eMMC flash memory shipments to grow 62% in 2011

IHS forecasts shipments of eMMC will reach 333.7million units this year, up from 206m in 2010. According to the market analyst, approximately 23% of all handsets in 2011 will feature eMMC, with a further rise of 14% projected for 2012. Other segments will include tablets, e-book readers and portable navigation devices with gps. Shipments are forecast to continue to rise in the next few years, climbing 42.3% to 474.9m units in 2012, up to 779.1m units by 2015. Michael Yang, principal analyst for memory and storage at IHS said: "The evolution of eMMC has been rapid, with nearly annual enhancements to performance. As an economical choice for greater flash memory densities, eMMC has become viable in high end markets like smartphones and tablets, in which high density storage capacity is required along with low power consumption and a small footprint." IHS cites the success of eMMC to its ability to bring compatibility across multiple suppliers, long term support and acceptable cost parameters.