Etron Tech Shipping USB 3.0 Controller
Etron Technology has started shipping the company’s in-house developed 2- and 4-channel USB flash drive controller chips, and its single-channel ones are currently sampling with customers, according to the Taiwan-based IC design firm. With a more complete product offering, Etron is looking to enter the world’s top-two in the field of USB 3.0 flash drive controller market in 2012, said the firm.
Etron indicated its EV268-series dual-core USB 3.0 flash drive controllers have been adopted by memory module vendors for their new products, which hit market shelves in March. The chip provides data transfer rates of more than 230MB/s and includes ECC checking, and supports SLC/MLC/TLC NAND flash memories built using 3Xnm and 2Xnm technologies.
The size of the global flash drive market is 80-100 million units a year, and the penetration rate for those with USB 3.0 will reach about 20% in the fourth quarter of 2012, Etron pointed out.
If the price gap between USB 2.0 drives and USB 3.0 ones is narrowed to less than US$2, consumers will be pretty much encouraged to purchase products with the faster, new interface, Etron said.
Etron specializes in specialty DRAM memory, and has been expanding its product mix. The firm previously introduced its USB 3.0 host controllers.
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Mark McCrosky
Kicking around in technology since 2002. I like to write about technology products and ideas, but at the consumer level understanding. Some tech, but not too techie.
Posting on Quora.com as well.