With announcements coming in from of rolling out Solid State Drives (SSD) and that it would become a prominent player in the SSD business, Seagate is still in requirement of trade relationships with a NAND Flash manufacturer, add to that it doesn't have production facilities of its own.

This has gotten analysts to speculate on where Seagate will source its chips from, a possibility being buying Intel's share of the Intel-Micron JV. Such a buy-out would set Seagate back by close to $1 bn. Another possibility would be to acquire SanDisk or Hynix (Hyundai) which focus on making entry-level solid state drives, but are a major players in the overall NAND flash market. If it will be SanDisk, Hynix or any other flash maker remains to be seen, but it wouldn't come as a surprise if Seagate announces the acquisition of a flash company soon.

With many economies under inflation and other factors influencing a weak demand, these are perhaps the worst days for several companies involved in manufacture, marketing and distribution of DRAM and related products. While on the surface, all the consumer can see is a falling market price, in reality it is a composed chaos.

DigiTimes reports a falling demand for DRAM in the Asia-Pacific region as the Chinese government cracks down on users of contraband DRAM products brought in from manufacturing states. The government crackdown began with the thousands of internet-shacks and the components (both hardware and software) they used. All this comes ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a 'purge drive'. As a result, thousands of internet-shacks have been closed, bans have been imposed on the use of contraband hardware, most of which consist of DRAM related hardware. China also brought about changes in their customs routines and procedures making it extremely complicated for importers, stepping up waiting queues, affecting markets and more importantly, dampening demand.

Today Intel Corporation and Micron Technology introduced the industry's first sub-40 nanometer (nm) NAND memory device, unveiling a 34nm 32 gigabit (Gb) multi-level cell chip. This process technology was jointly developed by Intel and Micron and manufactured by the companies' NAND flash joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT). It is the smallest NAND process geometry on the market. The 32 Gb NAND chip is the only monolithic device at this density that fits into a standard 48-lead thin small-outline package (TSOP), providing a cost-effective path to higher densities in existing applications. Shipments of customer samples begin in June and mass production is expected during the second half of this year calendar.

Micron Technology and Nanya Technology Corporation announced today that the two companies have signed an agreement to create MeiYa Technology Corporation, a new DRAM joint venture. The partnership will leverage both Micron and Nanya's manufacturing technology, strengths and experience. As part of the joint venture, a 200 millimeter (mm) Nanya manufacturing facility in Taiwan will be upgraded to industry-leading 300mm technology starting this year, with the facility coming online for production in 2009. In addition to MeiYa, the parties will jointly develop and share future technology.

It is estimated that memory consumes approximately 15% of power in data center server systems today, a figure which is expected to rise with the increased memory requirements needed for virtualization and multi-core data processors. Addressing this power challenge, Micron Technology is expanding its energy-efficient Aspen Memory module portfolio with the addition of 1Gb-based DDR3 modules operating at 1.35-volts as well as 2Gb-based DDR2 modules operating at 1.5-volts; providing the server industry with the lowest voltage DDR2 and DDR3 memory designs for reduced power consumption.

Micron Technology today announced that it is sampling 4GB DDR3 modules, designed using 2Gb components, to provide the industry's highest density DDR3 modules for notebook computers. High-density memory modules are becoming increasingly important for notebook computers as graphic-intensive operating systems and other content heavy applications continue to make their way onto the market. The fast speeds, high-density and low-power of Micron's portfolio of DDR3 modules - ranging in density from 512MBs to now 4 GBs - allow these systems and applications to perform more effectively and utilize power more efficiently.

Micron Technology, today launched Aptina Imaging, creating a separate division and new identity for its CMOS imaging business. Operating as an independent division within Micron allows Aptina to better focus on delivering high-quality imaging solutions to its global customer base.

Micron Technology, one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, and Nanya Technology Corporation, a global leader in advanced memory semiconductors, jointly announced today that the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore potential technology sharing, joint technology development and development of a new joint venture. A joint development program for DRAM development and design would be created and focus on sub-50 nanometer technologies. Definitive agreements are expected to be signed in the next few months.

Micron Technology today announced that it is sampling to customers and major enablers the industry's fastest 512 megabit (Mb) Mobile DRAM component, designed for the latest feature-rich mobile electronic devices. Mass production is expected in the second quarter of this year. With mobile applications adding increased computing and multimedia functionality, faster and better performing memory becomes paramount for optimizing performance.

Intel Corporation and Micron Technology today unveiled a high speed NAND flash memory technology that can greatly enhance the access and transfer of data in devices that use silicon for storage. The new technology - developed jointly by Intel and Micron and manufactured by the companies' NAND flash joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT) - is five times faster than conventional NAND, allowing data to be transferred in a fraction of the time for computing, video, photography and other computing applications.

Micron Technology, today announced production sampling of its new 1Gb DDR2 device fabricated on 68-nanometer (nm) DRAM process technology. The new process, coupled with Micron's 6F² technology, has enabled the world's smallest production 1Gb DDR2 memory with a die size of just 56mm². Mass production of its new 68nm 1Gb DDR2 products is expected to begin early next year, with DDR3 and other low-power DRAM products expected to follow in the second half of the year.

Charting new directions and opportunities for NAND-based storage, Micron Technology, today entered the growing solid state drive (SSD) market by announcing its RealSSD family of products. Offered in a range of form factors and densities, Micron's solid state drives are designed for computing, enterprise server and networking applications.

After Kingston, now Micron Technology announced that its one gigabit (GB) double data rate DDR2 memory components are qualified for use with the Advanced Micro Devices new AMD Phenom quad-core processors.

Users can experience a significant increase in computing performance by combining the AMD Phenom processors with Micron's DDR2-1066 memory technology,

Micron's DDR2-1066 components have been in production for several months now and we are pleased to have successfully qualified our products with the AMD Phenom processors.

said Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron's memory group. That's the same old song to a new tune, we get certified memory modules for every new piece of hardware.

Building on its heritage of innovation in DRAM technology, Micron Technology, today announced the industry's first 2 gigabit (Gb) double data rate (DDR) 3 component. Micron's newest DRAM innovation is the highest density DDR3 component available on the market. By using 2Gb components, Micron can enable 8 gigabyte (GB) and 16GB modules for servers and 4GB modules for desktop and notebook PCs, which are the industry's highest density DDR3 modules available.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Micron Technology Inc. (NYSE:MU) , a maker of computer memory chips, said Tuesday it has cut less than 10 percent of its 11,000-person work force in Idaho, though it indicated more cuts are possible as the company attempts to recover from losses fed by falling prices for its products.
'We have completed many of these work force reductions, which account for less than 10 percent of our work force in the Treasure Valley,' Micron CEO Steve Appleton said in a statement.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today officially opened a new manufacturing facility in Xi'an, China. The facility, Micron's first manufacturing facility in China, is designed for assembly and test operations for Micron's semiconductor products, including dynamic random access memory, NAND flash memory and CMOS image sensors. The facility is expected to be built-out by the end of 2008 at an investment of $250 million and support up to 2,000 employees. The plant is Micron's second assembly and test facility in Asia, with its first being opened in Singapore in 1998. Additionally, Micron's Xi'an facility will be one of the largest investments of the 860 foreign-invested companies operating in the Xi'an High Tech Zone in Shaanxi Province in Midwest China. Media kit information on Micron's Xi'an grand opening can be found here.