Samsung starting mass-production of 3GB RAMS

Given that the typical mainstream computer has 4 GB of RAM and a dual-core processor at the least, Samsung  said offering 3 GB of RAM on a smartphone should help narrow the performance gap between the two form factors. Currently, the most RAM that's packed into a smartphone is 2 GB.Samsung announced that it has started mass production of 3GB RAM chips for mobile phones, after testing in late April. The chips are based on the LPDDR3 standard and are built on a 20nm process. The new chips offer better overall performance for future smartphones – potentially coming to the Galaxy Note III first.

The Note III is rumored to launch with 3GB RAM and should be unveiled in early September at IFA, so starting manufacturing of the new RAM chips now seems to be just in time. Young-Hyun Jun, executive VP at Samsung Electronics, said that the first devices with this RAM will be used in the second half of this year."With a full line-up of package dimensions, Samsung’s new ultra-slim memory solutions will enable thinner smartphone designs and allow for additional battery space," the company said. "With the increased mobile DRAM capacity, users can enjoy seamless high-quality, Full HD video playback and faster multitasking on their smartphones. Also, the new LPDDR3 speeds up data downloading and is able to offer full support for LTE-A (LTE Advanced) service, a next-generation mobile telecommunication standard."

Samsung said that the new 3 GB module will be adopted in the most up-to-date smartphones starting in the second half of 2013, and expand into high-end smartphones worldwide throughout 2014.

The chips each have 0.5GB capacity and will be stacked three on top of each other for a thickness of just 0.8mm, thinner than current RAM chips. Two such stack will be used to achieve 3GB capacity, with two symmetrical channels linking the two stacks to the processor. The new Exynos 5420 Octa chipset has a dual-channel configuration and is the rumor mill’s pick of chipset for the Galaxy Note III.

Thinner chips means more room for the battery, but they are also more power-efficient to begin with. More importantly, they are faster, transferring data at 2,133Mbps per pin (double what LPDDR2 does). The extra space will help too – Young-Hyun Jun expects 3GB RAM to be the standard for flagships next year