Storage technologies in smartphones
Storage types in smartphones
Every smartphone has different types of memory. RAM is the volatile memory in which a smartphone processor can temporarily store its computing data. The internal memory in smartphones is now very diverse. The internal memory is used to store, manage and secure system and user data. In contrast to computers, mobile devices do not use hard drives, but a digital, non-volatile flash memory, which is also used in USB sticks or for SD memory cards. There are smartphones with fixed internal memory as well as models with expandable memory (SD).
Internal flash memory in smartphones
The internal memory is a digital flash memory with low energy requirements, on which a non-volatile backup of data is possible. Non-volatile means that the data is retained when there is no power, i.e. the mobile phone is switched off. The modules contain a memory block and a microcontroller. They are mobile, which means they have no moving parts and therefore cannot be damaged by vibrations. Although flash memory is slower than other types of memory, it has proven its worth for mass storage and mobile devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, and smartphones. This is mainly due to its economy and compact design. The lifespan of flash memory is limited and specified in erase cycles. Depending on the memory architecture, up to two million write and delete cycles are possible before the memory module has to be replaced and a new smartphone has to be purchased. Flash memory has come a long way since it was first introduced in 1984 - from the humble USB stick so many of us still use to SD and micro SD cards, which have become an integral part of our digital imaging and mobile experiences, right up to the smart and slim SSDs that quickly replace HDDs, to eMMCs that virtually define how much we can store in our pockets. Nowadays, two storage technologies are usually built into mobile devices. These are eMMC and UFS.
What is eMMC?
eMMC, or Embedded Multimedia Card, is advanced NAND managed flash memory for mobile applications and remains the dominant storage solution for many consumer electronics devices, including tablets, smartphones, GPS systems, eReaders, and other mobile computing devices.
("Managed" here means that it is a solution that consists not only of NAND flash memory but also of controller / interface circuitry to sort processes and improve performance.)
| Standard | Sequential Read (MB/s) | Sequential Write (MB/s) | Random Read (IO/S) | Random Write (IOS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFS 2.0 | 350 | 150 | 19.000 | 14.000 |
| eMMC 5.1 | 250 | 125 | 11.000 | 13.000 |
| eMMC 5.0 | 250 | 90 | 7.000 | 13.000 |
| eMMC 4.5 | 140 | 50 | 7.000 | 2.000 |
| micro SD card | 90 | 40 | 1.500 | 500 |
What is UFS?
UFS is the future of flash storage. UFS 2.0, the most advanced JEDEC standard, offers sequential read / write speeds fast enough to compete with SSDs while combining them with the low power consumption of eMMC. In addition to faster booting, the next generation of flash memory offers faster response to data input / output, three times faster file copy, and three times the ability to multitask. For the average consumer, this means watching high quality videos, playing high bandwidth games and other entertainment programs, running multiple applications, and downloading or uploading files without disrupting functionality.
Hardware Features
- Built-in high speed processor for high programming speed.
- Supports UFS/UMCP and eMMC/eMCP programming.
- UFS part (v2.0/v2.1/v3.0/v3.1)
- Supports setting of descriptors, attributes and flags
- LUN configuration and preset support
- eMMC part
- Supports User Area, Boot1/2 partition and Extend CSD
- Supports RPMB, GPP1~4, and Enhanced mode
- Supports USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 (with power adapter)
- Supports various storage ICs
- UFS, eMMC, MCU, SPI NOR, SPI NAND, Parallel NOR, Parallel NAND, EEPROM, CPLD, FPGA
- Supports all IC packages
- CSP, BGA, QFN, QFP, SOP, TSOP, SSOP, PLCC, DIP, etc.
- Supports various file formats:
- Binary (bin/rom), Intel Hex (h16/h20/hex), Motorola S19(mhx/mot/s19/srec) and specific to MCU IC.
- Regular software update
- Programming project and socket are compatible with NuProgPlus.
- Socket adapters for NuProg-E2 and NuProg-E are not compatible.
- Windows 7/8/8.1/10 support
Hardware Features
- Emulation of all commercially available SPI NOR Flash with one click
- Supports up to 2Gbit SPI NOR Flash emulation
- Supports Single IO, Dual IO, and Quad IO
- Quad IO supports SPI CLK up to 50MHz (AC switching power supply is required)
- Automatic switching from 3.3V or 1.8V according to IC voltage specifications
- Built-in 512MB buffer, supporting storage of a larger number of SPI trace logs.
- Two-color LED status indicator
- Supports 4-byte address mode option
- Provides the option to use CS1 or CS2
- Additional debugging function: SPI bus trace and HyperTerminal
- Code update in less than 3 seconds
- Powered by USB and palm-sized
- Support for Windows 2003 and higher & support for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems
Developer functions
- Minutes become seconds when updating SPI NOR flash code.
- Debug your application efficiently over the available SPI bus with our SPI trace, SPI trigger, SPI hyper terminal for debug messages
- Develop your own application debugger using our bidirectional SPI hyper terminal and control the application from your host PC
- EM100Pro-G2 can be connected to an Intel motherboard via a special adapter ISP-ADP-Intel-C (option).
Product is discontinued
Features SD/SDIO/eMMC Protocol Analyzer
- Continuous monitoring of protocol data for a long time to capture elusive events (more than 30GB data capture)
- Analysis of captured data per standards for protocol integrity, count of data bursts, CMD CRC errors, Response CRC errors, Data CRC errors, Timing Values, and Reserved commands
- Hardware-based protocol-aware trigger capability in real-time enables capturing specific Events. Triggering facility on patterns, commands, or error events.
- Users can identify the anomalies by decoding command and response arguments.
- Analytics feature provides analysis of acquired protocol data by plotting command, response, data, and frequency of operation over acquired time.
- The analytics feature also provides the decoding of device registers for easy analysis.
- Filters allow you to view specific packets in decoded protocol packets.
- Search feature for specific events in protocol activity.
- Easy-to-use user interfaces save time on the learning curve.
- Handles long-duration capture and displays the decoded data without demanding extensive resources in the host computer.
- Inserting markers [using Trigger-In] in protocol activity helps in correlating the input digital signal with Protocol Activity.
- Trigger-out signal for any specific protocol event allows triggering of other instruments such as an oscilloscope.
- Interface to host system [running UI] using USB3.0 or Gigabit Ethernet interface.
- Flexibility to upgrade the hardware firmware using the GbE interface provides easy field up-gradation of the firmware.
- Export of Decoded data packets to txt file for further analysis.
Price on request