Flash memory cards offer some advantages over hard drives in portable devices; they have no moving parts, so are shock resistant and less likely to break with a lot of jostling, they also use less power, can read and write data more quickly and don't make noise. The downside is their higher cost.
An unconfirmed report today from Reuters quotes an industry analyst firm iSuppli as saying that Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) plans to buy as much as 40 percent of Samsung's second-half flash memory output.
The NAND flash memory cards will be used in a new, 4 GB iPod Mini, which Apple would release in time for the holiday shopping season, the report stated. The current version of the 4 GB mini contains a hard drive. Apple's iPod Shuffle uses flash memory.
Flash memory cards offer some advantages over hard drives in portable devices; they have no moving parts, so are shock resistant and less likely to break with a lot of jostling, they also use less power, can read and write data more quickly and don't make noise. The downside is their higher cost.
Analysts speculate that Samsung would have to lower the price of its flash memory by 50 percent to make the cards an attractive option for inclusion in the iPod Mini.
Attempts to confirm the report through Apple went unanswered, and Samsung, the world's largest manufacturer of NAND flash memory, said it does not comment on deals with customers.
While flash memory is in high demand, prices for the cards have been dropping.
"In general, prices for flash memory have fallen drastically over the past year, but it has slowed down slightly in the past couple of months," Shawny Chen, data analyst with Current Analysis, told TechNewsWorld.
If the report is true, Apple's purchase could drive change in the flash memory market, Chen said.
"If Apple purchases 40 percent of Samsung's NAND flash memory for its iPod mini, digital audio player manufacturers would follow, especially since Apple commands the digital audio player market and the iPod mini is one of its bestsellers," Chen said.
"Microdrive-based (4 GB to 6 GB capacity) digital audio players are the sweet spot for flash memory," the analyst explained. "Demand for flash memory would gain momentum from the digital audio market. At the same time, flash memory demand is also highly driven from the digital camera and mobile phones markets."
If Apple steps up production of iPods using NAND flash memory during the holiday season, when about 50 percent of its sales are made, it could create a shortage of the cards.
Print Version
E-Mail Article
Reprints
More by Susan B. Shor
Next Article in iPod
|
Will Microsoft Get a Bite of Apple's iPod? August 16, 2005 
"Once a patent is granted, it's not a sure thing at all," said patent attorney and Townsend and Townsend and Crew partner Roger Cook. "It's by no means a sure thing that [Microsoft] would have a valid legal position against Apple. It would be a question of who invented it first."
|
Related Stories
|
Samsung, Analysts Clash Over Memory Market June 24, 2005 
Gartner research vice president Martin Reynolds said the overproduction of Flash memory units will continue to lower prices, which will drive more demand and ultimately bring prices back up. "Just as it inevitably goes down, it inevitably goes back up," he said.
|
Apple iPod Plays on Flash Memory Market June 14, 2005 
"It's always been like that, particularly in memory," Gartner Research Vice President Martin Reynolds said. "iPod could increase the profitability of flash. It could also accelerate the time to the next downturn." Reynolds added, "When people figure out what to do with all that memory, the price goes back up."
|
Samsung To Mass Produce High-Density NAND Flash Memory Devices May 31, 2005 
Samsung is already the undisputed industry leader for NAND flash memory production. The company boasted nearly 60 percent share of the market at the end of March. Toshiba is the closest competitor, with about 25 percent of the market, according to IDC.
|
AMD's Spansion Bets on Serial Flash Memory November 03, 2004 
Spansion said its FL Flash memory products -- which feature NOR flash processing between 1 and 16 megabits and are based on the company's MirrorBit technology -- will drop costs for developers creating the latest low-cost consumer and automotive electronics.
|
Beyond the Fad: Macromedia's Flash Matures July 30, 2003 
The fact that people are starting to refer to Flash as a platform is part of the maturing process, said Macromedia's Lucian Beebe. "As you think about applications and you think about delivering them on Flash, suddenly Flash does become your platform."
|
Related News Alerts
More by Susan B. Shor
|
Salesnet President Jonathan Tang Ready to Take On Salesforce.com February 07, 2006 
"We think it's Salesnet's time now. We've been around since the beginning, we've been lying low, but you're going to start to see more of us. We've done it through organic growth and happy customers. We continue to focus on customers."
|
Comcast Follows Time Warner in Offering 'Family' Programming Tier December 23, 2005 
"The demand for this type of tier is coming from the FCC and Christian conservatives. It has nothing to do with legitimate consumer demand," Todd Chanko, senior analyst at Jupiter Media, told the E-Commerce Times.
|
High-Risk Flaw Found in Symantec's Software December 22, 2005 
"Part of the significance of this vulnerability announcement is that your machine can be exploited without you needing to do anything at all. You don't even have to open an e-mail or attachment, and this happens with the default configuration of the product," said Forrester Research senior analyst Michael Gavin.
|
Get Business and Technology News Alerts
Most Popular | Spotlight Features | Exclusives
This Week on ECT News Network | Podcasts
WiFi Hotspot Locator 
Inside TechNewsWorld
|
Reader Services
|
Corporate
|
Headline Feeds
Talkback: 
