At least we have a bit of time to get ready but yet another memory format is headed our way. Called Universal Flash Storage (UFS), it promises higher storage capacities and significantly improved performance. Nokia, Micron Technology, Samsung, Spansion and STMicroelectronics, Sony Ericsson and Texas Instruments have all announced their support for this standard currently being standardized by the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC).
Major applications such as mobile handsets, digital still cameras and other CE devices will benefit from the convenience of a universal open standard based specification that is intended to reduce the time-consuming process of enabling interoperability among the various types of removable and embedded memory solutions at the system level. UFS is planned to provide consumers in the future with the convenience of a unified removable memory card that can be shared among various mobile, portable and other CE devices without the need for any adaptors.
The new standard should be finalized by 2009.