The power of wireless recall

As phones get smarter their memory demands are getting bigger, and with 3G networks gaining footing phones are getting a lot smarter. In a new study “Memory in Cellular Handsets: FLASH, SRAM and Emerging Technologies,” ABI Research has found that a fairly tiny niche sector of mobile technology only a few years ago will grow into a $1.7 billion industry by 2009. Memory before advanced data services was almost an afterthought, used to store an address list or render a microbrowser page. Now SRAM operating memory and FLASH storage memory on higher phones and PDAs is increasing at astronomical levels, reflecting the PC industry's drive for ever-faster, ever more powerful computers. Between 2004 and 2005 alone, the overall market for cellular memory is expected to increase by a factor of five, according to ABI's data. ABI analyst Alan Varghese said the new interest in the sector is sure to shake up the current technologies as vendors look for cheaper, more efficient memory standards to handle the new demand. Regardless of what solutions they settle on though, memory is sure to become a more critical component in the phone.