“In a move that could have big implications for the storage and chip markets, Apple will unveil a new flash memory-based iPod later this year, say analysts,” Troy Wolverton and Bill Snyder report for TheStreet.com. “The company will soon replace its hard drive-based 4GB iPod mini with a flash memory-based version that has the same storage capacity, Nam Hyung Kim, an analyst with industry research firm iSuppli, says in a recent report.”

Wolverton and Snyder report, “A report this week from Deutsche Bank Securities analyst Ben Lynch says Apple is expected to have the device on store shelves in time for the holidays; Kim says Apple is expected to ship 3 million to 6 million of the devices in the second half of this calendar year.”

“With its line of iPods, Apple has dominated the digital music player business, accounting for more than 73% of the units shipped in the U.S. in the first half of the year, according to the NPD Group, an industry research firm. Though its initial players were all based on hard drives, the company jumped into the flash-based market earlier this year with its introduction of the iPod shuffle,” Wolverton and Snyder report. A flash-based iPod mini would offer “the storage space available in a hard-drive based player and a screen to boot — while allowing Apple to package it in a light-weight device.”

Full article here.

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