Toshiba recently revealed the launch of its 32GB embedded NAND flash memory modules, making it the largest density ever produced among the current standard. The devices will be applicable for mobile digital consumer products, including mobile phones and video cameras. More in our full article after the jump.

As expected, Toshiba will finally make a statement about HD DVD's fate on Tuesday, February 19. It's widely speculated that Toshiba will completely let go of the format, and cease HD DVD related productions in March. Will this truly be the end of the format wars? More details in the full article.

While it's good news that Intel and Micron introduced the fastest NAND flash memory chip to date, there's more good news on the horizon. A substantial decline in the price of NAND flash memory has gadget companies in a race to bring forward tech with larger storage capacities and lower pricetags. Details in the full article.

Two of the biggest names in the tech industry, Intel Corporation and Micron Technologies, Inc., have unveiled the world's fasted 8 Gb high speed NAND flash memory technology. Sporting nearly five times the data transfer speed compared to today's conventional NAND and SSD
products, this newly developed technology is bound to spell good news for techies who want to pack in more data on to their favored digital storage devices.

Steve Jobs has his iPhone. It's got iPod, it's got wireless, (it's got no 3G), and it's got your attention - not to mention US$ 600 of your money. But that's Apple. Stevie hasn't mentioned (yet) if the iPhone will be open to third-party applications. Still, the iPhone is one alternative - the proprietary one. But here's another, and it's open source.

Meet OpenMoko's FIC Neo1973 Smartphone - "the world's first integrated open-source mobile communications platform". "For the first time, the mobile ecosystem will be as open as the PC, and mobile applications equally as diverse and more easily accessible," says Sean Moss-Pultz, architect of OpenMoko and Product Manager of FIC's Mobile Communication Business Unit.

Like any good smartphone, the Neo1973 offers the usual slate of communications tools for the businessman on the go - push email and PIM, cellular, and so forth. By being open-source, though, it promises to accept a range of software, including and especially just like your PC. Thank goodness then for 64MB of NAND flash memory to store it in. Hmm... open-source MP3 player?

Other features of an open-source cellphone after the jump!

It definitely wasn't planned, but the homebrew community is rocking this holiday season! Day after day, we have witnessed the release of one great application to another. Of course, headlining the pack is the Custom Firmware 3.02 OE-A released by Dark_AleX himself. Then there was PSOne Emulation and even one Customizer.

Equally interesting is the report about 0okm's successful access of the NAND Flash memory on Firmware 2.80 PSP units. This prompted and renewed discussions on downgrading the ever elusive 2.80. Kid101Skater of DeviantPSP announced today that he just came up with a 2.8 Dumper. This is what he exactly wrote:

Well, I just did something big... I just completely dumped everything on PSP: the flash0, flash1, flash_lower.bin, flash_upper.bin, and more... FULL KERNAL ACCESS... U HAVE TO PATCH SFO.

Well, this development is definitely big. In case there is is someone reading this and doesn't quite get it, this application decrypts everything. That means, homebrew developers can now see how things work on 2.80 and ultimately manipulate it.  This, without a doubt, takes the community one step closer into downgrading 2.80.

Download: [2.8 Dumper with full Kernel Access]

Yes you heard right! 0okm reports that he has successfully accessed the NAND Flash memory on Firmware 2.80 PSP's. This would leave PSP Gamers running 2.80 with a big question... Will there be a 2.80 downgrader? Well to quote 0okm, a "DG for FW2.80 is easy" thanks to Team C+D's kernel mode exploit.

Accessing the flash, now what does that mean for me? Well, not much... just yet anyways. For developers however, the ability to properly access the PSP's hardware on this level is the required base for developments such as a downgrader, and possibly a new custom firmware with handy modules.

It's been quite an exciting time here recently for our PSP fans. We've seen some incredible breakthroughs that were strongly debunked previously; emulating Sony's new barrage of Firmware Updates (right out of the box), new custom firmware such as Dark Alex's 3.02 OE-A, and the latest version of Devhook. From the looks of things, it would appear most current PSP Gamers will be sitting pretty for the holidays. While the awesome PSP Dev community gets another Xmas present which could be the first hack welcoming in the new "post-Xmas" PSP gamers.

Now available is the newest version of the popular GP2X handheld gaming and entertainment console. Announced today by no less than the company responsible for it, GP32/2x Distribution Ltd, this latest version includes a 275MHz upgrade to the dual processor.

The enhancements put in place promises to up the gadget's performance when running the 500+ applications and emulators, all currently available over the internet. Also, it fully supports the 64MB of RAM and 64MB of on-board NAND flash memory. Apart from this, GP2X have also launched only recently a break out board that will enable you to turn the console into a mini Linux-based machine. As for the games, expect them to come your way in Autumn, along with a port of the 3D Nintendo/Apple/Amiga hit Payback.

Says Craig Rothwell, Managing Director of the company, "The market's response to the GP2X has been awesome, and we are heading for 50,000 sales by Christmas." Hopes are high that the 275MHz will further boost things up for them, and is said to work pretty well with MAME too.

Click on the link below to place your orders.

If you ask Seagate, news of the impending death of hard drives (caused by the impending domination of NAND-type flash memory chips) is grossly exaggerated. Otherwise, the company wouldn't have announced its big plan for 2007, which includes 60 to 120GB drives for handheld video devices such as Apple's iPod video.

In an interview with Business Week, Seagate expressed faith in hard drives despite prediction that HD technology will give way to high-capacity flash memory. The company cited that the big three NAND flash memory makers in the world (Samsung, SanDisk, and Toshiba) are investing big money on their respective disk-drive business with no plans of shelving them .

Seagate believes HD will be around for a long time because they are cheaper. Seagate CEO William Watkins said, "It will be a price-per-gigabyte battle...if they can make a 4-GB for $5, then it's $20 for 32 GB, and $40 for 64 GB. On the other hand... when we do a single-platter, 100-GB notebook drive, well it doesn't cost me very much to go to 200 GB. All I have to do is add another platter. It's very cheap for me to go up."

We don't want to alarm you but according to research firm Gartner, the launching of the a flash-based iPods with 10GB to12GB later this year could cause a shortage of NAND flash memory. Gartner predicts a shortage of flash supply of 5.8% by the 4th quarter. Previously, the research firm predicted a shortage of approximately 3-4%. "We're expecting a more severe shortage," said Gartner.

The existence of the said iPod model has not been confirmed by Apple, but according to a top exec of an iPod manufacturer, the company is close to unveiling the next generation of itsiPod featuring a "none-touch" concept. It is also not known if the new iPod will feature more than 4GB of flash. Nevertheless Gartner thinks handheld music players led by Apple's iPod will drive growth of the NAND flash market in the second half of this year. 

But there's really no reason to panic. We think civilization as we know it will survive the Great Flash Memory Depression of 2006.