Toshiba Set to Introduce UFS Ver2.0 Solution in 2Q 2014

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., (TAEC)*, a committed leader that collaborates with technology companies to create breakthrough designs, today announced that it is working with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), to bring Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver2.0 solutions to tablets and smartphones powered by Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 805 processors. The new solutions are anticipated to go into production in the second quarter of 2014.

UFS, the next generation of embedded memory device to e-MMC, drives a significant boost in performance – a key requirement for tablets and smartphones. These applications require high performance to produce a best-in-class user experience, such as for browsing and 4K video, at low power to extend battery life. With improved data processing speeds in host chipsets and wider bandwidths for wireless connectivity, demand continues to grow for large density, high-performance memory that supports high resolution video.

"UFS offers higher performance and a number of other features that are valuable in the growing mobile industry," said Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm Technologies.  "As the world leader in next-generation mobile technologies, Qualcomm Technologies is always looking to stay on the cutting edge, and Toshiba is a proven innovator in NAND flash technology, including UFS."

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processors, which are designed to interface to Toshiba's UFS memory, will be aligned to the high end of their roadmap for tablets and smartphones, with e-MMC continuing to cover mid-range and low-end products in the near term. "High-end smartphones and tablets will be the first to adopt and take advantage of the performance benefits of UFS over e-MMC," noted Scott Nelson, senior vice president of TAEC's memory business unit. "As UFS migrates to mid-range products, the embedded mobile memory market will transition from e-MMC to UFS, though e-MMC will likely continue to support the low-end for some time."

Toshiba, the first in the industry to offer UFS devices, has been shipping samples of its 64-gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND flash memory equipped with a UFS Ver1.1 interface since early 2013, primarily to enable chipset and OS vendors to develop the capabilities to utilize UFS. Toshiba's UFS Ver2.0, which will be available for mass production 2Q 2014, is designed for a wide range of digital consumer products - including smartphones and tablets.

"By designing their chipset to interface with Toshiba's UFS and harnessing the performance advantages of this new interface, Qualcomm Technologies continues to demonstrate their leadership role in introducing leading-edge solutions," said Nelson.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processors utilizing Toshiba's UFS Ver2.0 devices are scheduled to go into production in 2Q 2014, and it is anticipated that additional chipsets utilizing UFS will follow.

For an in depth look at UFS and e-MMC, please see: https://vimeo.com/72052801.  For additional company and product information, please visit http://www.toshiba.com/taec/ or http://www.toshiba.com/taec/adinfo/technologymoves.

*About Toshiba Corp. and TAEC

About TAEC

Through proven commitment, lasting relationships and advanced, reliable electronic components, Toshiba enables its customers to create market-leading designs.  Toshiba is the heartbeat within product breakthroughs from OEMs, ODMs, CMs, VARs, distributors and fabless chip companies worldwide.  A committed electronic components leader, Toshiba designs and manufactures high-quality flash memory-based storage solutions, solid state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), discrete devices, advanced materials, medical tubes, custom SoCs/ASICs, imaging products, microcontrollers and wireless components that make possible today's leading smartphones, tablets, cameras, medical devices, automotive electronics, enterprise solutions and more.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan's largest semiconductor manufacturer and the world's fifth largest semiconductor manufacturer (Gartner, 2012 Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue, April, 2013). Toshiba Corporation was founded in 1875 and today has over 554 subsidiaries and affiliates, with 210,000 employees worldwide. Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm.

For additional company and product information, please visit http://www.toshiba.com/taec/.

Universal Flash Storage is a trademark and product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC UFS standard specification.

e-MMC is a trademark and a product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC e - MMC Standard specification.

Product density is identified based on the density of memory chip(s) within the Product, not the amount of memory capacity available for data storage by the end user. Consumer-usable capacity will be less due to overhead data areas, formatting, bad blocks, and other constraints, and may also vary based on the host device and application. Maximum read and write speed may vary depending on the host device, read and write conditions, and file size. For purposes of measuring read and write speed in this context, 1 megabyte or MB = 1,000,000 bytes.

Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice.  Technical and application information contained here is subject to the most recent applicable Toshiba product specifications.  In developing designs, please ensure that Toshiba products are used within specified operating ranges as set forth in the most recent Toshiba product specifications and the information set forth in Toshiba's "Handling Guide for Semiconductor Devices," or "Toshiba Semiconductor Reliability Handbook."  This information is available at www.chips.toshiba.com, or from your TAEC representative.

All trademarks and tradenames held within are the properties of their respective holders.

Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. All Qualcomm Incorporated trademarks are used with permission. Other products or brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.