MultiMediaCard certification program launches
By
Mike Tomkins
(Monday, August 5, 2002 - 17:02 EDT)
Perhaps answering suggestions that the standard may face compatibility issues, the MultiMediaCard Association has begun a new memory card compliance program...
The MultiMediaCard Association has today announced a certification program for MultiMediaCard flash memory, allowing manufacturers to have their flash cards certified as "fully compliant with the MMCA System Specification Rev. 2.2 or Rev. 3.1". Testing hardware and software are sourced from Testmetrix Inc., of Sunnyvale CA, and certified products will be identified by a new MMCA compliance logo (unfortunately unavailable at the time of this writing). Tests for MMC Rev. 3.2, low voltage cards, and SecureMMC cards are planned for the future.
TestMetrix has rather impressive-looking range of products for testing MultiMediaCards; the specific model for testing MMC compliance is the "VTE2000 Dual Socket MultiMediaCard Portable MMCA Compliance Test System", shown below. In related news, Hitachi has already distributed a press release revealing that it is the first manufacturer to have its cards certified MMC v.3.1-compliant.
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TestMetrix's VTE2000 Dual Socket MultiMediaCard Portable MMCA Compliance Test System. |
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Original Source Press Release:
| MultiMediaCard Association Approves Memory Card Compliance Program "Seal of approval" assures compliance of MultiMediaCards; a "win-win-win" for card vendors, OEMs and consumers of the popular, portable storage devices
CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2002-- The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) today announced it has approved and released the full compliance program allowing vendors of the popular, small form factor, removable solid-state memory cards to certify their products as fully compliant with the MMCA System Specification Rev. 2.2 or Rev. 3.1.
"After two years of diligent effort by the MMCA, we have a compliance standard that is a win-win-win situation," said Andy Prophet, Executive Director of the MMCA. "It will benefit card vendors who can certify that their products meet the specification; the OEMs and host platform developers who can validate the certification through the MMCA; and consumers who are assured a high degrees of interoperability and dependability." - (In a related development, Hitachi Ltd. today announced it is the first to offer products that pass the MMCA compliance test.)
In the compliance program, card vendors test their cards against the full MMCA System Specification Rev. 2.2 or Rev. 3.1, using hardware and software from Testmetrix Inc, of Sunnyvale, CA, that have been verified and approved by the MMCA. If a card passes the compliance test, it is certified as compliant and the card manufacturer gets a registration number as well as a compliance logo to go on his packaging (see attached logo). End users of MultiMediaCards can verify card compliance simply by looking for the MMCA compliance logo on the card or card product packaging, to be assured of MMCA certification and the highest degrees of interoperability and dependability. Large OEM customers may request the compliance registration number from their card vendors, and validate the compliance registration numbers through the MMCA.
"We're very happy to offer this 'seal of approval' to host manufacturers and consumers," said David Eggleston, Chairman of the Compliance Committee of the MMCA. "It says that after two years of hard work by many member companies, we're open for business."
In the future, compliance testing will be available for the upcoming System Specification 3.2 and low voltage cards, in addition to the SecureMMC cards.
About MultiMediaCards:
MultiMediaCards are popular, small form factor (24mm x 32mm x 1.4 mm), removable solid-state memory solutions for mobile applications such as MP-3 music players, portable video games, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones and digital cameras. These convenient, reliable, rugged and lightweight standardized data carriers store up to 128 Mbytes, sufficient for 120 minutes of MP-3 digital music, or approximately 80,000 book pages. MultiMediaCards use ROM technology for read-only applications and Flash technology for read/write applications. The cards are fast for excellent system performance; energy efficient for prolonged battery life in portable products; and cost-efficient for use in systems sold at consumer price points. They also have an easy-to-install serial interface.
About the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA):
The MultiMediaCard Association was founded in 1998, with 14 companies, to promote the worldwide adoption of a postage-stamp size, removable storage standard for storing and retrieving digital information in small, low power devices. The organization has grown rapidly and now has 100 members worldwide, representing all branches of mobile electronic applications, including semiconductor suppliers, software vendors and manufacturers of products such as music players, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, voice recorders, GPS navigation devices, bar code scanners and more. The MMCA developed and regulates open industry standards that define all types of MultiMediaCards, ensuring full interchangeability between the cards produced by all MMCA members. MultiMediaCards offer an unmatched array of features and benefits, and are becoming the industry standard for compact removable storage media across multiple host platforms and markets. MMCA headquarters are located at P.O. Box 2012, Cupertino, CA 95015-2012. More information is at the web site: www.mmca.org.
About Testmetrix:
Testmetrix Inc, of Sunnyvale, CA, (www.testmetrix.com) was founded in 1983. The company designs and manufactures test equipment for semiconductor devices including Compact Flash cards, PC cards, Flash SIMM/DIMM modules, SDRAM/DDR-SDRAM DIMM modules, and MultiMediaCards . Testmetrix sells its products worldwide and has overseas distributors/offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Germany.
Company/product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only.
Hitachi's MultiMediaCard Products are First in the Industry to Pass the MultiMediaCard Association's Compliance Tests for System Specification Version 3.1
The memory cards are fully compliant with industry standards, ensuring cross-platform compatibility with host systems designed to the MultiMediaCard Association specifications
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2002-- Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc. today announced that its second-generation MultiMediaCard(TM)(1)(2) memory cards, including the popular 32-, 64- and 128-megabyte (MB) versions, have successfully passed compliance tests prescribed by the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA). The Hitachi HB28xxxxMM2 series cards are the first devices to gain compliance certification for system specification version 3.1 from the industry standards body. By gaining compliance certification by the MMCA, every Hitachi HB28xxxxMM2 series MultiMediaCard is eligible to carry the MMCA compliance logo, a unique "seal of approval" for the highest assurance of compatibility for the consumers.
According to Victor Tsai, flash product marketing manager at Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., "The compliance tests ensure cross-platform compatibility of hosts designed to the MMCA specifications. System users can plug Hitachi's small, rugged HB28xxxxMM2 series cards into any properly designed system to get safe, convenient digital archiving and data exchange. Beyond that, system manufacturers can use the MultiMediaCard devices to validate compatibility of their memory expansion slots to the MMCA specifications."
"The MMCA has worked long and hard to establish the compliance standard and we now believe host platform manufacturers will greatly benefit from uniform testing. Hitachi, along with other card manufacturers, will establish new levels of interoperability," said Andy Prophet, executive director of the MultiMediaCard Association.
The high-speed, second generation MultiMediaCards, developed and manufactured by Hitachi, offer very fast, sustained rewrite speeds: as high as 1.6 megabytes per second. They can store digital data -- image files for digital still cameras, music files for MP3 players, and program/data files for other products -- approximately up to six times faster than first-generation MultiMediaCards of equal capacity. The HB28xxxxMM2 series MultiMediaCards are available now in volume. To enhance this product series, Hitachi plans to develop higher density MultiMediaCards such as 256Mbytes and low voltage devices in the coming years.
About Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc.
Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., supports the requirements of the North American marketplace with a broad range of standard and low-power semiconductor solutions. Offering some of the industry's most popular microcontrollers, microprocessors and memory components, among other semiconductor solutions, Hitachi provides chips to the world's leading device manufacturers within industrial, consumer and emerging market applications. Hitachi's substantial design engineering, research and development facilities in the United States help bring the world's best technology to U.S. customers. For more information, visit: www.hitachi.com/semiconductor.
Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT - News), markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, consumer electronics and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, visit www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's web site at http://global.hitachi.com.
About MultiMediaCards:
MultiMediaCards are popular, small form factor (24mm x 32mm x 1.4 mm), removable solid-state memory solutions for mobile applications such as MP-3 music players, portable video games, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones and digital cameras. These convenient, reliable, rugged and lightweight standardized data carriers store up to 128 Mbytes, sufficient for 120 minutes of MP-3 digital music, or approximately 80,000 book pages. MultiMediaCards use ROM technology for read-only applications and Flash technology for read/write applications. The cards are fast for excellent system performance; energy efficient for prolonged battery life in portable products; and cost-efficient for use in systems sold at consumer price points. They also have an easy-to-install serial interface.
About the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA):
The MultiMediaCard Association was founded in 1998, with 14 companies, to promote the worldwide adoption of a postage-stamp size, removable storage standard for storing and retrieving digital information in small, low power devices. The organization has grown rapidly and now has 100 members worldwide, representing all branches of mobile electronic applications, including semiconductor suppliers, software vendors and manufacturers of products such as music players, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, voice recorders, GPS navigation devices, bar code scanners and more. The MMCA developed and regulates open industry standards that define all types of MultiMediaCards, ensuring full interchangeability between the cards produced by all MMCA members. MultiMediaCards offer an unmatched array of features and benefits, and are becoming the industry standard for compact removable storage media across multiple host platforms and markets. MMCA headquarters are located at P.O. Box 2012, Cupertino, CA 95015-2012. More information is at the web site: www.mmca.org.
Company/product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only. |
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