Who invented flash memory and when did it happen?
Fujio Masuoka invented flash memory at Toshiba in 1980. This invention laid the groundwork for all future electronic data storage devices.
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Fujio Masuoka invented flash memory at Toshiba in 1980. This invention laid the groundwork for all future electronic data storage devices.
SanDisk introduced FlashDisk in 1992 as one of the first PCMCIA cards without battery requirements. The technology remained a laboratory concept until 1987 when Toshiba commercialized it before this moment.
The Neo Geo AES released in 1990 by SNK was the first video game console able to use a memory card. These AES memory cards remained compatible with Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinets allowing players to migrate saves between home and arcade systems.
In 2000 the Secure Digital format was announced with visions of unifying multiple electronic devices under one slot. Industry observers noted this development signaled an end to the format war around January 2010.
Physical dimensions shrank dramatically from bulky PC Cards measuring 85.6 mm by 54 mm down to modern microSD variants at just 15 mm by 11 mm. Size constraints allow capacities up to 1.15 EB for certain enterprise-grade formats released in 2023 Q3.