iLounge

Despite announcing plans to release several new devices to compete with the iPod this year, Samsung has reportedly slashed its flash memory prices in an attempt to convince Apple to switch from hard drive-based storage to flash memory in the 4GB iPod mini. 

Market research firm iSuppi claims that Apple plans to buy as much as 40 percent of Samsung’s NAND flash output in the second half of this year. iSuppli memory analyst Nam Hyung Kim said in a research report that Samsung offered Apple extremely low prices on its NAND flash parts.

“The report said iSuppli believes that Samsung has offered to match prices from the HDD suppliers, even though current microdrive prices are about half the cost of the equivalent flash density,” the EE Times reports. “Samsung would still reap profits, even at aggressive pricing levels, Kim said, adding that ‘sewing up the marquee iPod memory business is well worth the reduction in margins’ for Samsung.”