Kingston tests memory on OEMs
In anticipation of high demand for double data rate (DDR) memory, Kingston Technology has announced it is now shipping DDR modules to its original equipment manufacturer customers for testing.
In anticipation of high demand for double data rate (DDR) memory, Kingston Technology has announced it is now shipping DDR modules to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers for testing.
Unlike Intel's module, which is scheduled to ship in the first quarter of next year, Kingston expects to ship its DDR offering in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Robert Allen, European technical support manager. Kingston is waiting for new server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms to use the technology.
Allen said that DDR builds on the topology of SDRam, but offers more capacity and bandwidth and reflects the demands from multimedia and internet applications.
"DDR will initially cause a price hike to the cost of systems [compared to SDRam], but will soon come down to reflect current SDRam prices," he said.
For resellers and system builders, Allen claimed the market for memory modules is very strong at the moment.
He also said that the proliferation of mobile phones, personal digital assistants and technologies such as BlueTooth will also drive high demand for memory sales over the next couple of years.
David Sun, Kingston co-founder, said: "Kingston is investing in new CSP-capable manufacturing equipment to ensure that all manufacturing centres will be ready to build more synchronous, Rambus and DDR modules today while also being enabled for volume production of next-generation memory modules.
"Kingston currently ships over two million modules per month, and we want to ensure that additional manufacturing capacity is available worldwide to support strong unit shipment growth for both Kingston branded and OEM memory."
Separately, Kingston announced the launch of ValueRAM, a new line of generic industry products designed for systems integrators who build their own 'white box' computer systems.