NOR flash may be cause of shipment delays for iPod nano
A shortage in the supply of NOR flash could have caused shipment delays and slow sales of Apple Computer’s of iPod nano in the past two or three weeks, according to sources at Taiwan IT makers.
Rumors that a supply shortage of certain parts has caused shipment delays and slow sales of the iPod nano have been circulating for a while. Apple and its suppliers have been tight-lipped about the issue until October 12 when CEO Steve Jobs, while unveiling the company’s lastest product, the video iPod, said that a parts shortage has made it difficult to say when the company will be able to build enough of the immensely popular MP3 player to fill orders.
Even so, Apple still not did identify what kinds of parts were in shortage.
Sources at local makers had earlier indicated that the parts in question would probably be either the adaptor or dock, but now they have pinpointed the shipment delays to a shortage of NOR flash memory chips, which are supplied by Taiwan-based Professional Computer Technology (PCT), the Taiwan agent for Silicon Storage Technology (SST) NOR flash.
PCT is supplying Apple with 4Mbit NOR flash integrated with a controller IC, the sources noted, adding that although PCT managed to ramp out about one million units of NOR flash in August and September, the output still fell short of demand.
Due to a shortage of NOR flash in the market, the prices of NOR flash prices are expected to be raised in the fourth quarter following a hike of about 20% in the third quarter, according to the sources.