As a leading SSD vendor, OCZ sure has a strong engineering muscle to flex. Flex it did, with the AEONDrive DRAM SSD. This drive uses DRAM as its primary storage medium (as long as there's a constant power source). The device is thus ideal for those parts of the datacenter which hold "hot data". Unlike similar solutions such as FusionIO drives, the AEONDrive utilizes SAS 6 Gb/s interface. SAS is a low-overhead protocol since it allows exchange of larger numbers of simultaneous host commands than ATA. As for the performance OCZ claims the AEONDrive provides 140,000 IOPS 4K, and 540,000 IOPS 512. Since DRAM is a much lower-density medium than NAND flash, one should expect AEONDrives to be available only in relatively low capacities such as 64 GB (still big enough for pain databases). Not much more is detailed about the drive. It would be great if the AEONDrive could back itself up onto NAND flash before turning itself off.

Elpida Memory, Inc. hereby announces that At the meeting of the board of directors held on February 27, 2012, we resolved to file a petition for the commencement of corporate reorganization proceedings and filed the same with the Tokyo District Court. As such petition was duly received on the same day and then the Court has immediately rendered the temporary restraining order to restrain any repayment, etc., the comprehensive prohibition order to prohibit any execution and the supervision and examination order, we hereby notify thereof as follows. In this connection, our consolidated subsidiary, Akita Elpida Memory, Inc., has simultaneously filed a petition for the commencement of corporate reorganization proceedings. For such information, please refer to the separate "Notice on Petition for Commencement of Corporate Reorganization Proceedings and Uncollectibility of Debts of Our Subsidiary".

KINGMAX, a world renowned leading brand of DRAM and flash memory, adds another new product to its Nano Gaming Ram series: 8GB overclocking memory modules in one stick. This is the largest capacity in one stick and the only DDR3 memory modules which doesn't need heatsink for cooling. 8GB DDR3 memory modules with speed faster than 1600MHz also support Intel XMP - Extreme Memory Profiles. Further, 8GB DDR3 memory modules are compatible with Intel X79 platform, enabling quad channel memory setting and allowing memory upgrade up to 32GB. KINGMAX also announces standard desktop 8GB DDR3 modules.

For professionals and enthusiasts who need to work on high quality images or need mass computing, it is most awkward when applications require more memory than real memory can afford. The KINGMAX 8GB DDR3 memory modules with surpassing capacity are designed to solve abovementioned difficulties and to help computer system work much more smoothly and faster. Gamers and overclockers, who like to pursuit ultimate speed, are able to operate quad channel memory setting on the latest Intel X79 platform to boost the system equipped with Intel 2nd Generation Core i7 Extreme performance to the next high level.

In case Elpida is unable to repay its debts due in April and goes insolvent, marking its exit from the DRAM industry, the consequences for not just the DRAM industry, but also the PC industry as a whole, will be huge, note industry observers. On the 15th, Eplida released a statement on the assumed going concern in the company with regards to its debt situation. The company has been unable to recover from its condition despite injections of capital backed by no less than the Japanese government.

Elpida has to repay nearly 40 billion JPY US ($505.8 million) to the government, and another 80 billion JPY (US $1.02 billion) in short-term bank loans. Frantic negotiates are on between the company and its long list of creditors that include the Japanese government and other banks to seek an interim relief from the default, even as the company searches for a cash-source that would alleviate the situation and make it survive. Elpida's situation is different from that of Qimonda, it's larger, has more technologies in the pipeline, and has recently set up 30 nm-class mass-production and is testing 20 nm-class production. In other words, it has much greater potential as a company that contributes to the industry, if it survives. Its exit will leave the industry imbalanced, and dominated by Korean DRAM makers such as Samsung and Hynix, and American Micron Technology, a step closer to oligarchical price-controls, observers note.

2011 was a bloodbath for the DRAM industry, as overproduction led to sharp drop in prices across the board, killing profit margins, and creating huge losses for DRAM makers. In Q4 2011, Elpida and Nanya cut back their production to prevent further drops in DRAM prices. As prices are now slowly stabilizing, DRAM makers are considering stepping up production cautiously, till "normalcy" in DRAM prices can be achieved.

DRAM makers cumulatively increased production by 100,000 wafers in Q1 2012, according to sources. These companies are walking a tight rope between ensuring they don't dampen demand, while ensuring they don't face further losses. This month, DRAM contact prices have gone up as PC OEMs placed fresh orders to replenish their memory inventories. The prices have reportedly gone up by 6% so far in this month. Meanwhile, the global supply of DRAM is expected to grow by 30% in 2012.

Micron Technology, Inc. is extending its legacy of memory leadership by introducing a new product category of low-power DDR3 solutions targeted at the tablet and ultrathin markets. These 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4 Gb "DDR3Lm" solutions focus on low self-refresh power (IDD6) for longer battery life, while maintaining the high performance and cost effectiveness of PC DRAM.

The first 2 Gb DDR3Lm will provide up to 50 percent self-refresh power savings versus standard 2 Gb DDR3L while driving performance up to -1600 MT/s when needed. Micron's 4 Gb DDR3Lm product delivers the same optimized power efficiency as the 2 Gb part, with a reduced chip count that is ideally suited for ultrathin and tablet customers. Both 2 Gb and 4 Gb DDR3Lm will be adopted into Micron's 30-nanometer (nm) class to further optimize the power and performance features, with the 4 Gb device hitting a 3.7mA IDD6 target in standby mode, yet still supporting speeds up to -1866 MT/s.

Following reports that Kingston is reducing prices of its NAND flash-based products by up to 15%, SanDisk too is reportedly preparing price-cuts of its own. Unlike Kingston, SanDisk's entire product portfolio is connected with NAND flash memory, it is the world's largest vendor of memory cards, and also has a vast lineup of USB flash drives. SanDisk will lower its prices just enough to maintain competitiveness with Kingston's products. The company maintains that initiating a price-cutting strategy is intended to boost sales volume and maintain the company's leading market share. According to DRAMeXchange, major NAND flash vendors are initiating price cuts to clear inventories, to make way for flash memory built on newer fabrication technologies.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash solutions, today announces their Quadra series, overclocked, quad-channel DDR3 memory kits, targeted at the extreme enthusiast market.

Gamers and enthusiasts already know about Intel's i7-3960X 6-Core processors and now they are scrambling to find DRAM worthy of their new rig. The Quadra, DDR3 Quad-kits, come in 1600 MHz and 1866 MHz and pairs perfectly with the i7 processors, which now handles 4 channels of memory. By fully populating all 8 slots of memory with Super Talent's 4GB DIMMs, users will experience reduced loading times with all their high-system-requirement programs. Now more time can be spent using a computer than waiting on it.

PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") is considered a leading designer, manufacturer and a worldwide leader in DRAM Memory and Flash Memory products, has announced the release of their elegant and stunning range of Clip Attaché USB flash drives. The Clip Attaché serves a dual purpose of an efficient storage device as well as a vanity feature to suit the pace and the trend of the metropolis lifestyle.

PNY Clip Attaché is encased in a colorful metallic case illustrated with 4 different floral designs (plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum) inspired by traditional Seiko art and is an effortless blend of modern technology and classic culture. Available in four different colors to choose from it provides a personalized selection of storage accessories.

Following North American retail availability of the AMD Memory branded desktop system memory modules, AMD (NYSE: AMD) is pleased to announce European retail availability debuting with technology partner Patriot Memory LLC. Key launch partners of AMD Memory in Europe include: Alternate (Germany), ASBIS (East Europe), Avnet Technology Solutions Ltd (EMEA), Pixmania (EMEA) and VIP Computers (UK & Benelux). AMD Memory branded products provide an easy and straightforward experience when looking for the ideal match for gaming or multimedia PC needs.

AMD Memory is available at three different levels - 2GB, 4GB and 8GB sizes - in a range of price points and speeds. The Entertainment category will feature 1333 MHz and 1600 MHz speed RAM, designed for quiet Home Theater PC applications. The Performance version supports speed up to 1600 MHz with enhanced latency and comes in matched pairs. Finally, Radeon Edition DRAM will run at 1866 MHz, and is tuned, tested and certified for specific AMD platforms to enable maximum performance utilizing the AMD OverDrive tuning utility.

Elpida Memory, Inc. ("Elpida", TOKYO: 6665 JP), the world's third largest Dynamic Random Access Memory ("DRAM") manufacturer, today announced the development of its first-ever high-speed non-volatile resistance memory (ReRAM) prototype. As the ReRAM prototype was made using a 50-nanometer (nm[1]) process technology it has a memory cell array operation of 64 megabits[2], one of the highest densities possible for ReRAM. The prototype was jointly developed with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a Japanese-funded public institution. Further work on ReRAM development is being conducted with Sharp Corporation ("Sharp", TOKYO: 6753 JP), the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST, another Japanese public institution) and the University of Tokyo.

ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) is next-generation semiconductor memory technology that uses material which changes resistance in response to changes in the electric voltage. This new type of non-volatile memory can store data even when the power supply is turned off. Its most attractive feature is that it can read/write data at high speeds using little voltage. While dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is superior to existing non-volatile memory with respect to read/write speeds and endurance, DRAM quickly loses data when the power supply is removed. NAND flash memory, a leading example of nonvolatile memory, retains data even when the power is removed but has performance measures that are inferior to DRAM.

KINGMAX, a world renowned leading brand of DRAM and flash memory, has launched the latest 2.5" SATA III 6Gb/s based SSD series targeting high performance users. The KINGMAX SMP32 Client and SMU32 Client Pro SSD feature the new generation SandForce controller that support SATA 6GB/s for the best performances and deliver read speed up to 550 MB/sec and write speed at 520MB/sec, thus it only takes a few seconds to boot in your operation system.

KINGMAX SSD SATA III Client series equipped with highly reliable SandForce controller supporting SATA III 6Gb/s interface to extend the lifetime of NAND Flash chips and the durability of SSD. Supporting RAISE fault-tolerant technology and ECC error correction technology to prevent errors caused by the volume of data loss, strengthen the data security inside it, and upgrade the computing performance. Moreover the data read and write times will be significantly reduced to extend the durability and lifetime of SSD.

Following the success of their v175w ice cream flash drives PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") is considered a leading designer, manufacturer and a worldwide leader in DRAM Memory and Flash Memory products, introduced a new USB flash drive, the v270w. The innovative flash drive comes in an egg shaped design that gives a light-hearted and fun vibe whilst offering fast and convenient transfer of files on the go.

The HP v270w is covered in a distinctive multicolored rubber material offering water and shock resistance that protects and prevents any data loss from accidental drops or external collisions. The egg shaped cover is embossed in wavy design which provides better grip and easy disconnection. The bright use of white and sunshine yellow exudes a playful and radiant appearance.

Kingston showed off its wares to the media, which included one product in particular that garnered some interest, the new HyperX T1 modules. Designed keeping in mind today's congested high-end motherboards, the HyperX T1 modules feature compound aluminum heatsinks that are designed in away that doesn't make the modules thicker, but taller. These modules are twice as tall as usual kits such as the HyperX Genesis. Their PCBs, too, are taller, and probably have an exposed copper layer for heat-transfer, à la Corsair Dominator. The heatsink branches out into fins at the top, for passive heat transfer to surrounding air. These modules will probably comply with new XMP 1.3 specifications, and offer out-of-the-box DRAM speeds in the range of DDR3-2133 to DDR3-2600, with quite some OC headroom to spare.

With the Ultrabook form-factor gaining prominence, there's an urgent need for notebook components to shape up, so is the case with storage devices. A little earlier this month, Crucial announced its latest M4 series SSD in the 2.5" SATA form-factor, which is just 7 mm-slim, as opposed to the ~9.3 mm thickness that's standard. It looks like more SSD makers are hopping into this trend, including Memoright, which launched its FTM Plus Slim series. For SSDs, slimmer 7 mm enclosures don't affect components inside, as SSDs are essentially a printed-circuit board with controllers, DRAM and NAND flash chips.

The FTM Plus Slim series have otherwise the same specifications as the regular (9.3 mm-thick) FTM Plus series. These drives are driven by SandForce SF-2281 controllers, with sequential transfer rates of up to 550 MB/s reads, 500 MB/s writes, and 55,000/50,000 read/write 4K IOPS. They take advantage of SATA 6 Gb/s interface to achieve those speeds. Like its thicker siblings, the FTM Plus Slim will be available in 60 GB, 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB capacities.

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and enthusiast computer products today launches its new portable cloud solution the Gauntlet Wifi. Designed for seamless integration with tablets and other popular mobile devices, the Gauntlet Wifi offers superior portability with the ability to connect up to 5 devices for immediate access to stored data on the go.

With App support for IOS, Android, and plug and play compatibility with Windows based operating systems, the Gauntlet Wifi will offer one of the most robust and easy to use personal cloud storage solutions. For ultimate portability and streaming on the go, a built in lithium-ion battery will power the Gauntlet Wifi for up to 5 hours of data streaming. Streaming content will be supported in media player applications and IE 6 or higher, Firefox, and Safari.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced the availability of a new standard for Wide I/O mobile DRAM: JESD229 Wide I/O Single Data Rate (SDR). Widely anticipated by the industry, Wide I/O mobile DRAM is a breakthrough technology that will meet industry demands for increased levels of integration as well as improved bandwidth, latency, power, weight and form factor; providing the ultimate in performance, energy efficiency and small size for smartphones, tablets, handheld gaming consoles and other mobile devices. JESD229 may be downloaded free of charge from the JEDEC website here.

Wide I/O mobile DRAM enables chip-level three dimensional (3D) stacking with Through Silicon Via (TSV) interconnects and memory chips directly stacked upon a System on a Chip (SoC). The standard defines features, functionalities, AC and DC characteristics, and ball/signal assignments. It is particularly well-suited for applications requiring extreme power efficiency and increased memory bandwidth (up to 17GBps). Examples include 3D Gaming, HD Video (1080p H264 video, pico projectors), and running multiple applications simultaneously. Wide I/O offers twice the bandwidth of the previous generation standard, LPDDR2, at the same rate of power consumption.

The random access memory market is a fiercely competitive one. Also, the yearly high PC shipment volume cycles of yesteryear are now history, pushing the various memory manufacturers into the red - and staying there. Well, it seems like Elpida is feeling the pinch more than most, because much of their debt has come from the Japanese government's recapitalization program and must be repaid by the end of April 2012. It looks like they can't pay this off so easily and due to this pressing deadline are looking for cash wherever they can get it, so it looks like merging with one of their rivals such as Toshiba or Micron might help them out of this predicament. Ultimately though, everyone in the DRAM market is hurting now, so it looks like fewer players are needed, so that they can work more like an oligopoly to return to profitability.

While great for helping them to survive, this isn't such good news for the end customer, who will end up seeing higher prices for their memory and a much slower decline in prices, if any. There's lots of detailed analysis and facts and figures over at X-bit labs.

Investment firm Barclays Capital lowered its ratings on semiconductor majors Intel, Applied Materials Inc, Freescale Semiconductor Holdings Ltd, Microchip Technology Inc., and Spansion Inc., from "equal weight" from "overweight", meaning that these companies are no longer outperforming, and are doing average, with negligible growth. Towards the end of 2011, Intel adjusted its Q4 forecast, lowering it by $1 billion, blaming factors beyond its control such as HDD supply problems. Weakened PC sales growth is another major factor. On the other hand, DRAM and NAND flash memory maker Micron Technology got its rating upgraded to "overweight", as Barclays notes that the industries Micron is in, are on the verge of a boom. Reacting to this, Micron's shares shot up by 11 percent during trading early this week, sending its shares' valuation from $6.2 billion, up 9 percent to $6.88 billion.

Team Group Inc. has overcome the economic stagnation to make another success through slow and steady strategies. iSuppli, the leading research institution, released the latest market statistics of Q2 2011, indicating that the firm ranks no.8 in Flash category in the top 3 Taiwan manufacturers; ranks no. 7 in USB category, moving one place up from the previous quarter; and maintains position as the 12th largest DRAM manufacturer.

According to the President of Team Group, Danny Hsia says that "Team Group Inc. has dedicated itself to Taiwan as well as overseas markets for a long time, and the branding operation has matured. A survey of iSuppli showed our excellent performance, while winning the 10th Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific award is also recognition of Team's potential and competitiveness."

Elpida Memory, Inc., the world's third largest Dynamic Random Access Memory manufacturer, today announced that it has begun sample shipments of 4-gigabit Wide IO Mobile RAM and 4-gigabit DDR3 Mobile RAM (LPDDR3).

Wide IO Mobile RAM is a next-generation mobile memory chip that provides solutions to opposing needs for faster speed and lower power consumption. The rising performance of smartphones and tablet devices in recent years has led to demand for faster DRAMs (DRAMs with greater data transfer rates), but in turn this has generated concerns about increases in system power consumption.

The solution is that Wide IO Mobile RAM expands the I/O width by using x512-bit, a data width that is more than 10 times larger than the width for existing DRAMs, which enables a data transfer rate of 12.8 gigabytes per second (GB/s) per chip while operating at a low speed of 200MHz. The reduced DRAM speed results in approximately 50% less power consumption compared with DDR2 Mobile RAM (LPDDR2), currently the leading DRAM choice for mobile devices, configured at the same transfer rate.

Buffalo Japan unveiled new 8 GB memory modules in the 204-pin SO-DIMM and standard 240-pin DIMM form-factors. These modules pack 8 GB capacity, and stick to JEDEC DDR3-1333 MHz standards. Featured in the D3N1333 series, these modules 1024M x 64bit DIMM configuration. They achieve 1333 MHz speeds with CAS latency of 9T and DRAM voltage of 1.5V. The Buffalo Tools software comes bundled with these modules. The two are priced at 26,670 JPY, around US $341.6.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced results of operations for its first quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended December 1, 2011. For the first quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $187 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion. The results for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $135 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, and net income of $155 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.3 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2011.

The company's consolidated gross margin remained at 15 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Improvements in NAND Flash margins were offset by declines in DRAM. Revenue from sales of NAND Flash products was 6 percent higher in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 due to an 18 percent increase in sales volume partially offset by a 10 percent decrease in average selling prices. Revenue from sales of DRAM products was essentially unchanged in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to the previous quarter, as a 14 percent increase sales volume was offset by a 12 percent decrease in average selling prices. Sales of NOR Flash products were approximately 14 percent of total net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.

Prepare for your RAM to cost you a little bit more early next year! According to the chairman and CEO Simon Chen for Taiwan-based memory module maker Adata Technology the previous cuts in DRAM production will begin to take effect in early January thus effecting the consumers bottom line. He is quoted as saying, "The rebound is mainly because cuts in DRAM output will begin to take effect, PC makers will replenish DRAM inventories and so will buyers on the spot market in January.' He also said, 'PC makers are expected to hike inventory level from two weeks to one month."

Mr. Chen went on to say, "The popularity of Ultrabook PCs will reduce demand for DRAM, but total demand for DRAM will not decrease because of large potential demand for server DRAM arising from fast growth in cloud computing-based applications. However, large demand for Ultrabook PCs will take off when prices fall to US$599 and they are equipped with Microsoft Windows 8." In tough economic times this is a bitter pill to swallow but to be expected given the laws of supply and demand.

Micron Technology, one of the biggest DRAM companies, has announced that it's working the JEDEC standards organization for computer memory, to standardize a new DRAM interface and die-stacking technology called three-dimensional stacking, or 3DS, which may be incorporated into the upcoming DDR4 standard. X-bit labs has a nice summary of how 3DS works:

The idea behind 3DS is to use specially designed and manufactured master-and-slave DRAM die, with only the master die interfacing with the external memory controller. 3DS technology uses optimized DRAM die, single DLL per stack, reduced active logic, single shared external I/O, improved timing, and reduced load to the external world. This combination of features can improve timing, bus speeds, and signal integrity while lowering both power consumption and system overhead for next-generation modules, according to Micron.