IM Flash Technologies, a joint venture between Intel and Micron, has announced that they have developed a 3-bit-per-cell NAND device that Micron will begin producing for commercial consumption this fall.

The 3bpc technology will allow chip manufacturers to create USB thumb drives and solid state drives with a greater storage capacity. 3 bits per cell is a 50% increase from the standard 2 bits per cell, meaning that an 8Gb USB thumb drive could be built to store 12Gb of data without increasing the size or cost of the device.