14 DAY TRIAL // While DDR3 memory prices are escalating, the opposite seems to be happening in the flash storage industry. Though SSDs and other solid state storage units have become quite popular over the past months, their prices are still high enough to prevent them from becoming mainstream. Unfortunately, the time has not yet come when NAND can rival platter-based solutions in affordability, but, for better or worse, chip prices somehow managed to drop, albeit only just.
It appears that growing adoption of 3-bit-per-cell parts for memory cards has weakened the contract quotes for 16Gb and 32Gb multi-level cell NAND Flash memory chips by 3% in the first half of May.
This led to average prices of roughly US$3.96 and US$7.29, respectively, according to DRAMeXchange. In the mean time, suppliers scaled up output of 3-bit-per-cell parts, in order to reduce manufacturing costs, and are considering adjusting second quarter output.
In order to boost sales in the weak season, manufacturers have also decided to adjust 3-bit-per-cell prices downwards, to US$6.16. Despite this, according to Digitimes' sources, demand hasn't really picked up substantially, mostly because memory cards and flash drive sales have slowed down. Even so, however, major suppliers don't want to cut prices any further, hoping that, in the long run, this will lead to greater profits.
“Sources at memory card vendors have commented that demand for NAND flash has not picked up substantially so far in 2010, but major producers for the chip appear reluctant to cut prices. The chip vendors are believed to be sticking to their strategy for maintaining profitability,” the report states. “The sources also speculate that NAND flash vendors may tend to adjust their output for the second quarter, in order to avoid price pressure.”
Regardless of what this means for hardware makers, consumers will likely be glad to hear that, even if remote, there is a real chance that SSDs, flash drives and memory cards will become more affordable.