Samsung, Sony discuss NAND flash supply deal

Ein

Contributor
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is negotiating a $1.8 billion contract to supply NAND-based, flash-memory chips to Japan’s Sony Corp., according to reports.

The order from Sony could account for one-fifth of Samsung's NAND-based flash-memory production, exceeding the value of its chip sales to Apple Computer Inc., said Chung Chang Won, an analyst at Daewoo Securities Co., in a report from Bloomberg

Another report, which cited an unidentified Samsung official, said that Sony would use the chips in its new MP3 music players. A contract could be signed during the first half of next year, according to the reports.

Samsung, the world’s largest NAND-based flash-memory maker, recently signed a major supply contract with Apple. But in October Samsung blamed the South Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for killing a deal it was putting together to build a $3.8 billion joint-venture flash memory wafer fab with Apple.

Then, last month, Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. announced plans to create a joint venture to manufacture NAND flash memory for use in consumer electronics, removable storage and handheld communications devices, and in particular, to manufacture for Apple.
 
Back
Top