RIM signs up to Microsoft’s ExFAT file-system standard
Microsoft today announced that Research in Motion (RIM) is licensing Microsoft's ExFAT file system for use in BlackBerry mobile devices.
Microsoft has also been increasingly successful at getting other tech companies to support ExFAT. For example, Apple incorporated ExFAT into Mac OS X "Lion" in 2011, providing interoperability for file storage between the Windows and Mac operating systems. And just over a month ago, Sharp licensed the ExFAT technology for use in its Android smartphones.
The ExFAT format has been in use by Microsoft since Windows Vista, originally designed for SSDs. It is the next generation replacement for FAT32 and NTFS, and has a number of advantages over those legacy formats. ExFAT can support file sizes up to 256TB, and it improves file transfer rates and management of free space for greater efficiency in general.
The ExFAT file system enables flash memory devices to work with file sizes five times greater than previous FAT technology. The semi-universal adoption of ExFAT means that data can be easily exchanged between desktop PCs, tablets, smartphones, and other devices.
(Source: infoworld.com)
