NAND flash makers start sourcing from SanDisk

NAND flash makers start sourcing from SanDisk

Speculations about SanDisk considering changes to its strategy to sell NAND flash in wafer form or die form has been doing the rounds in Taiwan’s memory industry sector since September 2008.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

TAIPEI: NAND flash device manufacturers based in Taiwan – including Transcend Information, A-Data Technology and Power Quotient International (PQI), as well as flash controller supplier Phison Electronics – have started sourcing NAND flash wafers from SanDisk. Industry sources said that SanDisk has now become one of the upstream suppliers for these companies, together with its partner Toshiba.

Speculations about SanDisk considering changes to its strategy to sell NAND flash in wafer form or die form has been doing the rounds in Taiwan’s memory industry sector since September 2008.

The sources said that SanDisk is also seeking to withdraw or settle NAND flash-related patent infringement lawsuits in the United States against the makers of Taiwan-based NAND flash devices and controller chips that have become its customers.

A-Data Technology has issued a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) saying that SanDisk has dropped a patent lawsuit against it. This announcement followed Phison Electronics’ filing recently with the Taiwan Stock Exchange indicating it has settled a dispute with SanDisk over a patent suit filed in the same court in the United States.

Reports say that SanDisk has tapped the market for white-box by supplying microSD cards to downstream device-makers.

©CIOL Bureau