Samsung sees a surge in flash memory sales

As the year-end gift season approaches, flash memory chips that are widely used in gadgets like MP3 players, digital cameras, and mobile handsets are in short supply. Flash memory chips retain data when power is cut. They come in two flavors, NOR and NAND, referring to the logic that the chips use to process and store information. NOR types are faster but NAND stores more data per unit size. Samsung Electronics, which supplies about 65 percent of the world NAND flash memory market, is pressed to keep up with demand for its chips, industry sources said. In recent months, the time between receiving an order and shipping it was about four weeks, those sources said; now buyers have to wait more than 16 weeks for their deliveries. In the fourth quarter alone, prices have risen by about 8 percent. “We can accept only about 50 to 60 percent of our orders,” a Samsung official said. “We believe the short supply will continue through next year.” by Kim Sang-woo