To the public, NAND-type flash memory is most familiar in the form of memory cards or sticks used in digital cameras or portable music players.
Shares of SanDisk have been ablaze in the past year, gaining 125% in value as the maker of NAND-based flash memory chips basks in the sweet spot of semiconductors for mobile electronics.
FORBES: SanDisk Drives Higher As Mehrotra Prepares To Take Charge
The new 32GB memory card incorporates 32Gb 3-bit NAND flash memory chips and a proprietary 3-bit NAND controller to deliver the high performance.
ENGADGET: Samsung announces 32GB microSD card capable of 12MBps write speeds
Samsung started production of 10nm-class 64Gb MLC NAND flash memory in November last year, and in less than five months, has added the new 128Gb NAND flash to its wide range of high-density memory storage offerings.
Yet prices for the so-called NAND flash memory used in these gizmos dropped more than 50% between December and February of this year.
Despite generating just a fraction of Intel's sales, Intel's NAND flash memory business--a joint venture with Micron--will weigh on Intel's first-quarter profits, thanks to a worldwide glut of NAND memory (see "Memory Problems For Intel").
The second method is far more destructive, and deletes the data by applying an over-current to the NAND flash memory which physically destroys them.
The deal also extends the existing patent cross-licensing deal between the two companies, and includes a NAND flash memory supply agreement for Samsung to provide chips to Seagate for solid-state drives and other products.
FORBES: Seagate To Buy Samsung's Hard-Drive Unit For $1.375B
In the spot market, according to the web site DRAMeXchange, prices today jumped 5% in the spot market for DRAMs, with 10%-20% increased for NAND flash memory.
FORBES: Memory Chip Prices Spike After Quake On Tighter Supplies
Intel's shares tumbled in January, when it said lower-than-expected demand for the NAND flash memory chips used in digital media players and other gizmos would weigh down earnings (see "Intel's Stock Slammed"), and investors are counting on Otellini to fix that business.
Falling prices for everything from the DRAM memory used to make PCs run faster to the NAND flash memory powering digital media players--have sent Micron's shares down 59% over the past year and about 74% over the past two years.
Utilizing 128Gb NAND flash memory, Samsung will expand its supply of 128-gigabyte (GB) memory cards, which can store as many as sixteen 8GB full HD video files.
The upgrade, he writes in a research note, reflects improving 2011 prospects for NAND flash memory demand, driven by tablets, smart phones and solid-state drives.
FORBES: SanDisk Rallies On Raymond James Upgrade; Bullish On NAND
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