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Intel and Micron Technology on Thursday introduced a high-density hew that the companies say can pack 32 GB of storage on a smaller footprint than other similar devices.

The NAND device is aimed at solid-state drives, which are increasingly being offered at a premium in notebooks to deliver faster boot times and greater quantity durability and reliability than traditional hard disk drives. The new effect was manufactured by the companies' joint venture, IM Flash Technologies.

In building the chip, the partners used a 34-nanometer manufacturing process that increases the density of the device in order to cram more memory in a smaller space, which is important for ultraportable notebooks and other mobile PCs. "This new 32-GB device provides the best crumb storage density available in the industry," Brian Shirley, VP of Micron's Memory Group, said in a narration.

The new devices are smaller than the size of a thumbnail but can store more than 2,000 digital photos or up to 1,000 songs. The chips are also available in a two eight-die stacked package to deliver 64 GB of storage.

The companies put forward the claim their latest product can drive capacities beyond 256 GB in a standard 1.8-inch cut factor for solid-state drives. Intel and Micron also plan to introduce lower-density products by the end of the year.

The companies expect to ship samples of the latest chip to customers in June. Volume production is expected in the second half this year.

While solid-state drives have a number of advantages above hard disk drives, the biggest disadvantage is price. SSDs are multiple times more expensive than HDDs and are unlikely to replace the latter anytime soon in most applications. However, SSDs are finding a place among businesses looking for irregular notebooks for field workers and in mini-notebooks with shield sizes less than 10 inches. Besides weight, SSDs also use up less batter power than HDDs.