Samsung Declares Global ''Flashtopia'' With Introduction of New Generation of NAND Flash.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, today announced major component technology advancements including the 40-nanometer (nm) 32-Gigabit (Gb) NAND flash, the first prototype of the next-generation of memory -- PRAM (Phase-change Random Access Memory), and a new System-on-Chip controller for the soon-to-be-released Hybrid Hard Disk Drive.

"The phenomenal shift in the popularity of digital products that we are experiencing today is rooted in the virtually non-stop string of advances being seen in semiconductor technology," said Dr. Chang Gyu Hwang, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics' Semiconductor Business, at its sixth annual press conference held at the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul, Korea. "Anchored by major developments in NAND flash memory as today's key storage medium, digital technologies are rapidly converging to create a massive wealth of new capabilities and further convenience, representing the beginning of a new era -- Flashtopia."

Samsung anticipates flash technology to continue to enable a new world of digital performance where consumers can affordably take whatever amounts of entertainment and informational data they want to wherever they want to go. As the world moves toward greater globalization and more universal dissemination of information, Dr. Hwang said providing the convenience of added portability through a broad diversity of flash-driven mobile applications will bring about a new utopia of storage-based freedom, which Samsung is referring to as Flashtopia.

Highlighting the conference, Samsung introduced the world's first NAND flash memory incorporating a revolutionary new 'Charge Trap Flash' (CTF) technology.

"The new CTF technology," Dr. Hwang said, "will extend the life span of NAND flash well beyond 40-nm level of manufacturing process technology, allowing for greater product miniaturization and greater economies of scale in the production of consumer electronics."

Following the 'New Memory Growth Theory,' which Samsung's Dr. Hwang first predicted in a keynote at ISSCC in 2002, the 40nm CTF-based NAND flash memory represents a seventh generation of the Theory, which has memory density doubling every twelve months. Samsung expects CTF-based NAND eventually to be refined down to 20nm at the 256 Gigabit-level.

NAND flash has been the data storage device in virtually all digital cameras, USB drives and MP3 players, as well as most multimedia handsets and smart phones. This year, NAND flash also is entering the PC computing environment. Samsung launched the first solid-state-disk (SSD) notebooks, called SENS Q3-SSD and SENS Q1-SSD in June. Their higher performance, lighter weight and enhanced storage reliability are key factors attracting mobile developers to NAND flash.

At the conference, Samsung also announced development of a System-on-Chip controller for the upcoming Hybrid drive. The new SoC represents the diversity of advanced core technologies that Samsung provides.

The tremendous advancements in storage technology have spurred previously unthinkable levels of growth with much more to come. What used to be a 200-million-units-a-year PC-driven industry has become a one-billion-units-per-year mobile-driven industry. As a pivotal market-driving force, flash storage is evolving further within the digital consumer space and in professional fields such as biotechnology.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 120 offices in 57 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs.

For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

Editors' Note: This release will be followed by two other releases within the next five minutes. One is about the revolutionary new Charge Trap technology being used first on Samsung's new 32Gb NAND Flash -- enabling the industry's first 40 nm memory device. The other announces development of the first working prototype of PRAM memory anticipated to replace NOR memory within the next decade.