Read More/Source: Digitimes
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The first sign of a price upside for NAND flash did not sustain any momentum, and the latest July quotes for mainstream density chips reflect an average 10% sequential drop amid the rumored delay of the high-density iPod nano, according to industry observers. Hynix Semiconductor and Samsung Electronics are also said to be provoking a price war, industry sources indicated.
Although research firm Gartner Dataquest believes that the upcoming 10-12GB iPod nano, scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of this year, will help to firm-up prices in the second half of 2006, with a 5.8% shortage in evidence in the fourth quarter, current price trends are still unclear, amid rumors that the iPod product will be delayed.
Sources at Phison Electronics, the leading memory-application controller-IC design house in Taiwan, echoed the sentiment and indicated that current consumption of NAND flash is conservative as a reult of the iPod nano rumor. The sources said that the market outlook will only become clearer when the negative news disappears.
Jul 13, 2006, 05:38 PM
