February 17 - 10:45pm EST   Apple's preparations for the next-generation iPhone line is constraining worldwide supplies for leading flash memory manufacturers and may increase prices. A new analyst report says that Apple’s (unannounced) refresh of iPhones is putting increased pressure on flash memory manufacturers managing dwindling inventory. According to Cult of Mac, ThinkEquity analyst Vijay Rakesh is telling clients that Apple has begun placing orders for memory for a yet unannounced upgrade to the current iPhone 3G and the rumored "iPhone Nano" or a similar device. Most recently RBC analyst Mark Abramsky claimed that a $99 iPhone would appear later this summer, but that the device would not ... [full story]

February 12 - 8:25am EST   Micron this morning said it has started shipping the first production samples of 34 nanometer, 16GB NAND flash memory. The advancement uses the smaller manufacturing process to stack eight multi-level cell storage chips in a single package that holds the record amount without swelling the chip size. Micron sees the component as a way of giving smartphones and other handheld devices a large amount of built-in flash storage while the devices slim. [full story]

January 2 - 12:05pm EST   MPC Corp has quietly revealed that it plans to shut down its operations permanently. The long-time PC maker says an attempt to save itself during Chapter 11 bankruptcy has failed and that it will drop 147 jobs immediately. The firm likewise plans to keep a core of just 51 staffers for an unspecified number of months until it can completely wind down its operations. A tough economic climate gives the company no other choice, an official claims. [full story]

November 26 - 10:05am EST   Micron has developed an extremely fast solid-state drive that could set new records for internal storage and shown the drive in an early test. The claimed new breakthrough in storage uses two SSDs with 16 data channels for the flash memory to generate a total transfer speed of 1GB per second. The performance tops 200,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second) and is quick enough that Micron has to drop Serial ATA II's 300MB per second bandwidth cap in favor of PCI Express. [full story]

November 24 - 3:10pm EST   Micron on Monday said to CNET that it would start mass-producing its long-promised RealSSD C200 256GB solid-state drive in March of next year. The timeframe pushes back the drive from its original fall launch and limits the current lineup to the 128GB drives common in the industry. The 2.5-inch SSD has been touted as a potential leader through its combination both of the large amount of space as well as its extremely high read speed, which matches Intel's at 250MB per second. [full story]

November 24 - 9:30am EST   Intel and its memory making partner Micron today said they have begun mass producing their promised first 34nm NAND flash memory. The smaller manufacturing process lets the two firms build individual chip layers with 32 gigabits (4GB) of data in a standard package and in large batches using regular 300mm wafers. The technology is small enough to allow eight cores per layer and would allow a two-layer stack to carry as much as 64GB without needing entirely separate chips. [full story]

September 26 - 10:10am EDT   Apple has slashed the number of iPhones it plans to build before the end of the year, claims the analyst group Pacific Crest. While it had been expected that some 18 million phones would be made, Crest cites "supply chain channel checks" which indicate that Apple is ordering only 14 to 15 million units. If accurate, the move is not expected to hurt Apple, but rather its suppliers. [full story]

August 5 - 7:40am EDT   Micron today made a concerted effort to bolster its RealSSD solid-state drives with extremely high-speed but potentially low-priced notebook models. The C200 line is one of Micron's first aimed at home notebook owners and uses the newest generation of multi-level cell (MLC) flash storage to supply speed without sacrificing capacity: every drive can read data as quickly as 250MB per second and write it at 100MB per second, while the conventionally notebook-sized 2.5-inch disk can hold as much as 256GB of data. A 1.8-inch drive for ultraportables holds up to 128GB. [full story]

July 1 - 10:25am EDT   Dell on Tuesday introduced the Your Tech Team support option for its PCs. The nationwide service follows a New York City pilot project and gives owners of any Dell-branded device quicker access to technicians, the ability to schedule contact with a specific technician, and the ability to support at least some non-warranty problems. Performance tuning, network setup, and security are also available for a fee during the calls, Dell says. [full story]

June 24 - 5:00pm EDT   Seagate is rumored to be looking into buying out Intel's 49 percent stake in the IM Flash Technologies joint venture between the chip maker and Micron, a flash memory manufacturer, according to analysts. That is just one option for Seagate, but the analysts say the company would be better off buying into SanDisk, as it is not involved with any other companies and is less costly. Furthermore, they maintain that Seagate needs to purchase or team up with a NAND flash memory maker in order to be successful in its solid state drive (SSD) production. [full story]

May 29 - 9:05am EDT   Intel's NAND flash group today introduced the first flash memory to be made on a sub-40 nanometer manufacturing process. Based on a 34nm process, the chip co-developed with Micron holds 32 gigabits (4GB) like the highest-end flash chips but does so in a standard package smaller than a thumbnail; this lets manufacturers build in the extra storage without having to significantly overhaul their existing hardware, Intel says. The company also hopes it will drive the cost down of expanding storage without affecting size. [full story]

April 1 - 7:00pm EDT   Micron Technology today unveiled 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM modules, and announced its previously released 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB DDR3 modules are fully certified to work with Intel's upcoming Centrino 2 platform. The memory, rated at 1333MHz, requires a 64-bit aware operating system, such as Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, or a 64-bit version of Windows XP or Vista. The 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB modules are currently in production, with 4GB modules following later in Q2 2008. [full story]

March 27 - 4:10pm EDT   Memory producer Rambus today revealed that it will petition for an injunction against industry rival Hynix, barring the latter from shipping RAM that allegedly infringes on Rambus patents. The action was requested after a federal court green-lighted legal efforts against Hynix as well as fellow memory producers Micron and Nanya, saying that the move to enforce patents would not tread on US antitrust laws. Rambus has said it would be willing to license the patents in exchange for royalties for memory sold. [full story]

March 11 - 1:20am EDT   Apple is sending worrying signs that it hasn't ordered any significant amounts of the NAND flash memory it needs, say some of its Asian manufacturers. Although the company bought as much as $1.3 billion in memory over 2007, it hasn't started large orders since 2008 began and is effectively forcing its suppliers to sell flash below cost due to oversupply. Even the MacBook Air, which needs a large 64GB of memory for its solid-state drive, isn't enough to help clear stock due to its high price and low volume, according to the reports. [full story]

February 1 - 8:40am EST   Intel and Micron today announced a new, extra-quick variant on NAND flash memory that should significantly alter the landscape for mass storage. By using the new ONFI 2.0 (Open NAND Flash Interface) spec combined with higher clock speeds and a four-level cell process, the unnamed technology transfers data up to five times faster than conventional technology. Where even normally quick single-level cell memory reads data at 40 megabytes per second and writes at 20 megabytes per second or less, the new technology reads and writes at 200 and 100 megabytes per second respectively, eliminating one of the final barriers to outperforming rotating hard drives. [full story]