Samsung announced that it's beginning mass production of 8Gb NAND flash memory chips. The fast storage devices were first developed by Samsung in September of 2004. There is no word yet on exactly what devices will come armed with the new chips.

Samsung's new chips are a 60-nanometer technology. A nanometer is a measure of length equaling one billionth of a meter, the space between transistors in the chip. This measurement theoretically makes the chip more efficient and faster. However, this widely held idea isn't always the result, as Intel has discovered with its Prescott core.

Samsung says the new chips should bring a 25 percent higher manufacturing productivity and greater storage density for mobile electronics.

Says Don Barnetson, Director, Flash Marketing, Samsung Semiconductor:

"We're seeing a rapidly widening market for our OneNAND memory because of its outstanding performance and capacity that has become even more noteworthy with the application of 60 nm technology"

The new chips should be used in Samsung's high density MCL NAND called moviNAND. This new moviNAND combines NAND flash and a controller and can be deployed in gadgets like cell phones or wherever space is at a premium.

Expect to feel the performance gains from improved memory chips by about Q3 2006. They should be found in upcoming mobile handsets and inside any gear that relies on high density data storage. A single 8Gb NAND should be able to store up to 2000 MP3s or 225 minutes of video at DVD-quality.