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.

DRAM major, Hynix has announced the depelopment of 7 GT/s GDDR5 memory chips for use by the visual-computing industry. These chips are built on the company's 54nm silicon fabrication technology.

The 1 Gb (128 MB) chips labelled H5GQ1H24AFR operate at the fastest speeds so far: 7 Gbps (or GT/s), which is a 40% boost in speeds compared to the older 5 GT/s chips already in production. The chip handles up to 28 GB of data per second across a 32-bit wide interface. The incorporation of new fab. processes also means reduced power consumption at 1.35V power supply. The JEDEC-standard 1Gb GDDR5 graphics DRAM chip targets high-end applications such as game consoles and graphics cards. The company will commence volume production in the first half of 2009.

Qimonda AG, a leading global memory supplier, today announced the commencement of commercial production of DRAM chips using its new Buried Wordline technology. Qimonda's revenues in October included the first sales of 1Gbit DDR2 chips using 65nm Buried Wordline technology. In addition, Qimonda has achieved first yields on the next generation 46nm Buried Wordline technology and has taped out what it believes is the worldwide smallest 2G DDR3 chip based on this technology. Qimonda's innovative Buried Wordline DRAM technology combines high performance, low power consumption and small chip sizes to further advance the company's product portfolio, which is now focused on DRAM for infrastructure and graphics applications.

Nehalem does promise to be a processor to look out for, it would be Intel's next installment, post the successful Core 2 series processors. This time however, Intel made a core modification with the way the system handles memory. The Bloomfield processors house a massive 192-bit wide memory controller for supporting tri-channel DDR3 memory. It however was found that the controller could bring in limitations to the DIMM voltages that the system could support.

The retail version of ASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition motherboard was unboxed by XFastest. Being the retail product, as usually, it comes with precautionary labels attached to parts of the motherboard. The one that covers the 6 DDR3 DIMM slots reads:

According to Intel CPU SPEC, DIMMs with voltage setting over 1.65V may damage the CPU permanently. We recommend you to install DIMMs with voltage setting below 1.65V.

A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory products, announced today that it is expanding its overclocking DRAM dual channel line with tri-channel kits at 1600 MHz and 1333 MHz.

Recent next generation Intel Core i7 platform using the latest DDR3 technologies has proven that i7's internal controller gives a notable performance increase while using DDR3 tri-channel modules. A-DATA is now ready for production of DDR3-1600+ and DDR-1333+ tri-channel kits. These new modules will be available in 3GB and 6GB configurations and are expected to be available this quarter.

Elpida and Buffalo Technologies have unearthed a memory standard never before heard, and thought by many, as the limits of current DDR3 technology, given the silicon fabrication process current DRAM chips are made with. The elusive PC3-19200 standard has been achieved. Elpida has tested stable, a prototype memory module that runs at 2400 MHz DDR (1200 MHz actual clock-rate). The modules use Elpida's 2.5 Gbps DRAM chips.

These speeds, however, come at the cost of latencies and voltages. The module was tested stable at 2400 MHz only at 11-11-11-34, and a voltage of 2.1 V, which is high, by DDR3 standards. However, the module locks a surprise when it comes to the same numbers: The module was tested stable at 2096 MHz, at amazingly low 1.5V, with much tighter timings of 9-10-9-24. The companies wish to put this to mass production soon.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced immediate availability of Crucial Ballistix PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333MHz) and PC3-14400 (DDR3-1800MHz) high-performance memory modules. These new modules expand on the award-winning Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600 and DDR3-2000MHz product offering. As part of its commitment to the PC enthusiast and gaming community, Lexar Media continually seeks to bring new memory offerings to market and enhance its product lines.

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.

Hynix plans to produce 54nm-based DRAM chips this year on schedule, saying this will "reduce the technology gap with Samsung," according to the company's CEO, quoted by the Korea Times. The company schedules to start production of 54-nano DRAMs in the third quarter, while Samsung is expected to commence production of 56-nano DRAMs near the end of the second quarter. The company also plans to gradually increase its use of 300mm chip fabrication lines to account for 95 percent of its entire DRAM production by 2012. The company runs three 300mm lines and five 200mm lines in its two plants in South Korea and one in China.

Qimonda AG, a leading global memory supplier, today announced its technology roadmap down to the 30nm generation and featuring cell sizes of 4F². Qimonda's innovative Buried Wordline DRAM technology combines high performance, low power consumption and small chip sizes to further advance the company's diversified product portfolio. Qimonda is introducing this leading edge technology now in 65nm and plans to begin production of a 1 Gbit DDR2 in the second half of calendar 2008.

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.

NEC Electronics Corporation today introduced two new technologies for the manufacture of 40-nanometer (nm) system-on-chip (SoC) devices with embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM). The UX8GD eDRAM technology boasts clock speeds up to 800 megahertz and low operating power, making it optimal for use in consumer electronics products such as digital video cameras and game consoles. The UX8LD eDRAM technology features low leakage-current levels that reduce power consumption by as much two-thirds compared to equivalent SRAM, making it ideal for use in mobile handsets and other portable devices that require low standby power.

Elpida Memory, Inc., Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Rambus Inc., one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed chip architectures, today introduced the industry's fastest DRAM, the 512 Megabit (Mb), 4.8GHz XDR DRAM, based on Rambus' XDR memory architecture. This latest addition to the XDR DRAM family provides an industry-leading data transfer rate of 9.6 Gigabytes per second (GB/s) with a single device, making it an ideal choice for high-performance, high-volume applications such as high-definition televisions (HDTV), gaming consoles, PCs, servers and workstations.