Axiz, a distributor of a wide range of hardware and software, and a memory manufacturer and distributor, says current memory price hikes are not only the result of big multinational PC manufacturer orders.
Bruce Murphy, brand manager for memory, blames the emergence of Flash memory, while recognising the "contributory" role of other factors. Flash memory, especially NAND Flash, has seen remarkable success of late, he says.
Flash, aha
Flash, a solid state device, is now integral to devices like Sony`s memory stick (in digital cameras), USB removable drives, a computer`s BIOS chip, CompactFlash (in digital cameras), SmartMedia (digital cameras), PCMCIA Type I and Type II memory cards (used as solid-state disks in laptops), memory cards for video game consoles, SD cards, MP3 players, camera phones and Fuji/Toshiba`s joint venture XD card in Fuji and Olympus digital cameras.
"So the whole digital camera market is getting into Flash, and the rise and rise of digital versus film cameras tells the story of how important this market is for memory manufacturers," he says.
"NAND, as a non-volatile memory [which doesn`t need electrical power to store and retain data] is in fact the fastest growing sector in the semi-conductor market," Murphy adds. "The semi-conductor output of Flash is increasing at the cost of commoditised SDRAM."
He says whereas Toshiba and Samsung have been early leaders in this market, a number of joint ventures are now contesting it. Hynix and Micron are aggressively entering this market.
"The whole thing is a drive to capitalise on the early revenue possibilities of Flash. It is also a big focus for us."
Ordered around
Murphy concedes that chronic shortages that have plagued the memory market in the past continue to under-supply large multinational PC makers. "They are sometimes forced to buy not at the normal contract price, directly from memory manufacturers, but at a higher [spot] price from distributors. This also pushes up the price."
Axiz locally manufactures or brands its own Kalliba memory - SDRAM as well as Flash.
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