With the iPhone already the largest application for NAND-type flash memory, the device’s sales growth and high memory usage may cause some periods of undersupply for 2010, according to iSuppli.
“An average of 35.2GB of NAND will be used in each iPhone sold in 2010, iSuppli estimates,” says Michael Yang, senior analyst for memory and storage at the research firm. “Furthermore, iPhone shipments are set to rise to 33 million in 2010, up 31.5% from 25.1 million in 2009.
“DigiTimes” (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100220PR200.html) reports that, partly owing to demand driven by the iPhone and competitive products, global NAND flash revenues will rise to US$18.1 billion in 2010, up 34% from US$13.5 billion in 2009, according to a preliminary forecast from iSuppli. This compares to a 14.8% increase in 2009.