The US International Trade Commission has reportedly begun an investigation focusing on several companies that produce or purchase NAND flash components, including Samsung, RIM, Apple and others, according to Barron's. BTG International has accused Samsung of violating several patents involving "MLC" type flash memory.
Two more companies are set to join the ranks supplying memory for the iPhone 3GS, industry sources claim. Hynix's 41nm NAND flash is said to have recently passed 3GS validation, paving the way for future deliveries. Details of a Micron agreement have also allegedly emerged, pointing to volume shipments for Apple beginning in August. Unlike Hynix, Micron has 34nm chips ready to go, the sources say.
Apple has paid a large sum of cash to Toshiba in order to acquire flash memory, according to company executives. Speaking during Tuesday's Q3 conference call, COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer acknowledged a $500 million prepayment to Toshiba, meant to secure a long-term supply of NAND flash for portable products. Cook notes that flash is instrumental to Apple, given its use in the iPhone and every iPod model except for the Classic.
Apple's recent order of 100 million NAND chips from Samsung included 16Gb memory, claims an analyst from Lazard Capital Markets. The order was initially thought to have only 8Gb chips, the equivalent of 1GB each in terms of storage. With more 16Gb (2GB) memory however, Apple should be in a position to release 32GB iPhones, a move widely anticipated for this summer.
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 be a rumored iPhone nano, but instead a pared-down regular iPhone.
Toshiba has announced higher density, faster memory chips in a new lineup of 43nm single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory, featuring 2GB, 4GB and 8GB individual chips. The 43 nanometer process allows Toshiba to deliver double the density of its previous 56nm process, while also delivering SLC speeds, which are approximately 2.5x faster than the more common, denser but historically slower MLC (Multi-Level Cell) memory.
Apple's newest iPods are unlikely to have much impact in Taiwan, despite the popularity of the products around the world, an industry publication observes. DigiTimes notes that the prices of NAND memory, and LCD screens between 2.8 and 3.5 inches, have allowed local companies such as T.sonic and Ergotech to release extremely cheap 8GB media players, costing between $3,000 and $3,500 NT ($94 and $109 US). Some generic "white-box" players may even cost as little as $2,500 NT, or $78 US.
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.
Earlier this month, a report had Samsung interested in buying portable flash memory maker SanDisk, and today’s rumors have another suitor considering making a bid for the company. A newswire reports Toshiba is the latest interested party, and is only considering a bid in order to prevent competitor Samsung from taking over SanDisk, thus creating a near monopoly as the sole supplier of NAND flash memory devices, components and subsystems.
The 8G (8GB) version of ASUS' popular Eee PC may have limited availability for the foreseeable future, say executives with the company. The management notes that as the supply of SLC (single-level cell) NAND memory is currently tight, it has temporarily cut off shipments of the 8G Eee to Taiwan. President Jerry Shen comments that this is compounded by a shortage of batteries, which may actually be a greater threat to ASUS.
The health of the NAND flash market is now heavily dependent on this month's Macworld Expo, anonymous industry sources say. Demand for flash in North America and Europe is said to be very weak at the moment, foremost because the lucrative Christmas season is over, but also because Apple in particular -- one of the largest memory consumers in the world -- is simply requesting less than it has in recent times. NAND manufacturers are thus hoping that Apple will announce new products at Macworld, restoring demand to the market.
Samsung and Toshiba have announced an unusual deal connecting the companies' memory technology. Through a new agreement, Samsung will be able to produce and sell memory using Toshiba's LBA-NAND name and specifications, while Toshiba will in turn gain the rights to Samsung's OneNAND. Device builders will thus be able to turn to either company for either memory format. Although normally a move not conducive to profit, the deal should be mutually beneficial in the unique conditions of the NAND market, which recently recovered from a crippling shortage.
While only just having been confirmed as a 2008 release, the second-generation iPhone may already have experienced its first delay, according to an analyst from Friedman Billings Ramsey & Company. Mehdi Hosseini claims that among information gathered in "recent checks," it was learned that the next iPhone may have originally been planned for launch in March or April, but is now anticipated for mid to late summer. As a result, Hosseini expects demand for NAND memory to drop in the first half of 2008, despite opposite predictions by Samsung.
