Samsung has announced that it is sampling the first gigabyte-density MultiMediaCard (MMC) device targeted at mobile phone applications.

The MMCmobile card is half the size of its MMCplus and capable of dual-voltage support (1.8 or 3.3V), satisfying both the low voltage and the low power consumption requirements for mobile phones.

In addition to the MMCmobile card, the company also announced sampling of 1GB and 2GB MMCplus cards.

The higher densities and faster speeds of Samsung's version 4.1 memory cards are expected to offer higher performance tomobile consumer devices, such as mobile phones, digital still cameras, PDAs, MP3 music players and PMPs (portable multimedia players).



The new cards are capable of transmitting data at 52 Mbytes per second, up to 20 times faster than previous MMC versions, by supporting wider (x4 and x8) bus widths and faster clock speeds (up to 52MHz).

The MMCplus cards function on 3.3Vs of power and are said to be as much as three times faster than traditional SD memory cards. These MMCs are better suited for digital cameras or PDA that needs fast response times for using and manipulating advanced functions.

The new gigabyte cards add to Samsung's line-up of 64MB, 128MB, 256MB and 512MB MMC cards. The 1GB MMCmobile, as well as the 1GB and 2GB MMCplus cards, are available now for customer sampling, with mass production slated for next month. Each MMC device is compatible with existing MMC (version 4.1) specifications, established by the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA).