Bill Cara: The future is flash-enabled mini laptops, Thurs., Mar. 23, 2006, 5:40 PM

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March 23, 2006

The future is flash-enabled mini laptops, Thurs., Mar. 23, 2006, 5:40 PM

TheStreet.com has an informative article today about the entry of Samsung NAND flash memory technology into mini laptops, which, as well as their embedded chips in cell phones, seems to be where the world is headed. Exciting stuff.

"Hi Bill, This is a good article on where Flash is going in the next few years - and why INTC is vulnerable unless they involved more here. Flash will drive the new mini-laptops that are to sell for $200 or so, and most consumers do not need 80GB hard drives. Most would willingly pay less for, say, 20GB of Flash and have a system of switching hard drives to do different tasks - especially where power consumption (i.e. battery life) is an issue with the laptop user. What would propel INTC price is a news article where they are going seriously into Flash by either using their cash or doing a big joint venture with an existing flash producer. One option or the other is highly likely in the next 12 months as convergence in telecommunications, video and computing remains hot - and INTC gets left at the station unless they buy a ticket. TerryC"

Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on March 23, 2006 05:40:13 PM | Category: 45 Info Technology , Flash Memory

Discourse

While I agree that flash is in the future of laptops (and perhaps all computers), I strongly disagree that Intel is behind. Sure they've focused on manufacturing NOR chips for a while, but they already have demonstrated laptops with flash in them (as the article itself mentioned) and it's not like Intel was selling hard drives which will be replaced by flash. In fact, the second page of that article mentions:

"Earlier this month, Intel said the next version of its popular Centrino notebook platform will incorporate flash memory on the PC motherboard as a way to speed up the time it takes to turn the computer on."

Which is referring to an article earlier in the month by the same author:
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/tech/semis/10272342.html
"Intel Flashes Forward"

Short quote below:

Intel will put NAND flash chips into notebook PCs beginning next year.

The Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker said Tuesday that the NAND flash feature in its forthcoming notebook platform, dubbed Santa Rosa, would offer the main benefit of decreasing the time it takes to turn on a PC.

"We need to have devices that boot up very rapidly," Sean Maloney, the head of Intel's mobility group, said at the Intel Developer Forum taking place here this week. "The same way you come off a plane and get a cell phone signal immediately."

The news comes roughly three months after Intel announced that it was forming a joint venture with Micron to produce NAND flash chips. The joint venture's first announced customer was Apple, which will purchase $500 million worth of NAND chips to go into its iPod players.

Intel's move to incorporate NAND flash into a notebook platform would mark the first major extension of NAND flash into PCs....

Posted by: korvus at March 23, 2006 7:20 PM [link]