The production value of NAND Flash memory chips is expected to increase 12 percent this year compared to 2011 and surpass that for DRAM chips, said market research firm DRAMeXchange yesterday.

Demand for NAND Flash chips was weak during the first half due to economic uncertainties triggered by the European debt crisis. Yet despite this, DRAMeXchange still holds a positive outlook for the industry due to several factors, including strong demand for mobile devices in emerging markets, and increased usage of NAND Flash in embedded multimedia cards and solid state drives.

According to DRAMeXchange, smartphone shipments will reach 660 million this year, a rise of 45 percent from last year. Manufacturers meanwhile have unveiled more NAND Flash-based smartphone designs, which will further fuel the chip's growth, it said.

Meanwhile, the increasing popularity of thin and portable notebook PCs will also drive the growth of solid state drives, which may ship 40 million this year. Of these devices, those that are NAND Flash-based will account for 13.5 percent, an increase from the 5 percent of last year, indicating the growth potential of NAND Flash chips.

The NAND Flash market will improve further in the second half on rising demand for smartphones, tablets and thin notebooks supported with next-generation processors and operating systems, DRAMeXchange said, adding production value will grow 12 percent this year compared to 2011.

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