Apple backs flash memory
2007-03-09 11:46
San Francisco - Apple Inc may sell
zippy notebook computers later this year that use the same type
of fast memory as music players and digital cameras, driving
down prices of hard-disk drives, an analyst said on Thursday.
The maker of the popular iPod music player and Macintosh
computers hopes to introduce so-called flash memory in small
computers known as subnotebooks in the second half of 2007,
analyst Shaw Wu said.
A shift to flash memory in place of much slower hard-disk
drives would eliminate one headache for consumers: lengthy
start-up times when turning on computers.
Apple of Cupertino, California, already uses flash memory
in its iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle music players. Flash memory
is lighter, uses less power and takes up less space than
hard-disk drives.
'The time is right'
Wu, who was among the first analysts to forecast the
unveiling of Apple's iPhone music player/phone earlier this
year, cited unnamed industry sources as the basis for his
report.
"The time is right for the flash makers to make a move" as
flash memory prices decline, Wu said by telephone. "Apple, from
what we understand, is pretty much ready. The ball is in the
flash vendors' court."
Apple spokesperson Lynn Fox said the company does not
comment "on rumor and speculation".
A transition to flash memory for computers could put
pressure on makers of traditional hard-disk drives including
Seagate Technology, the largest US hard-disk drive maker, Wu
said.
Apple, known as a technology innovator, would be among the
first personal computer makers to use flash memory for storing
data in computers, a step that some chip memory makers,
including Micron Technology Inc, have said is inevitable as
prices for flash decline and storage capacity increases.
Flash memory chips have solid state circuitry that uses no
moving parts, making them less vulnerable to damage than
hard-disk drives. Prices of flash memory have been declining
rapidly but are still higher than those for hard-disk drives,
Wu said, meaning early flash-based computers would be more
expensive.
Apple would use a miniature version of its Mac OS X
operating system in the flash-based subnotebook computers, Wu
said, again citing unnamed sources. The computers could be
introduced in the second half of this year, he said.