iPod nano refresh may cause NAND flash shortage
Market research firm Gartner predicts there will be a shortage of NAND flash by the fourth quarter of the year, especially if Apple Computer unveils a flash-based iPod music player with 10-to-12 gigabytes of storage capacity.
"We're expecting a more severe shortage," Gartner analyst Joe Unsworth said in a phone interview with CBS Marketwatch. This should have positive implications for NAND flash suppliers such as Samsung, Toshiba, SanDisk, Micron and Intel, he said.
Gartner now forecasts a 5.8 percent shortage of NAND flash by the fourth quarter, up from its previous expectation of a 3 percent to 4 percent shortage.
The firm said digital music players, led by the iPod, will drive growth of the NAND flash market in the second half of this year.
Apple currently sells iPod nanos with either 1GB, 2GB or 4GB of NAND flash-based storage.
25 Comments
Didn't Apple make some sort of high dollar deal with the major NAND suppliers to assure them low cost and steady supply over the next five or ten years?? I know they had to pay some sort of outrageous amount of money up front as part of this condition. So does this mean that while others are paying high cost and having limited supply, that Apple will be flourishing? Hmmmm.
Owned
Didn't Apple make some sort of high dollar deal with the major NAND suppliers to assure them low cost and steady supply over the next five or ten years?? I know they had to pay some sort of outrageous amount of money up front as part of this condition. So does this mean that while others are paying high cost and having limited supply, that Apple will be flourishing? Hmmmm.
Exciting times!
Didn't Apple make some sort of high dollar deal with the major NAND suppliers to assure them low cost and steady supply over the next five or ten years?? I know they had to pay some sort of outrageous amount of money up front as part of this condition. So does this mean that while others are paying high cost and having limited supply, that Apple will be flourishing? Hmmmm.
Yes, for the next five, I believe. It wasn't an outragous amount. By paying a percentage up front, Apple was able to assure continued supply at low prices.
What the hell would a nano redesign even look like? Thiner? Colours again? I really don't see what they can change.
Maybe an ipod nano sized mini?