Once upon a time IBM asked Intel to find a strong alternative source of iAPX chips before it standardised its personal computers on the processor. So it was that an initial 10 year deal was struck between Intel and AMD covering technology exchange with Intel responsible for CPUs and AMD in charge of peripheral devices. However, controversy broke out in 1987 over whether the agreement stretched to the 32-bit level independent arbitration will decide this month. In the meantime life goes on for the two bitter rivals and the latest battleground is the realm of flash memory technology – both companies convened press briefings to hawk their wares:
Intel launched Flash Memory developer’s kit for the AT market…
Intel’s flash memory technology came to public prominence last year with the launch of Psion Plc’s Mobile Computer range which uses both Intel’s flash memory and Microsoft’s Flash File System (CI No 1,271). Intel currently has 1Mb and 2Mb flash memory products on the market, but with the race to set a de facto standard hotting up – aside from AMD, Toshiba, Seeq and Texas Instruments are all in the game – it wants systems designers to get cracking with its technology. That is why it has announced a system developer’s kit to be available in December, priced at UKP300, which will include a 1Mb flash memory card, anAT/XT add-in board with an embedded interface, an evaluation copy of Microsoft’s Flash File System software and an example of the software driver source code, as well as a complete set of technical documents. So why is flash memory technology so significant? In the portable personal computer market its impact will be immense, since it offers reprogrammable, low cost, high density, non-volatile memory capacity. On the hardware side both the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association and the Japanese Electronic Industry Association have agreed to a 68-pin form factor to which portables will have to conform needless to say Intel’s flash memory card does. On the software side Microsoft has its Flash File System running as a driver under MS-DOS which implements flash memory. From the user’s point of view this makes Flash technology look like traditional devices – the only difference being that it is much faster boasting a 250nS access time. Intel has a 4Mb Flash Memory card available for sampling now – called the iMCOO4FLKA it costs UKP714 in 1,000 piece quantities and volume production will begin in December. Prices for the card are expected to halve within a year. Next year Intel claims that it will have 8Mb and 16Mb cards. Intel’s Herbert Weber believes that at the 4Mb level it would be possible to start using Windows 3.0 on palmtops that is if the screen technology wasn’t so limiting. He also thinks that past the 8Mb density there will be no more EPROMs because at that level the technology reduces the effectiveness of ultra-violet light for erasing data. Aside from the deal with Psion, Intel has announced that Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc will be second-sourcing the Flash Memory card, while Poqet Computer Corp, in which Fujitsu has a 38% stake, is to market the cards as Poqet PC Cards. It would seem that Intel and Microsoft between them are obviously well on the way to creating a de facto standard for portable computing non-volatile memory devices.
as AMD launches its IBM motherboard- on-a-chip for the AT market
Advanced Micro Devices has entered the flash memory market – as it has entered most markets – under the banner alternate source. It has come up with a 1M-bit Flash memory which it claims is compatible with Intel’s 12.0 volt Flash memory pinout and software programming routines. In the words of Mike Wodopian, AMD’s director of European Marketing & Applications, the product is 100% compatible with Intel’s pseudo standard. The Am28F010 claims to have the smallest die size (45K mil squared) and fastest access time (90nS) of any product in the Flash memory market. The Am28F010, organised in 128Kb by 8 bits is available in volume quantities, costing UKP16 for 32-pin PLCC packages in 100-p
iece quantities. The company expects high volume pricing for the part to be below UKP6 at the beginning of 1991. AMD will follow this launch up with 256Kb and 512Kb devices with faster access speeds. Wodopian says the Flash market will ramp up from next year and will be worth more than $1,000m in 1995. AMD agrees with Intel that the Flash market will overtake EPROM technology. The company also announced two other products: a new version of its Am29000 RISC chip, the 40MHz Am29050 designed to accelerate embedded applications, particularly for graphics and laser printers. It features burst-mode access support, 1,024-byte branch target cache memory on-chip, demand paging, on-chip timer facility and clock generation, master-slave chip output checking and enhanced debugging support. Wodopian says that AMD has already received two bookings for more than 100,000 of these devices to be delivered in the first half of next year. In 1991 additional members of the Am29000 family will be unveiled. Samples are out fourth quarter this year in 20MHz, 25MHz, 33MHz and 40MHz versions priced respectively at $255, $290, $350 and $410. Finally, the company unveiled its 80286 motherboard on a chip (CI No 1,523) aimed at the fast growing portable computer market. However, Wodopian said that a number of low-end desktop manufac-turers have already expressed an interest in the Am286ZX product. The device has everything on board apart from DRAM: it directly drives DRAMs, a co-processor such as an AMD 80C287, BIOS EPROMS, keyboard controller and AT bus slots. The ZX product is designed for desktop personal computer systems, while the LX integrated microprocessor is designed for laptops and has on-chip power management, including a shut-down mode, system standby mode, staggered DRAM refresh and slow-refresh DRAM support. Sampling will begin before Christmas with production due in second quarter 1991 for 12MHz and 16MHz devices. – Katy Ring
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