dram

An Apple-related report from Taipei-based DigiTimes lopped $10 billion off Samsung's market value, according to Reuters.

The Taipei-based publisher said on Tuesday that Apple has placed "huge orders for mobile DRAM" chips with Elpida, a Samsung rival.

That news alone drove Samsung's shares down 6 percent, wiping the $10 billion off the market value on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

It also drove memory maker Hynix's shares almost 9 percent lower, the biggest one-day drop in nine months.

Taipei-based DigiTimes is known generally as an Asian manufacturer mouthpiece, with a flair for airing supplier grievances and … Read more

Steve Appleton mirrored the survivalist streak in the company he led.

Micron Technology CEO Appleton died Friday at 51 years old when a high-performance Lancair plane he was piloting crashed at Boise Airport in Idaho.

Lancairs aren't easy to fly. In fact, they're difficult enough that the Federal Aviation Administration gave notice to Lancair operators in 2009 that the planes had a "disproportionate" number of fatal accidents.

Though Lancairs accounted for only 3 percent of the nation's amateur-built airplanes, they accounted for 16 percent of the fatal accidents in the 11 months prior to the … Read more

Did you know that Apple ships more iPads than Dell ships PCs? Chipmakers that have bet their business on the global demand for DRAM chips know this and it's freaking them out.

iPads use 75 percent fewer dynamic-random access memory chips than traditional PCs. For companies like Elpida Memory and Hynix Semiconductor, this is a major problem. You see, they have been building factories to produce these DRAM chips under the assumption that the computer industry, particularly PCs, would continue to grow at its traditional rate.

The iPad has changed everything.

Over the last three years, the makers of … Read more

Global semiconductor sales are now expected to fall this year by 11 percent--an improvement over the previous estimate of a 17 percent drop, according to research released Monday by Gartner. And the outlook for 2010 is sunny.

Revenue is projected to drop this year to $226 billion, an 11.4 percent decline from last year's $255 billion. Next year however, it's expected to bounce back by 13 percent from this year's level, hitting the same $255 billion figure it did in 2008.

Personal computers are the largest factor driving semiconductor sales. In another recent report, Gartner said … Read more

Rafe wonders what could possibly go wrong with Comcast monitoring its users to protect them from malware. In the process, Rafe makes a few comments that have us wondering whether he'll return home to any Internet service at all. Barnes and Noble is rumored to be rolling out an Android e-book reader, while Steve Ballmer claims that the PC is the best e-book reader.

B&N e-book reader reportedly in the works http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10371468-93.html

PCs are … Read more

Updated at 7:15 p.m. PST with additional information from earnings conference call.

Memory chipmaker Micron Technology posted its eighth-straight loss as it was hit by a steep drop-off in chip prices caused by global oversupply.

In the quarter ended December 4, 2008, the Boise, Idaho company posted a net loss of $706 million or 91 cents per diluted share, on net sales of $1.4 billion, down 8.7 percent. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a loss of 45 cents a share.

The 2009 fiscal first quarter results include a $369 million write-down of memory chip products, … Read more

Taiwan will likely rescue, in some form, failing memory chipmakers, as that country's industry falls behind the rest of the world.

Recent reports depict an industry desperately seeking financial help. The Taiwanese government has responded by offering loans, according to a variety of reports.

(See also: Chip sales dip in October, flash sales dive.)

One report on Thursday said that Taiwan's economic affairs ministry has approved a rescue package. No specifics have been revealed, however.

At stake is Taiwan's dynamic random access memory (DRAM) industry. DRAM is the main memory used in personal computers.

Avi Cohen, managing … Read more

Micron Technology announced Sunday that it is buying Qimonda AG's $400 million stake in Inotera Memories.

Inotera was founded as a joint venture by Qimonda (formerly the memory products division of Infineon Technologies) and Nanya Technology. Micron said the deal constitutes an expansion of its relationship with Nanya.

In the current Qimonda-Nanya partnership, Inotera operates two 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facilities producing a total of 120,000 wafers per month, Micron said.

Under the agreement, Micron will acquire access to half of the manufacturing capacity of Inotera, with the other half allocated to Nanya. Micron said it will also share … Read more

Memory chipmakers are fighting for their life.

The memory chip market--and industry--is caught in a particularly brutal downward price spiral that is threatening the viability of even the largest players.

"Memory manufacturers who have already been losing money for several quarters are now looking at another six months to a year of absolutely ominous conditions," said Avi Cohen, managing partner at Avian Securities.

Companies are now in survival mode, according to Cohen. "It is a matter of survival and everyone needs to figure out how to stay in business over the next year or how to scavenge … Read more