Elpida Memory (Elpida), Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today announced that it has begun mass production of the industry's highest density 2-gigabit Mobile RAM using 50 nm process technology at its Hiroshima fab.
Mobile RAM is an ultra low-power memory that is ideal for use in mobile phones and other portable devices and requires extremely advanced technology for development and production. As a leading supplier of mobile DRAM, Elpida has managed to quickly establish a full-scale 50 nm Mobile RAM production system using ArF immersion lithography and copper interconnect technology.

Power Quotient International Co., Ltd. (PQI) officially announces the release of DDR3 tri-channel memory kits. Compatible with current Intel X58 chipset's coupled with Intel i7 series CPU, the tri-channel technology provides significant memory bandwidth improvements over dual channel mode. It provides the ultimate performance for enthusiasts wanting the very best system performance every time they turn on their computers.

Due to software programming complexity and hardware requirements, the increased bandwidth and memory capacity definitely plays a major role in ones PC performance. Using specially picked DRAM modules in 128M*8 configuration combined with stringent testing methodology, its full compatibility and performance is ensured. PQI's DDR3 tri-channel kit offer users extra memory capacity and greater bandwidth compared to DDR2 modules.

Rambus today announced that it has agreed in principle to terms for a compulsory license with Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS) for SDR SDRAM and DDR SDRAM memory products. The parties have agreed to royalty rates of 1% for SDR SDRAM and 4.25% for DDR SDRAM memory devices for net sales after January 31, 2009 and before April 18, 2010. The latter rate applies to DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR, GDDR2 and GDDR3 SDRAM devices, as well as DDR SGRAM devices. In addition, a proposed final judgment of $349M in damages, plus pre-judgment interest of approximately $48M has been submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The final amount of pre-judgment interest depends on the date final judgment is entered. Damages and royalty rates are limited to U.S. infringements.

Kingston Memory released a 2 GB DDR2 HyperX SO-DIMM compatible with netbooks, MIDs and ULPCs supporting SO-DIMMs. The most peculiar part about this module is that it is PC2-4300 (DDR2-533 MHz) compliant. Kingston brandishes the DRAM timings of this module that puts in in the low-latency segment in today's scenario: 3-3-3-8. Kingston notes that the module is programmed in a way that lets any netbook or MID to automatically run at the modules tight DRAM timings. The module is backed by a lifetime warranty, it is priced at US $35.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced immediate availability of DDR3 Registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) and DDR3 ECC Unbuffered DIMMs (ECC UDIMMs).

Super Talent's 1GB and 2GB ECC UDIMMs are immediately available in production volumes and support speeds up to 1333MT/s for single DIMM per channel operation and 1066MT/s for two DIMM per channel operation. Super Talent's 1GB x8 RDIMM is also immediately available in production volumes and supports speeds up to 1333MT/s for single DIMM per channel operation, 1066MT/s for two DIMM per channel operation, and 800MT/s for three DIMM per channel operation. All these products are designed to be compatible with Intel's upcoming Nehalem EP Server Platform.

SiS Group Company- LinkVast Technologies Inc. today announced the first generation solid-state drive (SSD) memory controllers - LVT820 and LVT815 which manage the latest solid-state memory devices and support external DRAM interfaces to meet the advanced SSD hard drive performance requirements. In addition to standard size of Hard Disk Drive in Desktop PC, LVT820 and LVT815 also can be applied in various forms and sizes for different devices for Notebook/Netbook PC, Embedded system and specific application system markets.

With SATAII interface design, the data transfer rate of LVT820 and LVT815 up to 3Gbps. They support 8 channels (64bit/64CE) and 4 channels (32bit/32CE) memory systems respectively for the flexible and diverse capacity SSD hard drive usage. By designing with the architecture of 16-bit ECC technology, that ensures data transfer accuracy and achieve the reliability and longevity to SSD hard drive with built-in the Advanced Dynamic & Static Wear Leveling technology supporting.

Deteriorating economic conditions and decreased demand for 200 millimeter (mm) specialty DRAM products have created additional challenges for Micron Technology, Inc.'s Boise manufacturing operations. As a result, Micron announced today that it will phase out 200mm wafer manufacturing operations at the company's Boise facility. This action will reduce employment at Micron's Idaho sites by approximately 500 employees in the near term and as many as 2,000 positions by the end of the company's fiscal year. The company has sufficient manufacturing capacity remaining and does not expect any disruption in product supply required for customer needs.

Known by computer enthusiasts to be the company with some top quality PC coolers, Xigmatek, has a new product up its sleeve: the Dragoon N422 memory module heatsink cooler. The cooler serves as a replacement for the heatspreaders or stock-heatsinks memory modules come with. It can latch onto most standard-sized 240-pin DDR2 and DDR3 modules.

The cooler consists of two units that dissipate heat from either sides of the module. Each unit consists of a metal plate that makes contact with the module. The plate itself propagates into an arrangement of aluminum fins, but the interesting component is the copper heatpipe that runs through the length of the plate. The heatpipe makes direct contact the memory chips, and conveys heat to a small yet dense aluminum fin array. Two such plates are latched onto a module using screws. The total weight of the cooler per module (two plates) is 105g. It measures 131.1 (L) x 76.5 (W) x 9.6 (H) mm. Due to its design, the cooler can be used only on double-sided modules (modules with DRAM chips on both sides). The Dragoon N422 is yet to reach retail channels so we could tell its price.

ACTICA Inc., manufacturer of mission critical server memory products, announces the next generation DDR2-800/PC2-6400 ECC Registered for AMD Opteron Shanghai Platforms.

ACTICA's new DDR2-800 ECC REG are compatible to AMD Opteron Shanghai sever platforms such as Supermicro H8DMT, H8DMU+, H8DM3, H8DMA, H8DA3, H8DAi-2, Tyan S4985-E, S3992-E, S2927-E, S2915-E, S2912-E, S2937, S2935, and Asus KFSN4-DRE/SAS/iKV, KFSN4-DRE/iKVM.

• ACT4GER72E4G800S-DDR2-800 4GB ECC REG Samsung-chip
• ACT2GER72F8G800S---DDR2-800 2GB ECC REG Samsung-chip
• ACT1GER72A8G800S---DDR2-800 1GB ECC REG Samsung-chip

Hynix forms one of the top-tier DRAM manufacturers. On Sunday, the company made it official that its new 1 Gb (128 MB) DDR3 memory chip built on the new 40 nm silicon fabrication process, will enter mass production by the third quarter, and be available to manufacturers soon after. The chip (model: H5TQ1G83CFR) operates with a top-speed of 2,133 Mbps, at a wide range of voltage.

Using the three-dimensional transistor technology, the company has stepped-up productivity by more than 50% over its current DRAM chips built on the 50 nm process. The new technology is said to minimize electric leakages and reduces overall power consumption of the DRAM chip. The new 1Gb memory chip meets Intel's DDR3 DRAM specification compliance and the memory module will be examined for certification by Intel.

Samsung Electronics announced today that it has developed and validated the first 40-nanometer (nm) class DRAM chip and module. This new 1-Gigabit DDR2 component (x8) and a corresponding 1-Gigabyte 800Mbps (Megabits per second) DDR2 SODIMM (small outline DRAM inline memory module) - both to be processed at 40-nm - have been certified in the Intel Platform Validation program for use with the Intel GM45 series Express mobile chipsets.
"Securing extremely advanced technology and system/platform validated operability underscores our commitment as technology leader to deploying the most efficient means of producing DRAM in the marketplace," said Kevin Lee, vice president, technical marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Rambus Inc., one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announces the implementation of its award-winning XDR memory architecture using an ultra low-cost LQFP package. In a paper to be presented at DesignCon, Rambus will discuss the benefits of differential signaling delivering high memory bandwidth in a cost-effective package, ideal for consumer electronics such as set-top boxes and HDTVs.

"Today's consumer electronics require high bandwidth and low-cost manufacturability," said Martin Scott, senior vice president of Research and Technology Development at Rambus. "Our team has demonstrated that the superior signal integrity of the XDR memory architecture, which enables the highest data rates of any DRAM technology, also makes possible high-speed operation in very low-cost device packaging."

Late last month, DRAM major Qimonda announced insolvency. This company now has a month's cash left to carry on operations, before having to dissolve its assets. The company is reportedly looking for buyers. The news of Qimonda's departure in the making, for the industry didn't have immediate repercussions post announcement, since it coincided with a week of holidays on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

When the traders returned to work after the holiday, DRAM prices shot up due to widespread concerns over the departure of Qimonda disturbing supply-chains. The price of the DRAM chip used as a standard to gauge DRAM prices, a common DDR2-667 1Gbit (128MB) chip, rose by as much as 27% to US $1.08, as measured by DRAMeXchange, a company that runs online DRAM chip stock clearance sales. Analysts at Gartner predict short-term and long-term implications of Qimonda's exit: on the short-term, DRAM prices will rise as the fall of Qimonda will disturb supply-chains. On the long term though, the market will stabilize since it is still saturated with DRAM over-supply even without Qimonda. It isn't a good time to buy DRAM chips, as a result of which, other weaker DRAM companies may also file for bankruptcy, disturbing supply-chains.

Transcend Information Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of high performance memory modules, is proud to unveil 4GB aXeRam DDR3-1800 memory upgrade kits. Designed specifically for hard-core gamers using only top-binned, premium quality DRAM chips and custom high-purity aluminum heat sinks with cooling fins, aXeRam DDR3-1800 dual-channel kits deliver amazing high-speed overclocking performance while maintaining cool temperatures and rock-solid system stability.

Transcend's 4GB aXeRam DDR3-1800 kit's two identically-matched 240-pin unbuffered 2GB DDR3 1800MHz DIMMs are carefully paired for use in dual-channel configuration, which together provide memory bandwidth of up to 28.8GB/s. To ensure extra-stability and signal integrity at high clock speeds, all aXeRam modules use robust eight-layer PCBs that fully comply with JEDEC standards. The aXeRam 128Mx8 DDR3 DRAM chips are selected with the strictest quality and performance standards and are manufactured using small Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA) packages to assure better thermal dissipation, electrical efficiency and improved overclocking performance. Transcend's aXeRam DDR3-1800 modules also support new Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) technology, which allows users with high-performance motherboards to easily overclock their memory with aXerRam's built-in aggressive speed-maximized profiles, or manually input their own memory timing parameters to take their system to the next level.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has made a significant advancement in the push for higher volume memory chips by developing the world's first four gigabit (Gb) DDR3 DRAM chip, using 50 nanometer (nm) process technology.

With more and more data centers seeking a reduction in the number of servers they use, the development of low-power 4Gb DDR3 has become critical in reducing data center costs, improving server time management and increasing overall efficiency.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched an SSD, offered in capacities up to 64GB, that was specially designed as an upgrade for the Asus S101 Eee PC.

The Windows model of the S101 includes only 16GB of local storage, so Super Talent's upgrade SSD offers the S101 user the opportunity to double or quadruple the storage capacity in his netbook.

Elpida Memory (Elpida), Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today introduced the industry's first 1-Gigabit XDR DRAM based on a x32-bit configuration. The new XDR product features the industry's fastest ultra-high speed of 7.2GHz, which is faster than any GDDR5 memory chip, and provides a data transfer rate of 28.8 Gigabytes per second with a single device, making it an ideal choice for such high-bandwidth, high-performance full HD-capable applications as game consoles, digital televisions and Blu-ray disc recorders.

Leading CPU makers Intel and AMD have adopted memory standards in fairly quick succession in the past. This however, doesn't seem to be the case with DDR3. AMD is yet to release a CPU that supports DDR3 memory, and is two years behind Intel with its DDR3 implementation plans. Intel on the other hand has managed 100% DDR3 dependency with only its premium Core i7 platform, with DDR3 not completely replacing DDR2 in any of its mainstream or value lineups.

Market factors, namely the DRAM manufacturing industry, are increasingly posing difficulties to CPU makers to bring DDR3 memory at a consumer-friendly price point. With manufacturing costs refusing to come down and the Core i7 not able generate the expected demand that justifies selling triple channel kits at sub-$100 price-points, CPU makers are rethinking their large-scale DDR3 standard transition plans for their entire lineups. Intel on its part is contemplating on postponing its 5-series mainstream platform for the Intel Core i5 series processors. AMD on the other hand, is still struggling with technical difficulties in achieving stability and compatibility with DDR3 memory on its DDR3-supportive memory controllers the upcoming AM3-socket CPUs come with. So the company is also unlikely to transition to DDR3 until it is able to come out with a workable BIOS, sources add. It could be as long as 2010 by when a 100% industry-wide implementation of DDR3 can take place.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the immediate availability of the new Crucial.com Netbook Upgrade Center for purchasing DRAM memory, Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and flash memory cards suitable for most netbook products now available in the market. Netbooks, simplified notebooks designed to be affordable, energy efficient, and smaller in size, are growing in popularity with consumers because of their practical price point and no-nonsense capabilities. The Crucial.com Netbook Upgrade Center will help customers optimize the performance of their netbooks with the right upgrades and accessories. The complete line of DRAM, SSD, and flash memory netbook upgrades are now available at Crucial.com, Crucial.UK, or Crucial.EU.

Mushkin today introduced its first memory kit consisting of six DDR3 modules for use on Core i7 and other compatible platforms. The kit (model: HP3 995659) provides a combined memory capacity of 12GB (6x 2GB), which should suit workstations and other high performance systems based on the Core i7 platform. The modules operate at 1600 MHz (PC3-12800) at voltages between 1.5 and 1.6 volts with DRAM timings of 9-9-9-27. The modules come with the blue-coloured FrostByte heatspreaders. Pricing and availability will be announced soon.

Micron Technology today announced results of operations for the company's first quarter of fiscal 2009, which ended December 4, 2008. For the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the company posted a net loss of $706 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, on net sales of $1.4 billion. These results reflect a non-cash charge to cost of goods sold of $369 million to write down the value of work in process and finished goods inventories of memory products to their estimated market values and a benefit of $157 million from first quarter sales of products that were subject to
previous write-downs. In the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the company generated $359 million in cash flow from operating activities and ended the quarter with cash and investments of $1.0 billion.

Elpida Memory today announced that it had completed development of a 50nm process 2-gigabit Mobile RAM product using 50nm process technology with 193nm (ArF) immersion lithography and copper interconnect. The ultra low-power features of Mobile RAM are ideal for use in mobile phones, portable multimedia devices, portable internet-related devices and other handheld device applications. In its development of Mobile RAM Elpida has focused on conserving electric current. Compared with 70nm products the new 50nm product uses less than half the data retention current and half the operating current. These enhanced features enable double the memory capacity without an increase in system power consumption.

Hynix Semiconductor announced it has developed the world's first 2Gigabit mobile DRAM using 54nm process technology. This product provides twice as much storage capacity over current 1Gb mobile solution which has been the highest density offered among the mobile DRAM products in MCP(Multi Chip Package), PoP(Package on Package) platform. It boasts maximum operating speed of 400Mbps(Megabits per second) at 1.2V power supply and processes up to 1.6 Gigabytes of data per second with a 32-bit I/O. Moreover, the new product consumes less power than existing memory solutions.

Elpida Memory, Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today announced that its Board of Directors has decided to acquire a portion of the shares its strategic partner Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) owns in Rexchip Electronics Corporation (Rexchip), a Taiwan-based manufacturing joint venture created by PSC and Elpida. Details of the share acquisition appear below.

Elpida Memory, Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today announced that it has completed development of a 50nm process DDR3 SDRAM. The new DRAM product features the lowest power consumption in the industry, 2.5Gbps ultra high speed and a 1.2V low voltage operation based on the industry's smallest chip size. The new 50nm process DDR3 SDRAM was developed using the industry's most advanced 193nm (ArF) immersion lithography technology and copper interconnect technology and has a chip size of less than 40mm2. Also, the new SDRAM is an eco-friendly DRAM. It operates on not only DDR3 standard 1.5V supply voltage but even lower voltages of 1.35V and 1.2V and contributes to the low-power operations of high-density memory systems such as servers and data centers.