Toshiba Ponders a World Without NAND Flash

Toshiba Corporation announced it has released the next video installment in its NAND Flash Deprivation Experiment campaign.

For more information visit: www.flash25.toshiba.com


Unedited press release follows:

Exploring the Impact of Toshiba’s NAND Flash: Unleashing the Mobility of Content

From Tablets to eReaders — NAND Flash Puts Entire Libraries of Content at Our Fingertips

NEW YORK, NY–(Jun 21, 2012) – NAND flash technology has carved out a path to a new era in which consumers are able to carry videos, music and data with them wherever they go. Invented by Toshiba Corporation and sold by Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., (TAEC)*, a committed leader that collaborates with technology companies to create breakthrough designs, NAND flash technology has unleashed the mobility of content and is fueling innovation in the development of smaller and faster consumer electronics products.

Music, pictures and books — what would life be like without the ability to take our content with us as we go about our daily activities? Picture it: You’re embarking on a cross country flight and can’t decide which books to bring. How do you choose? This is a scenario that is becoming more and more rare. Thanks to eReaders and tablets, you no longer have to choose — all of your content can come with you, placing an almost inexhaustible supply of reading materials right at your fingertips. Thin, light, instant-on, rugged form factors — such as those seen in tablet computing and eReaders — would not be possible without NAND flash technology.

According to the NPD Group, combined sales in the tablets/e-readers category nearly doubled from the period of 2010 to 2011 for a total of $15 billion dollars — making this category the fastest moving of all consumer electronics sales in the U.S.

This week at Digital Experience, Toshiba is introducing the next video installment in its NAND Flash Deprivation Experiment campaign. Launched to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Toshiba’s invention of NAND flash, the campaign takes a look at what happens when people are deprived of NAND flash — and all of the everyday devices they use that are enabled by it.

A Look Back
Before NAND flash brought us low-power, durable, high-capacity data storage with fast erase, write and read capabilities, many of the things we use today were merely figments of the imagination. For example, in 2002, the first large block NAND flash device — based on Toshiba technology — was introduced, paving the way for smartphones and other emerging applications like MP3 players.

A Look Forward
What does the future hold for NAND flash? According to Scott Nelson, vice president, Memory Business Unit, TAEC, “The sky is the limit for what NAND flash technology can do. NAND flash puts higher performance capabilities and smaller, thinner packages into the hands of design engineers — the rest is up to their imaginations.”

Supporting quotes:
“Flash memory has mobilized consumer electronics and enabled data access on a personal level.” – Michael Yang, Principal Analyst, iSuppli Corporation

Join Us
Toshiba’s interactive campaign that explores the impact of NAND flash features:

• Video Series: This series of brief videos takes a humorous look at what life might be like without NAND flash. Visit www.flash25.toshiba.com/#watch to see our latest installment and have a glimpse at what life would be like without an eReader!

• 25 Years of NAND Flash website: Launched to be a one-stop shop for all things related to the 25th anniversary of NAND flash, www.flash25.toshiba.com features a timeline of notable NAND flash achievements over the past 25 years, images, industry voices, and much more.

• Giveaways: For U.S. residents, like www.facebook.com/Flash25Toshiba on Facebook and enter in the drawing to win one of five Toshiba Excite Tablets! Additionally, each month, the first 100 people in the U.S. to like the Facebook page and enter to win will receive a free NAND Flash Deprivation Experiment t-shirt.

Tags/Keywords
NAND flash, flash memory, smartphones, music players, tablets, data storage, consumer electronics, SSDs, digital cameras, cloud computing, eReaders, mobile devices, semiconductor memory

*About Toshiba Corp. and 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, MP3 players, 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 third largest semiconductor manufacturer (Gartner, 2011 Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue, March, 2012). Toshiba Corporation was founded in 1875 and today has over 554 subsidiaries and affiliates, with 210,000 employees worldwide.