Demand for DDR 2 SDRAM has barely begun to exceed DDR levels - the latest generation memory technology is still the more expensive of the two, bit for bit - yet Samsung has already started touting DDR 3.

The South Korean giant this week claimed to have punched out the world's first DDR 3 chip, a 512Mb part clocked at an effective 1066MHz - higher than the 800MHz DDR 2 has so far topped out (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/19/elpida_800mhz_ddr2/) at.

Samsung pledged to ship the chip early next year, fabricating it using an 80nm process. However, on the basis of market forecasts from researcher IDC, published by Samsung, DDR 3 won't become the predominant memory technology until toward the end of the decade. According to IDC, DDR 3 will account for 65 per cent of DRAM shipments in 2009.

Samsung's prototype device operates at 1.5V, below the 1.8V DDR 2 operates at, making it even more battery friendly. It incorporates self-calibration and data synchronisation circuitry which contribute to a data rate double today's DDR 2 systems. ®

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