If it uses flash memory, there are no moving parts -- it should last many
years.

**Nope. Flash memory has a life-span. I am wondering if this needs to be
taken into account.

The limited lifespan of flash is associated with the erase/write
cycles, which use a high voltage to tunnel electrons through an
insulating oxide barrier. The high voltage gradually degrades the
oxide, limiting the number of erase/write cycles per block.

The number of such erasures varies with the flash type, but is usually
in the hundreds-of-thousands range (Samsung says it's up to a million
cycles, if wear levelling and ECC are used).

There seems to be a storage lifetime, once the data is programmed...
it's usually quoted as something on the order of 10 to 20 years, if I
recall correctly.

I haven't seen any reports, or anything in the data sheets which would
indicate that the number of *read* cycles for a given flash-memory
block has any effect at all on the storage lifetime or the number of
erase/write cycles you can use. Reading doesn't involve modifying the
stored charge at all... it just senses it via a FET.

Unless you're planning to download a whole new batch of music to the
flash music-on-old player ever few hours, I doubt that you'll be able
to wear out such a device within less than a lotta years. It should
certainly survive well past the lifetime of a typical CD player!

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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