The march towards an energy-efficient mobile future continued today with Micron's announcement that its 2 gigabit and 4 gigabit DDR3L-RS SDRAM chips are now available. That's a lot of acronyms, but in a nutshell, Micron's new memory solutions supply high-quality, low-voltage RAM that consumes significantly less energy than normal RAM while in standby mode.
The combination of capability and stingy energy needs makes DDR3L-RS an ideal technology for high-performance mobile devices like tablets or Ultrabooks, where reduced power requirements can make a big difference to battery duration. Micron's representative says the company was the first to receive official Intel validation for this relatively new category of RAM, which could make Micron's memory an attractive option for Ultrabook manufacturers.
"DDR3L-RS is an excellent option for customers who have tight power budgets and need high performance at a competitive price," IHS iSuppli analyst Mike Howard said in Micron's press release. "We expect many of the next-generation ultrathin platforms to take advantage of DDR3L-RS."
Although it's only currently selling 30-nanometer 2Gb and 4Gb DDR3L-RS SDRAM solutions in high volumes, Micron is also sampling 30nm 8Gbx16 and 8Gbx32 chips and plans on rolling out DDR4-RS memory solutions early next year.
Earlier this week, Hynix introduced DDR3L-RS solutions of its own in the form of 20nm 2Gb, 4Gb and 8Gb chips as well as 2GB, 4GB and 8GB SODIMM memory modules. That company is also targeting tablets and ultrathin laptops with its low-energy memory solutions.
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