Nokia 7705 Twist puts a new twist on messaging

Enlarge

Verizon Wireless and Nokia introduce the Nokia 7705 Twist, a fun phone with a unique square shape that swivels open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad. The phone's shortcut buttons provide quick access to messaging, the 3.0 megapixel camera, Web browsing, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, voice commands, and speakerphone options.

The Contact Light Ring, located in the lower right corner, can be customized to identify a message or a call from those listed in the contact directory. Customers may purchase the Nokia Twist online at verizonwireless.com beginning Sept. 13 and in
Enlarge

Enlarge

Features:

- Compatible with services including VZ NavigatorSM, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, V CAST Video, Visual Voice Mail, Mobile Broadband Connect and Corporate Email

- Habitat mode activates a unique interface for visualizing your social circle and allows customers to easily organize their calls and messaging history

- 3.0 megapixel camera/ • Color effects: normal, antique, black & white, negative
• Capture mode: landscape and portrait
• Photo editing: pan and zoom, rotate
• Customized slideshow
• Video capture and playback

- Media Center-capable for downloading games, ringtones and more

- Threaded messaging helps customers keep track of a variety of conversations

- "Post to Blogs" feature allows multimedia to be posted to a blog or social networking site

- HTML browser

- Support for Mobile Email, Mobile Web Mail, Chat and Blogs

- Built-in mirror

- Supported Bluetooth profiles include headset, hands-free, dial-up networking, stereo, phonebook access, basic printing, object push (for vCard and vCal), file transfer, and basic imaging

- 2.4-inch, 262K TFT QVGA screen

- EV-DO Rev. 0

- 2.5 mm headset jack

- Dimensions: 2.71" x 2.71" x 0.59"

- Usage time: up to 270 minutes

- Standby time: up to 312 hours

- Weight: 3.44 ounces

The Nokia Twist will be available for 99.99 USD after a 50.00 USD mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Source: Nokia

Freescale manufactures world's first 24-Mbit silicon nanocrystal memory

A non-volatile memory technology which is denser, faster and more cost-effective than conventional flash memory technology is now closer to production. Freescale has manufactured the world's first 24-megabit memory array based on silicon nanocrystals, a major step toward replacing conventional floating gate-based flash memories.

The 24-Mbit memory array technology was manufactured at Freescale's Austin Technology & Manufacturing Center using 90-nanometer CMOS bulk technology. The production of a working 24-Mbit memory device requires that silicon nanocrystals be deposited with excellent uniformity and integration approaches that keep the nanocrystal properties intact during subsequent processing. In successfully achieving this, Freescale has overcome major challenges to introducing this technology into production.

As the industry begins manufacturing at smaller geometries — 90-nm and smaller — embedding floating gate-based flash becomes difficult to produce cost-effectively. At those dimensions, the chip area consumed by the 9-12V high-voltage transistors required to write and erase the conventional flash module cannot be scaled down. Furthermore, engineers cannot reduce the high voltage in floating gate-based flash without compromising reliability or risking memory failures and loss of data.

Silicon nanocrystal memories are part of an advanced class of memory technologies called thin-film storage. They are more scaleable than conventional floating gate-based flash technology, as their tunnel oxide thickness can be reduced without impacting data retention. The charge is stored on isolated nanocrystals and is lost only from those few nanocrystals that align with defects in the tunnel oxide — while the same defects would result in significant charge loss from a conventional floating gate.

A thinner tunnel oxide permits lower-voltage operation, substantially reducing the memory module area needed to generate the bit-cell programming voltages, and allowing for significant wafer processing simplifications and manufacturing cost reductions. The combination of higher bit density and reduced cost translates to lower cost per bit to embed silicon nanocrystal memories. Freescale expects significant reductions in cost per bit of silicon nanocrystal thin-film storage memories.

"Silicon nanocrystal storage is a promising alternative to industry-standard embedded NOR memory, as it offers the capability of lowering both the size and cost of the device," said Semico Analyst Jim Handy. "Freescale's achievement is a key development in the introduction of the ‘faster, cheaper' memory that the semiconductor industry increasingly requires."

Freescale successfully pioneered the use of nanocrystals in memory devices in March 2003, and discussed the demonstration of its first-of-its-kind 4-Mbit nanocrystal memory device at the December 2003 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in a paper entitled "A 6-V embedded 90-nm silicon nanocrystal nonvolatile memory."

Source: Freescale