AMD Introduces Lower-Voltage Flash Chip

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. unveiled an upgrade to its flash memory chip family that it said will extend battery life in hand-held portable devices such as cellular telephones and pagers. Sunnyvale-based AMD introduced a 1.8-volt chip, currently the lowest-energy-consuming flash memory chip. “The 1.8 voltage allows system manufacturers to double the system standby time and talk time,” said Walid Maghribi, vice president of AMD’s memory group. The average flash memory chip operates at about 3 volts in “plain vanilla” devices such as analog cellular phones, but products like the newer digital phones require lower-power-consuming chips. Flash memory chips are used mostly in communications and portable devices, while dynamic random access memory chips are the key memory component chips in PCs. Flash made up about 25% of the company’s total sales in the third quarter, AMD said. In the current quarter, flash sales are expected to grow in the single digits. AMD shares fell 94 cents to close at $19.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.