Marc/all, the Koreans are getting the jump on 256 megabit chips causing competitors to jump in as well. Gotta love this competition! Jeff
WORLD'S CHIPMAKERS TO BEGIN 256-MB DRAM PRODUCTION IN 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Filed: Monday, January 04, 1999 03:56 AM EST
SEOUL, Jan 04, 1999 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) -- The world's chipmakers, including Korea's top three semiconductor firms, are expected to churn out 256-megabit dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips this year, according to industry sources Monday.
The global memory-chip market, currently formed with the third and fourth generation of 64-megabit DRAM chips, will likely shift to the fifth 64-megabit DRAM chips within this year and 256-megabit DRAM chips next year.
LG Semicon (KSE:29890) plans to enter the mass production of a 256-megabit DRAM chip in the first part of the year following its November introduction of the chip's prototype to its customers.
Hyundai Electronic Industry (00660), which also delivered its samples of a 256-megabit DRAM chip to its customers in November, said it will start mass-production of the chips in May and produce between 1 million and 1.5 million units this year.
Samsung Electronics (05930) is not left alone. The company reportedly goes into production of the new-generation chip within the month.
Moves to produce the chip by South Korean players sent their foreign rivals scurrying to advance their production plans. Japan's top three chipmakers - NEC, Toshiba and Hitachi - are forecast to introduce 256-megabit DRAM chips as early as the third quarter of the year.
Other players, including Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, Micron and Siemens, will likely follow the pack.
Industry sources expect that the global market for 256-megabit DRAM chips will take shape beginning next year.
(Yonhap)
>> |
