Apple and Flash memory based digital music players

Apple and Flash memory based digital music players

Macintosh makers Apple is now looking towards increasing purchases of flash memory from the tech company Samsung. They now aim to purchase as much as 40% of all the flash memory built by the company for their expected to launched soon flash-based iPod Mini MP3 player. Apple is rumored to be developing a 4GB version of the iPod Mini that would use NAND flash memory instead of a hard disk drive in time for the Christmas season.

iSuppli analyst Nam Hyung Kim spoke to the media: “To support production of its flash memory-based iPods, Apple has booked as much as 40 per cent of the NAND output of Samsung for the second half of 2005, according to our industry sources. We’re not sure now many of the new iPods Apple can sell this holiday season, but 40 per cent would be the maximum in terms of their demand.”

South Korea based Samsung is the world’s largest maker of Flash Memory. These storage devices are used in MP3 music players, digital cameras, and high-end mobile phones. The company has a majority stake in this market of digital storage format. Apple is seeing an ever increasing demand for its iPod range of MP3 players as the company sold more than 6 million iPods in the fiscal third quarter ended June 25.

The company is currently using Flash Memory in their iPod Shuffle music players and would now be bringing them to the iPod Mini. Samsung is luring Apple since quite sometime for their flash memory by offering low prices and great deals. Still, Flash Memory traditionally costs a lot more than hard drive based storage devices.