Micron Technology, Inc., today announced its next-generation solid state drive (SSD) for data center servers, appliances, and storage platforms that manage the volume and velocity of big data. The new Micron P400m SSD is a high-endurance SATA caching and storage solution that was designed to handle the amassing petabytes of structured and unstructured digital information that is created, stored and accessed every day in data centers.

Data reliability and system uptime have always been primary concerns for data center managers, but the accelerating influx of data and massive demand spikes add new pressures that require different, more responsive storage systems. The Micron P400m was designed precisely for this environment. It offers the high reliability and high endurance that is critical for high-performance storage tiers, accelerating throughput, and responding to the peak demand periods that these new applications create.

Micron Technology, Inc. today introduced the M500 solid state drive (SSD), featuring terabyte-class capacity, new ultra-slim package designs, and increased response times at a more affordable price point. Available to consumers, businesses, and system builders under the Crucial brand, and to OEM customers under the Micron brand, the new M500 SSD is built start-to-finish by Micron, providing the quality and reliability that only a NAND flash memory and SSD manufacturer can provide. Watch this behind-the-scenes video to see how Micron designs and builds SSDs.

Benefits of Advanced NAND Flash Technology

The M500 SSD utilizes Micron's award-winning, 20-nanometer (nm) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash to achieve terabyte-class capacity and enable a new level of SSD price competitiveness; the 960 GB Crucial M500 SSD will be initially priced under $600.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:MU) ("Micron") and Elpida Memory, Inc. ("Elpida") today announced that the Japan Fair Trade Commission has cleared Micron's previously announced acquisition of Elpida. Clearance under Japan's Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade (Act No. 54 of April 14, 1947) satisfies one of the conditions necessary for consummation of the transaction. The transaction has also cleared premerger review in the United States, Czech Republic and Korea.

The closing of the transaction remains subject to other conditions-including approval by Elpida creditors, the Tokyo District Court and regulatory approvals in other countries-and is expected to be completed in the first half of calendar 2013. Elpida's proposed reorganization plan was submitted to the Tokyo District Court on Aug. 21, 2012, and the Tokyo District Court's approved the submission of Elpida's proposed reorganization plan to creditors on October 31, 2012.

Micron Technology, Inc., (NASDAQ: MU) today announced results of operations for its first quarter of fiscal 2013, which ended November 29, 2012. For the first quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $275 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, on net sales of $1.8 billion. The results for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 compare to a net loss of $243 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.0 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, and a net loss of $187 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.

Revenues from sales of NAND Flash products were 4 percent lower in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, due to a 9 percent decrease in sales volume, partially offset by a 5 percent increase in average selling prices. Trade NAND Flash sales volume in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 decreased compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 primarily as a result of lower production of NAND Flash products. Revenues from sales of DRAM products in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were 9 percent lower compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 primarily due to an 11 percent decrease in average selling prices. Sales of NOR Flash products were relatively unchanged for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the addition of a new product to its Phase Change Memory (PCM) portfolio. With high-volume shipments of its 45-nanometer (nm), 1-gigabit (Gb) PCM-based multichip package (MCP) solution for mobile devices well underway, the company is now sampling a 512-megabit (Mb) PCM plus 512Mb LPDDR2 MCP that offers greater flexibility in terms of application requirements. The company also announced that it has been shipping 1Gb PCM to one of the world's leading mobile device manufacturers, Nokia, for use in their recently announced phones.

As the first company in the world to ship PCM solutions in volume, Micron is building on its close cooperation with chipset vendors, enablers and handset manufacturers to meet growing market demand for PCM. Nokia is using Micron's PCM solution to enrich the functionality of select devices in its portfolio.

According to DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, as forecast in a previous report, DRAM contract price showed signs of stabilization in November; the previous US$1 to $2 monthly decline is narrowing, and DDR3 4 GB contract price is holding at the US$15 mark. TrendForce expects the contract price trend will only show a slight decrease in December, and may even stay flat for the month.

As spot market prices fluctuate more than contract prices, the spot market is often a good indicator of future DRAM prices. This week the spot market is seeing increased activity; DDR2 and 2 Gb eTT and DDR2 prices have increased by 1.24% and 1.09%, respectively. Top-tier memory makers began quietly building inventory in October, and spot market buyers seem to be following suit, providing an opportunity for a price rebound. TrendForce believes the DRAM spot price uptrend is due prior capacity cuts taking effect as well as strong entry-level tablet, or "Mobile Internet Device", shipments in China.

Micron's channel brand Crucial Memory is on the verge of launching half-height DDR3 memory modules for the enthusiast PC market, under the Ballistix Sport VLP series. Pictured below, next to standard Ballistix Sport modules, the VLP ("very low profile") series consists of memory modules that are nearly half the height of standard 240 pin UDIMMs, making them ideal for crammed up mini-ITX builds. The series will be available in most common configurations, the one pictured below runs at DDR3-1600 MHz with timings of 9-9-9-24, and 1.35V DRAM voltage. The modules will be available in 4 GB and 8 GB densities, and will make up single-, dual-, and quad-channel kits.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, as PC shipments are continually adjusted downwards and yearly growth has decreased by 5% YoY, demand for the peak season is not as strong as expected and the oversupply situation continues to worsen. As a result, contract price for 2 Gb chips fell by 22.5% in the third quarter, from US$1.11 in July to US$0.86 in September. Server and mobile DRAM are also showing falling price trends, resulting in an 8.5% drop in the value of the DRAM industry compared to the previous quarter; DRAM suppliers' revenues are falling across the board. However, looking at third quarter demand, with strong shipments for mobile devices like smartphones and tablet PCs, mobile DRAM accounted for 25% of total DRAM output, a significant increase from less than 20% in the second quarter. Consequently, market share is on the rise for memory makers with higher mobile DRAM ratios, like Samsung and Elpida. For the DRAM industry, improving core competitiveness lies in proper product adjustment, the key to profitability with such bleak market conditions.

Market research firm TrendForce released NAND flash shipment figures for 3Q 2012. The global NAND flash market is valued at US $4.626 billion, a healthy 6.6% growth over the previous quarter. A TrendForce DRAMeXchange report provided a break-down of shipments of NAND flash by manufacturers. Leading the pack is Samsung, with 41.2% market-share, registering a 1.8% QoQ growth. Trailing behind is Toshiba, with 24.7% market share, and a significant 12.9% QoQ growth. In September, Toshiba cut prices and scaled up production, which may have contributed to the growth. Micron holds 14.4% of the market with 2.8% growth, SK Hynix 11.6% with 6.4% growth (the company began mass-production of SSD-grade NAND flash this quarter), and Intel with 7.6% of the market-share, growing at 19.7%. Bear in mind, these numbers represent NAND flash components used not only in SSDs, but also USB flash drives, memory cards, etc.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, given the persistent oversupply situation in the global DRAM market, along with the -5% YoY shipment growth for PCs, October contract prices have dropped below $16 USD, and are continuing to approach the $15 USD mark. The trends pose as yet another test to the cost structures of DRAM makers. With prices approaching or dropping below cash cost, manufacturers are faced with the option of either undergoing production cuts or shifting their focus towards non-DRAM products.

Other than ProMOS, which chose to quit the DRAM market due to financial woes, manufacturers like Elpida and Rexchip have taken the initiative to lower their output levels in August. Powerchip, beginning September, took a similar initiative by adjusting P3 wafer levels, whereas in the following month, Nanya and Inotera made the official announcement to implement 20% production cuts. For the South Korean DRAM manufacturers, whose cost structures appear to be superior to those of other competitors, no production cuts have been announced nor taken, although efforts to control output ratios have been intensified. At the same time that production of commodity DRAM is being lowered, an increasing amount of emphasis is being placed on the production of the more profitable mobile and server DRAMs.

Micron Technology, Inc. today announced another new storage industry milestone-the integration of its 20nm NAND flash storage media into a high-endurance, high-capacity enterprise system. San Jose-based Skyera is using Micron's 20nm, 128 gigabit (Gb) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash storage media to pack an astounding 44 terabytes (TB) into a single, compact enterprise storage system for big data, cloud computing, and virtualization applications. Skyera's Skyhawk system uses more than 3,000 Micron flash storage components, creating a high-capacity, high-performance storage solution that fits into a 1U form factor-about the size of a pizza box.

Both the end system and the components have earned industry awards for innovation. The Skyhawk storage system's impressive capabilities earned it Best of Show at this year's Flash Memory Summit in August. In February, UBM TechInsights recognized Micron's groundbreaking 20nm MLC NAND (developed jointly with Intel); giving it their top honor-Semiconductor of the Year. This 20nm process technology is critical to creating storage media with the capacity, endurance, and cost-effectiveness required for enterprise storage on this scale-and Micron's device is the only MLC NAND available in a 128 Gb density.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced results of operations for its fourth quarter and 2012 fiscal year, which ended August 30, 2012. For the fourth quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $243 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.0 billion.

The results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $320 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.2 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, and a net loss of $135 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced high-volume availability of 30-nanometer (nm) reduced-power DDR3L-RS SDRAM for ultrathin computing devices and tablets. The 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4 Gb solutions reduce power consumption in standby to provide longer battery life, while maintaining the high performance and cost effectiveness of PC DRAM.

"Micron has been one of the leaders in the development and commercialization of DDR3L-RS and the introduction of its 30 nm product is confirmation of this," said Mike Howard, senior principal analyst, DRAM and Memory at IHS iSuppli. "DDR3L-RS is an excellent option for customers who have tight power budgets and need high performance at a competitive price. We expect many of the next-generation ultrathin platforms to take advantage of DDR3L-RS."

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory products, today introduced the Lexar High-Performance microSDHC UHS-I and microSDXC UHS-I memory cards for smartphones, tablets, and sports camcorders. The UHS-I cards carry a Class 10 speed classification, and deliver read transfer speeds up to 300x (45MB per second), allowing users to quickly capture, store, play back, and transfer their favorite media files, including 1080p full-HD and 3D video.

Designed for adventure seekers and adrenaline junkies, these cards enable outdoor enthusiasts to capture up to eight hours of their greatest moments in HD and share it with friends faster. Users can also store up to 24,800 photos or 14,200 songs, and when paired with the included USB 3.0 reader, get fast transfer rates from their memory card to their PC or Mac computer.

Apparently, Toshiba's strategy of inflating NAND flash pricing by cutting down production by 30 percent, stimulating similar reductions across the industry, backfired. Taking advantage of Toshiba's production cuts, Micron Technology ramped up its production, gaining market share. The Idahoan company's increased market share at Toshiba's expense ensured that SSD makers with Toshiba NAND flash create variants of their products with Micron's chips. Toshiba's latest move, according to a TweakTown report, is to scale its NAND flash production back up, and cut NAND flash prices down by 20 - 25 percent. Such a price-cut could result in further SSD price-cuts across the board, as the industry would end up with large inventories of Toshiba- and Micron-branded NAND flash chips.

Intel plans to standardize SSD specifications for its Ultrabook platform, which would steer it toward slimmer, faster Ultrabooks. The company plans to invite a large number of industry players, including NAND flash memory makers SanDisk, Micron, and Samsung, for discussions into what is known as Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), a new SSD form-factor derived from mSATA (think Apple's SSD form-factor found in the MacBook Air).

Intel is in a bit of a hurry with its NGFF SSD plans because the current mSATA form-factor poses limitations, including limited PCB area, in which a limited number of ONFI channels can be wired out. NGFF most likely is mSATA with greater PCB area, allowing the same number of ONFI channels as 2.5-inch SSDs, with the latest generation of controllers and toggle-NAND flash memory. NGFF doesn't increase the thickness of the SSD compared to mSATA, but merely elongates it (again, similar in form to Apple's SSD specifications). Five length standards are being discussed between Intel and Ultrabook partners.

Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ: STX) today announced that Gary Gentry has rejoined Seagate to lead its solid state drive (SSD) business as senior vice president, SSD. Mr. Gentry will have responsibility for driving Seagate leadership in the SSD space, with time-to-market, competitive product offerings. He will be located in Longmont, Colorado and will report directly to Rocky Pimentel, chief sales and marketing officer.

Mr. Gentry has over 25 years of experience in the storage industry, including most recently as the general manager of the Enterprise SSD Division of Micron Corporation. Prior to rejoining Seagate, he held leadership positions focusing on solid-state technologies at Spansion Corporation and Storage Genetics. He also served as chief marketing officer for Maxtor, and provided strategic consulting to Hitachi Global Storage Systems. While at Seagate he held various management positions including vice president, strategic marketing and planning.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:MU), one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced an industry first with high-volume availability of its 45-nanometer (nm) Phase Change Memory (PCM) for mobile devices, featuring 1-gigabit (Gb) PCM plus 512-megabit (Mb) LPDDR2 in a multichip package. As the first company in the world currently offering PCM solutions in volume production, Micron is providing chipset vendors, enablers, and handset manufacturers with a proven product that meets the expanding needs of today's wireless market and paves the way for enhanced features and capabilities.

PCM provides enhanced boot time, simplifies software development and boosts performance with overwrite capability. It also provides very low power consumption and extremely high reliability. In addition, the design-optimizing shared interface between LPDDR2 and PCM is fully compliant with JEDEC industry standards.

Micron Technology, Inc., and Elpida Memory, Inc.'s ("Elpida") trustees announced today that the parties have signed a definitive sponsor agreement for Micron to acquire and support Elpida. The agreement has been entered into in connection with Elpida's corporate reorganization proceedings conducted under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court.

Under the agreement, 200 billion Yen (approximately USD $2.5 billion assuming 80 Yen/USD) total consideration, less certain reorganization proceeding expenses, will be used to satisfy the reorganization claims of Elpida's secured and unsecured creditors. Micron will acquire 100 percent of the equity of Elpida for 60 billion Yen (approximately USD $750 million) to be paid in cash at closing. In addition, 140 billion Yen (approximately USD $1.75 billion) in future annual installment payments through 2019 will be paid from cash flow generated from Micron's payment for foundry services provided by Elpida, as a Micron subsidiary. As a result of these payments, all pre-petition debt obligations of Elpida will be fully discharged under the corporate reorganization proceedings. The agreement also calls for Micron to provide certain financing support for Elpida capital expenditures, subject to specified conditions, and to maintain Elpida's operations and employees.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced a new class of 1 GHz, 2-gigabit (Gb) and 4 Gb, 30-nanometer (nm) DDR3 devices, strengthening the company's comprehensive DDR3 portfolio. Designed for the high- performance networking and discrete graphics markets, the new devices feature industry-leading low power use while delivering speeds up to 2133 megatransfers per second (MT/s).

Micron supports its customers in highly competitive market segments with a broad portfolio of DRAM and nonvolatile memory devices that meet the demand for high-performance, cost-efficient memory solutions. "Micron has been successful in creating a complete DRAM portfolio, and this product offering rounds out the broadest DRAM offering in the industry," said Mike Howard, senior principal analyst, DRAM and Memory at iSuppli.

RunCore, the leading manufacturer of high-performance and rugged solid state drives (SSDs), today introduced their new Pro VI 2.5-inch 7 mm SSD for Ultrabooks, offering higher and more stable performance than previous 7 mm SSDs.

According to latest results of various research institutions, it is estimated that more than a million Ultrabooks will be bought within 2012 as the retail price is expected to drop into the $799 to $899 range. Recently SSD pricing has already been declining, encourageing PC suppliers to use SSDs in their products, in particular Ultrabooks. In addition to the Pro V Ultra SSD, RunCore once again introduce another new 7 mm SSD - Pro VI 2.5-inch 7 mm SSD - to enrich their product lineup for Ultrabooks.

Following a rapid turn of events, Micron Technology has emerged as a front-runner in the race to buy out ailing Japanese DRAM major Elpida. Elpida revealed Micron as the winner of the second round of bidding for the right to negotiate exclusively to buy it. DRAMeXchange predicts that Micron may offer up to 300 billion JPY (US $3.75 billion) for the deal, and the Micron+Elpida combine that emerges out of the deal, with its DRAM capacity, could bring about a revolutionary change in the industry.

The Elpida buyout, according to market analysts at TrendForce, will give Micron the capability to compete with Korean DRAM heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, in high-volume DRAM manufacturing. Elpida has been known for investments in DRAM R&D, and isn't behind the two Korean companies in terms of volume manufacturing. Its 30 nm-class DRAM yield-rate is nearly mature, while the next-generation 25 nm process is in testing phase.

Japanese DRAM maker Elpida has been reporting chronic financial problems since the beginning of 2012. It soon filed for bankruptcy, driving interest in competitors Toshiba, Global Foundries, Micron and Hynix (SK Hynix), to acquire it. Hynix has now reportedly withdrawn from the Elpida takeover bid. The withdrawal is likely due to its own financial situation. Hynix is not the first to withdraw from the bid, the first to drop out was Toshiba. With the two gone, Micron Technology is next in line, with a bid of US $1.4 billion to buy out Elpida.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced development of its first fully functional DDR4 DRAM module. The company has begun sampling and has received feedback from major customers to support quick implementation for applications in 2013.

It is expected that the enterprise and micro-server markets will take full advantage of the new features and specifications designed into DDR4, accelerating early adoption of the technology. In addition, the fast-growing ultrathin client and tablet markets will also benefit from new opportunities enabled by the power savings and performance features of Micron's DDR4.

Solid manufacturing and strong pricing allowed Micron Technology Inc. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. to post strong performances in the global NAND flash business in the fourth quarter, allowing them to narrow the gap in market share between them and the industry leaders, and setting the stage for further advances in 2012.

No. 3-ranked Micron Technology Inc. of the United States achieved 11.7 percent revenue growth in the fourth quarter compared to the third, according to a new IHS iSuppli Data Flash Market Tracker report from information and analytics provider IHS. Meanwhile, fourth-placed Hynix Semiconductor Inc. of South Korea expanded its revenue by 5.4 percent, as presented in the table below.