SAN FRANCISCO—Thanks to its usage in hot products like smartphones and media tablets, the market for mobile DRAM chips is projected to grow to a record $6.56 billion in 2012, up 10 percent from 2011, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli.
By contrast, the market for standard DRAM is projected to grow by merely 3 percent, according to
IHS (El Segundo, Calif.).
Ryan Chien, analyst for memory and storage at IHS, said through a statement that mobile DRAM is growing impressively as mobile operating systems, streaming apps and games require more memory to handle sophisticated tasks. "Crucial features like multitasking, media decoding and decompression, data synchronization and background operations are all driving DRAM needs—and new phones and tablets are meeting those needs with their rise in mobile DRAM densities," Chien said.
Mobile DRAM is a low-power DRAM variant preferred for use in mobile applications. Analysts from IHS and elsewhere believe that Elpida Memory Inc.'s strength in mobile DRAM is a major reason that Micron Technology Inc. bid to acquire the firm's assets earlier this year.
IHS said dissections conducted by the firm's teardown analysis service confirm that the average densities are rising in mobile DRAM chips found in wireless devices. Mobile DRAM density in smartphones jumped from 2.28 gigabits (Gb) in the second quarter of 2010 to 5.85 Gb in the second quarter this year, according to the firm. The trend is even more evident in tablets, with the mobile DRAM average density soaring fourfold during the same period from 2 Gb to 8.33 Gb, according to IHS.
