing trusted and innovative products that have transformed the electronics industry. Today, SanDisk’s quality, state-of-the-art solutions are at the heart of many of the world's largest data centers, and embedded in advanced smart phones, tablets and PCs. SanDisk’s consumer products are available at hundreds of thousands of retail stores worldwide. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com.

1 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user capacity less.

© 2014 SanDisk Corporation. All rights reserved. SanDisk is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. iNAND, iNAND Ultra and iNAND Extreme are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for markets and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: the market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or our products may not be available at the time or in the capacities that we expect or perform as expected, or the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. We do not intend to update the information contained in this news release.

Contacts

SanDisk Corporation
Laura Bakken, 408-801-7653
laura.bakken@sandisk.com

Release Summary

SanDisk today announced at Mobile World Congress the next generation of its iNAND Extreme™ EFD - the fastest, thinnest and most sophisticated embedded storage product from SanDisk to date.

Contacts

SanDisk Corporation
Laura Bakken, 408-801-7653
laura.bakken@sandisk.com