microSD stock shortage may affect handset shipments

MicroSD memory cards are said to be in a shortage over the past few months due to insufficient production capacity and tight supply of NAND flash memory. Industry watchers estimate this shortage may affect the shipment of many handset models.

Because microSD cards have a slim profile, they require a specific packaging process, and only a few companies like Siliconware Precision Industries Ltd. (SPIL), Kingmax Semiconductor, Kingpak Technology and Power Digital Card (PDC) are capable of packaging microSD cards in Taiwan. The need for tight testing and packaging capacity led to a microSD card shortage lately.

General shortage of NAND flash in the second half of 2005 has affected microSD card supply. MicroSD cards require a relatively longer time to manufacture than other types of memory cards, and as the production procedures are more complicated, memory makers hesitate to allocate their limited NAND flash for microSD card production.

Industry makes are suggesting that there may be potential shipment delays for the related microSD supported handsets, which include models from Motorola and China-based handset makers, which have many microSD handsets models.