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Technology news and Jobs 
Fuzzy Logic In a flash, iPod/iPhone demand see flash prices go up
Fuzzy Logic In a flash, iPod/iPhone demand see flash prices go up | In a flash, iPod/iPhone demand see flash prices go up |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Thursday, 19 July 2007 | |
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A report from DRAMeXchange says that over the past three months, the ‘spot price’ for NAND Flash and the contract price have both experienced rapid price increases. In addition, the changeover to new manufacturing processes has hit a glitch, not yet being fully mature with yields not being as robust as initially expected, causing supply to be even tighter. Some manufacturers, reports DRAMeXchange, have moved from 70nm to 60nm or even 50nm processes, while other manufacturers already at 60nm are moving to 50nm. DRAMeXchange says that: “Coupled by the fact that a huge portion of the capacity is being allocated for the anticipated demand from Apple’s iPhone and iPod in 2H07, many downstream vendors have been unable to secure a sufficient amount of Flash chips”. They also believe that “it will take roughly 2 to 3 quarters before manufacturers can enhance the yield rate to a more acceptable level. In other words, a Flash chip shortage will likely occur. In addition, as many downstream vendors begin to stock up on inventory ahead of the year end Christmas sales, the undersupply could grow more serious. In general, the Flash supply in 3Q07 is projected to remain insufficient, while prices are expected to rise further”. So, the big questions revolve around what new iPods Apple has in store for us, and what price they will retail at. Chances are that Apple has negotiated an excellent price, keeping iPod prices in line with – or even slightly cheaper than – the price points we’re already used to. But unless you’re a third party manufacturer with your own supply of NAND flash, as Samsung and SanDisk are, for example, it doesn’t look like it’ll be any kind of party for mp3 player competitors to Apple, meaning Christmas 2007 will likely be very kind to Apple – and plenty of happy iPod/iPhone recipients – yet again!
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