While it's good news that Intel and Micron introduced the fastest NAND flash memory chip to date, there's more good news on the horizon. A substantial decline in the price of NAND flash memory has gadget companies in a race to bring forward tech with larger storage capacities and lower pricetags. Details in the full article.

Apple will introduce a slimmer, ultra-compact Apple notebook in the next Macworld Expo. We're looking at a slimmer notebook that's guaranteed not to consume as much energy as most other laptops. What else can be expected in this new model? Read on to find out.

Two juicy morsels of Apple tidbits comes our way today. According to an AppleInsider report, the next MacBook update won't deliver much in terms of new features. Apparently, Apple's 13-inch wonder won't be benefited with an LED-backlit display until a successive revision later this year. Also, it's unlikely that it would be enjoying the enhancements presented during Intel's Santa Rosa launch.

As for the MacBook Pro update, Apple is said to be focusing on boosting the grade of the MacBook Pro line. Enhanced set of features from Santa Rosa are also expected. If this happens, expect faster front-side bus speeds (800MHz) and second-generation mobile processors.

Now to the other juicy Apple bit - the ultra thin portable department to be exact. Apparently the company is hard at work to produce a sleek design for their MacBook ultra portable for it to cater to the Japanese market. AppleInsider adds that Apple is building the model around an ultra-thin, 13-inch LED backlit display. Here's what AppleInsider knows about the ultra-thin contraption so far:

• 13-inch ultra-thin, LED-back lit display
• No optical disc drive
• On-board NAND flash for faster application launching and boot times
• Built-in iSight webcam
• Thinner and lighter than existing MacBook offerings
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n enabled
• MagSafe power adapter
• Target launch late '07, early '08

Even if a "real" survey hinted that the price range for the iPhone is just a tad too much, Morgan Stanley is still unfazed about their iPhone predictions. According to one of their analysts, Kathryn Huberty, the market is underestimating the likely success of the iPhone.

So confident in the iPhone she is that she raised her iPhone sales forecast by 33% to 8 million units from 6 million. Aside from that, she also believes that Apple's ability to leverage strong iPhone demand is being underestimated. According to her:

While we see positive leverage drivers across Apple's product segment, the iPhone alone increases scale (better pricing from suppliers), strengthens retail store leverage (increased velocity on fixed-cost base) and takes advantage of lower NAND [memory] pricing in the market.

Well, they are the experts, they should know more things than us mere mortals.

If you ask Seagate, news of the impending death of hard drives (caused by the impending domination of NAND-type flash memory chips) is grossly exaggerated. Otherwise, the company wouldn't have announced its big plan for 2007, which includes 60 to 120GB drives for handheld video devices such as Apple's iPod video.

In an interview with Business Week, Seagate expressed faith in hard drives despite prediction that HD technology will give way to high-capacity flash memory. The company cited that the big three NAND flash memory makers in the world (Samsung, SanDisk, and Toshiba) are investing big money on their respective disk-drive business with no plans of shelving them .

Seagate believes HD will be around for a long time because they are cheaper. Seagate CEO William Watkins said, "It will be a price-per-gigabyte battle...if they can make a 4-GB for $5, then it's $20 for 32 GB, and $40 for 64 GB. On the other hand... when we do a single-platter, 100-GB notebook drive, well it doesn't cost me very much to go to 200 GB. All I have to do is add another platter. It's very cheap for me to go up."

It seems that as the demand for the iPod is growing, so does the market for flash memory. Even if shares of Apple Computer dipped to its 8-month low, there's no denying the fact that the iPod is still the most talked about and the most sought after mp3 player as of now.

The demand for mp3 players in general is what's keeping sales of NAND flash memories afloat. NAND flash-based players accounted for 80 percent of the market in 2005. On the other hand, hard disk drive (HDD)-based portable music players make up the remaining 20 percent of the market.

The conclusion that the high demand for mp3 players will equate to a high demand for flash memory was cemented by the study from research consultancy Gartner. According to Jon Erensen, Gartner research analyst:

"We expect Apple to introduce a new, high-end NAND flash-based iPod by the fourth quarter of 2006, and this player will most likely have 10GB to 12GB of storage capacity... The impact of an iPod with this storage capacity will have significant implications for the NAND flash market."

And since more demand means more profit in a lesser price, it isn't surprising to note that prices for NAND Flash-based players also went down which is a good thing for consumers everywhere. Erensen further speculates that a 16GB memory chip will be available in the third quarter for about $30, down from its current price of about $35. Apple's procurement power and investment totals are substation, so it is conceivable that it could get pricing for a device at $25 or even $20.

On one hand, Gartner predicts a 5.8 percent shortage of NAND flash supply in the fourth quarter of 2006 that will persist into the first quarter of 2007 with a 2.6 percent shortage. But amidst that, the research firm also wants to note that the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) market has been a direct beneficiary of the strength in the NAND flash market as massive capacity was converted from DRAM to NAND flash in 2005.

When I first got my hands on a 4GB iPod, I thought the memory is big enough to handle the songs I want following me in my everyday life. But as days pass, more and more more songs come out and my 4GB iPod is now down to a 100MB memory. I'm panicking. I want a bigger memory.

For most iPod users, the nicest choice in the market right now - in terms of sleekness - is the iPod Nano. But when it comes to memory, the smallest of the iPod's memory just doesn't cut it. The 30GB iPod is good, but it's just too bulky.

A Gartner report hints at a possible answer to this dilemma. The report looks into the possibility of NAND flash prices going down due to Apple's buying power. This will lead to Nano's increased capacity. The report goes:

"Gartner forecasts that a 16Gb (2GB) device will be available in the third quarter for about $30, down from its current price of about $35. Due to Apple's procurement power and investment, it is conceivable that it could get pricing for a device at $25 or even $20. This pricing would enable capacities of 12GB, leaving enough room for the remaining component and manufacturing costs as well as Apple's margin, while still reaching a $250 price point."

Hmm, a 12GB Nano? Sounds nice. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

We don't want to alarm you but according to research firm Gartner, the launching of the a flash-based iPods with 10GB to12GB later this year could cause a shortage of NAND flash memory. Gartner predicts a shortage of flash supply of 5.8% by the 4th quarter. Previously, the research firm predicted a shortage of approximately 3-4%. "We're expecting a more severe shortage," said Gartner.

The existence of the said iPod model has not been confirmed by Apple, but according to a top exec of an iPod manufacturer, the company is close to unveiling the next generation of itsiPod featuring a "none-touch" concept. It is also not known if the new iPod will feature more than 4GB of flash. Nevertheless Gartner thinks handheld music players led by Apple's iPod will drive growth of the NAND flash market in the second half of this year. 

But there's really no reason to panic. We think civilization as we know it will survive the Great Flash Memory Depression of 2006.

There are indications that Apple is working on "ultra-portable PCs" and fast-booting notebooks with NAND flash memory according to UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes. "We believe these new products could start in notebook products with combo-drives (NAND and HDD) or ultra-portables (NAND only), and could be released in time for MacWorld."

Macworld Conference & Expo is a trade show dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform with conference tracks occurring twice a year in the United States. The next MacWorld is slated for 8-12 January 2007. Reitzes points to Intel's announcement to build NAND flash memory into its own PC logicboard designs due in early 2007 as one of the signs of the looming arrival of the ultra-portables. Intel is Apple's microprocessor supplier. The new line of Macs, if they materialize, could help boost overall Mac sales to 1.24 million during Apple's third quarter.