Motorola Inc is launching the second generation of its standard flash memory product line for its eight-bit HC05 microcontrollers – said to be the highest selling eight-bit controller available. The general purpose 908GP32 unit updates the 908GP20, launched a year ago, by increasing memory capacity from 20k to 32k and making it faster to program, through its FLASHwire programming technology. Motorola licenses the SuperFlash technology from Silicon Storage Technology Inc.
In conjunction with Salt Lake City-based emWare Inc, Motorola is offering the NET.08 software development kit, for embedding network connectivity into microcontroller-based devices, such as power meters, building controls and home automation devices – things that don’t need the power of a full 32-bit processors, a real-time operating system of TCP/IP stack in the device. EmWare’s EMIT embedded micro internetworking technology is device networking software for monitoring, controlling and management over any network, including the internet, WANs or LANs. A device object server called emMicro can be embedded on the microcontroller, and emGateway, which is loaded onto a PC or single board computer, provides connectivity between the device and the users.
Motorola says it’s currently selling hundreds of thousands of flash memory devices per month, but expects volumes to reach a million a month soon. Samples are available now, with full availability next month. The list price is $4.95 in quantities of 50,000. Motorola is also working on faster flash memory technology with its partner Advanced Micro Devices Inc under an agreement first set up last year. The first results should become available in 2000.
