There is an conjecture that the reason why Samsung, which has relied only on in-house DRAM chips, decided to open “its door” to other makers lies in that fact that the DRAM supply has become increasingly tight due to the rapid expansion of the global smartphone market. 

Seoul, Korea ¶ July 10, 2012 -- It is reported that Samsung Electronics is planning to mount mobile DRAM chips made by other manufacturers on its mobile devices. According to industry sources on July 8, Samsung has been testing mobile DRAM chips by other makers such as SK Hynix and Elpida to diversify the supply sources of mobile DRAMs.

It is a widely known fact that Samsung mobile devices have exclusively been equipped with its proprietary DRAM chips. However, the sources said that Samsung is currently undergoing a performance test of mobile DRAMs made by Elpida and SK Hynix. Once the test is completed, it is expected that Samsung mobile devices with other makers’ DRAM chips inside would come out to the market sooner or later.

There is an conjecture that the reason why Samsung, which has relied only on in-house DRAM chips, decided to open “its door” to other makers lies in that fact that the DRAM supply has become increasingly tight due to the rapid expansion of the global smartphone market. In the second quarter of this year, the global mobile DRAM demand increased by 14.2 percent, compared to the previous quarter. It is also anticipated that in the third and fourth quarters, the mobile DRAM demands would jump up even more with 26.8 percent and 50.5 percent respectively.

Industry watchers said that despite the sluggish computer DRAM demand in general, the mobile DRAM demand will be explosive, also fueled by the release of the Galaxy S3 and the upcoming iPhone 5, which is likely to make the supply even tighter. For Samsung Electronics, maintaining a sustainable supply for mobile DRAM would be a priority if the shortage of it actually materializes.

An industry source said, “As the largest mobile device manufacturer in the world now, Samsung needs to diversify supply sources not to suffer from a possible supply shortage of mobile DRAM chips. As far as I know, the company has realized this problem and changed its strategy to the direction of loosening its grip a bit on the market share competition.” As for the first quarter of 2012, Samsung held the lion’s share in the mobile DRAM market with 70.9 percent, followed by SK Hynix with 15.0 percent and Elpida with 8.8 percent.

Adrian Han (press@whowired.com)