Apple and Sony dictate flash fortunes
Looking at the NAND flash memory market, presently weak conditions are set to change markedly, as Apple and Sony begin to ramp up production of MP3 players for the holiday season. Just as Apple drove the NAND market into a state of shortage in the second half of 2005, when it gobbled up all available parts for use in its iPod nano MP3 player, Apple and Sony will drive market conditions during the last six months of the year.
Sony will become another key NAND buyer with its rich line of consumer products such as MP3 players and game consoles. Sony is expected to employ high-density NAND flash in its upcoming PlayStation Portable 2 (PSP2) and Personal Media Player (PMP) products in the second half of 2006.
Assuming that Apple and Sony successfully introduce their planned products, 41% of global NAND supply will be consumed by the two companies in the fourth quarter, iSuppli estimates. Thus, any moves these companies make will have a dramatic impact on the NAND flash supply/demand situation in the second half of the year.
However, there are unconfirmed rumors that Apple may delay the launch of its next-generation iPod nano. This has depressed NAND spot prices in recent times. Apple's next iPod nano is believed to be a NAND-flash-based PMP.
Sony also is expected to introduce a flash-based PMP, as well as its PSP2, which will have as much as 8 to 10Gbytes of NAND per system.
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20060718PR200.html
