practically analog
4 bits or 16 levels is practically like analog more than digital. Noise sensitivity, reduced signal margins, I don't think they can use it for so many applications.
SanDisk is shipping 4-bit Secure Digital flash cards with flash chips storing 8GB of data. Multi-level cell (MLC) flash technology stores four bits of data per cell. MLC is regarded as key technology for increasing NAND flash capacity and effectively lowering its cost per GB stored, making it more affordable. Alternatively …
I buy USB storage sticks and I'd prefer a SLC stick rather than a MLC stick. But how can the consumer tell if they're getting a raw deal?
It's hardly likely the manufacturer is going to say on the packaging are they?
Makes me wonder if the reason there is a lot of 8GB sticks on ebay at £9 is because they're 4bit MLC!