Demand for memory in phones to grow, thanks to Apple

[AppleInsider]

A new report predicts that demand for NAND flash memory in cell phones will more than triple by 2013, with a majority of that need being driven by Apple and its iPhone.

In all, sales of solid state memory in phones are predicted to have a nearly sixfold increase in the span from 2008 to 2013, with nearly $1 billion in revenue from flash memory sales by the end of that span.

The new report from iSuppli credits Apple for the growth in popularity of flash memory in smartphones. In 2008, NAND flash generated $166.5 million in revenue, and in 2009 it is projected to bring in $284.3 million.

"Soaring sales of smart phones, combined with the increasing density of NAND flash in each handset, is causing sales of the memory in this area to boom," said Michael Yang, senior analyst for mobile and emerging memories at iSuppli. "NAND flash makers can thank Apple Inc. for starting this trend, with its iPhone models injecting new life into the memory market. However, with the introduction of the a new generation of 'iPhone killers,' multiple smart-phone makers now are helping to drive NAND demand."

The iPhone maker is predicted to continue using up much of the solid state memory supply with its expansion into China. The country of over 1 billion is predicted to buy millions of phones from Apple. It is expected that the phone's availability will be announced by February 2010.

Last week it was revealed that a new iPhone model has been granted regulatory approval in China. The new model is reportedly a GSM/WCDMA model that operates on the 900MHz, 1700MHz and 1900MHz bands. It also includes Bluetooth, but no Wi-Fi. It was approved on May 7, according to a China's State Radio Regulatory Commission filing, and can be used in China for the next five years.

"Apple announced it sold 5.2 million iPhone 3G and 3GS models during its fiscal third quarter, which ended in June," Yang said. "Furthermore, Apple plans to introduce the iPhone in China, possibly early next year. This will open up the market for the iPhone to a new potential audience of 1.3 billion people."

When it first arrived, the iPhone offered capacity up to 8GB. Now, the top-line iPhone 3GS offers users up to 32GB of storage. Competitors to the iPhone, like the Palm Pre and HTC G1, offer 8GB of capacity.

As the amount of memory in smartphones is predicted to grow, so are the sales of such devices. While smartphones had 13.1 percent of shipments in 2008 iSuppli projects that they willl account for 26.4 percent in 2013.

Recently, Apple prepaid for a half-billion dollars in NAND flash memory from Toshiba. The iPhone maker aims to secure its long-term supply of memory for portable devices

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

In 2008, NAND flash generated $166.5 million in revenue, and in 2009 it is projected to bring in $284.3 million.

Recently, Apple prepaid for a half-billion dollars in NAND flash memory from Toshiba.]

I know the second sentence is correct, so what is up with the first sentence?

[MacTripper]

Screw NAND!

I want to know when we get those removable 2TB SDXC cards with speeds 2x as fast as a 7,200 RPM hard drive!

We are talking a whole new class of slim devices coming down the pipe.

Also isn't it about time we got a four core laptop too? Or do we have to wait until Snow Leopard gets out? Yep!

Please GOD, JESUS, STEVE JOBS, make a frigging 15" matte screen laptop option!!

[teckstud]

We've had this discussion before: Is it memory or storage we're talking about? Looks like storage though title says memory. Are they the same in the iPhone but separate for everything else?

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by MacTripper

Also isn't it about time we got a four core laptop too? Or do we have to wait until Snow Leopard gets out? Yep!

Snow Leopard has no bearing on when Intel can release mobile Core2Quads that meet the TPD that Apple needs for their notebooks.

Originally Posted by teckstud

We've had this discussion before: Is it memory or storage we're talking about?

the term NAND is a bit of a giveaway.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

the term NAND is a bit of a giveaway.

Thanks

[Wiggin]

So what percentage of storage on a typical iPhone/touch is used for the OS, apps and app data, and media (music, video, photos)? Just curious if anyone knows. If most of the storage is for media, and if most folk's media is in iTunes (due to iPod dominance), then other than the Pre's attempts to sync with iTunes, would other smart phones need as much storage?

I can see other smart phone manufacturers uping their capacities just to keep up specs-wise with the iPhone, even though their users would never need as much storage because they can't load their iTunes onto it. That could make their phones cost more than they need to, especially given Apple's cornering of the NAND supply market.

[Chris_CA]

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

I know the second sentence is correct, so what is up with the first sentence?

Likely all the $1/2 billion Apple prepaid is not being accounted for in the next year. It's spread out over a few years.

[Chris_CA]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

So what percentage of storage on a typical iPhone/touch is used for the OS, apps and app data, and media (music, video, photos)?

All of it.
What else would it be used for?

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by Wiggin

So what percentage of storage on a typical iPhone/touch is used for the OS, apps and app data, and media (music, video, photos)? Just curious if anyone knows. If most of the storage is for media, and if most folk's media is in iTunes (due to iPod dominance), then other than the Pre's attempts to sync with iTunes, would other smart phones need as much storage?

I can see other smart phone manufacturers uping their capacities just to keep up specs-wise with the iPhone, even though their users would never need as much storage because they can't load their iTunes onto it. That could make their phones cost more than they need to, especially given Apple's cornering of the NAND supply market.

For Apple’s portable devices it’s easy to check. Just plug in your device and see what iTunes says. There is a bar at the bottom. If you click it it will scroll through number of files of each kind to capacity to duration total. The actual size of the OS for each iPod and the iPhone varies, but it’s so small compared to the amount of data you store. The iPhone has the largest at around 300MB installed. I think taking an iPod or iPhone, wiping it and then seeing the max capacity at the top of the screen and comparing to what capacity is left for media is a usable method, though I could be wrong.

The Palm Pre with 8GB retails for the the same as the iPhone 3GS with16GB. I think 8GB is still good for most people which may explain why they aren’t trying to best the 3GS price for that capacity, not to mention that they can’t beat Apple on cost at this point anyway so if they want to turn a profit they probably had no choice. I read that the 3GS also has faster NAND than the previous iPhones and likely faster than the Pre which may account for why the 3GS beats in tests despite having such similar CPU and GPU.

[Wiggin]

Originally Posted by Chris_CA

All of it.
What else would it be used for?

Of course, what was I thinking!

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

For Apple’s portable devices it’s easy to check. Just plug in your device and see what iTunes says. There is a bar at the bottom. If you click it it will scroll through number of files of each kind to capacity to duration total. The actual size of the OS for each iPod and the iPhone varies, but it’s so small compared to the amount of data you store. The iPhone has the largest at around 300MB installed. I think taking an iPod or iPhone, wiping it and then seeing the max capacity at the top of the screen and comparing to what capacity is left for media is a usable method, though I could be wrong.

The Palm Pre with 8GB retails for the the same as the iPhone 3GS with16GB. I think 8GB is still good for most people which may explain why they aren’t trying to best the 3GS price for that capacity, not to mention that they can’t beat Apple on cost at this point anyway so if they want to turn a profit they probably had no choice. I read that the 3GS also has faster NAND than the previous iPhones and likely faster than the Pre which may account for why the 3GS beats in tests despite having such similar CPU and GPU.

Thanks. Yeah, I knew about the iTunes capacity gauge. I was curious if surveys or studies or Apple statistics said what the average user's mix of storage use was. I'm one of those guys whose media alone would fill the largest iPod touch's storage, leaving no room for applications and application data.

So I was curious. Assuming Apple updates the touch to 64 GB later this year, it would [barely] hold all of my media. So knowing what a typical set of apps & data require would tell me if 64 GB was big enough for my needs without having to trim my media library to make room for apps.

[brucep]

Originally Posted by Chris_CA

Likely all the $1/2 billion Apple prepaid is not being accounted for in the next year. It's spread out over a few years.

The nand report is for phones .

Apple uses nand for many devives like the nano .and new stuff that is still top secret.
1/2 bn is about 1/2 of apples nand needs for this fiscal yr.

peace

[Rokken]

I don't see that many Chinese buying the iPhone without WIFI. It's not like they won't be able to get unlocked iPhone from HK and Australia like they do right now.

[SGSStateStudent]

And Apple leads the mobile industry again!

[SGSStateStudent]

Originally Posted by MacTripper

Screw NAND!

I want to know when we get those removable 2TB SDXC cards with speeds 2x as fast as a 7,200 RPM hard drive!

We are talking a whole new class of slim devices coming down the pipe.

Also isn't it about time we got a four core laptop too? Or do we have to wait until Snow Leopard gets out? Yep!

Please GOD, JESUS, STEVE JOBS, make a frigging 15" matte screen laptop option!!

For the iPhone to have 2TB memory space... I guess another 10 years..

[Boogerman2000]

just a test