Kal Korff

Apple Buys Top Israeli Flash Memory Firm

by Kal K. Korff
Internationally Syndicated Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

When Apple decided years ago to switch to using flash memory well before many of the firms competitors did, because of the extreme popularity of its products, the company now purchases some 60 per cent of all flash memory available on the worldwide market, often forcing its rivals to wait months to have their orders filled. Now, as Apple completes its transformation away from using conventional hard drives over to strictly manufacturing an all flash memory only product line, it has acquired Israeli chip maker Anobit, spending as much as $500 million for the Herzeliya Pituach-based firm. As a result of this purchase, Apple will now build a factory facility in Haifa, its first ever in Israel. Apples products have become all the rage in the Jewish state, with the iPad and iPhone becoming the two hottest electronic products in the country. Founded in 1996, Anobits solid state memory products are considered to be not only unique, but arguably tops in the industry. Unlike other offerings by Samsung and even Intel, Anobits flash memory does not wear out after repeated use the way its rivals does and it has a much longer shelf life. Anobits MSP (Memory Signal Processing) technology is comprised of proprietary signal processing algorithms combined with advanced error correction and innovative flash management schemes, resulting in a dramatic improvement in endurance, performance and system cost. Specifically, MSP enables SLC (one bit-per-cell) endurance and performance with MLC (two bits-per-cell) NAND, and MLC endurance and performance with TLC (three bits-per-cell) NAND, resulting in a significant reduction in cost per-bit, according to a brief technical overview description in the firms press information materials. Anobits solid state chips are also immune from power outages. If the electricity source or battery runs out, data is still stored and is never lost. Some of the drives they offer

contain flash memory components storing 100, 200 and 400 gigabytes of data, and will support the reading and writing of up to four terabytes in a 24-hour period without any loss or errors. The firm is headed by Ehud Weinstein, who is the companys Chairman and CEO. Weinstein is a professor at the School of Electrical Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. He is a world recognized expert on signal processing and is a research affiliate at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Weinstein has a track record of being involved with or inventing new technologies and then successfully commercializing them and bringing them to market. He was a cofounder and CEO of Libit Signal Processing before it was bought by Texas Instruments for $329 million. By purchasing Anobit, Apple will be able to soon produce solid state memory far cheaper than its competitors can, including even chip giant Intel, who has been a late comer to the flash memory market. It will also be able to offer storage capacities unique to the industry at price points which cannot be matched. While Anobit has two main divisions, enterprise storage and mobile solutions, it remains to be seen what Apple will do concerning its enterprise division. While its mobile offerings are a perfect fit for its iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad, Apple has never been a serious player in the enterprise space until its portable devices started making inroads during the past few years. 1.0v1 Dec 23, 2011 Kal K. Korff is an officially accredited internationally known author, columnist and investigative journalist.

Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form nor by any means without the express, written consent of Kal Korff. Fair use, does NOT apply. By reading this document, you willingly agree to be legally bound by its terms and conditions. Violators of this policy will have a felony DMCA Copyright infringement notice filed against them with law enforcement. First time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. This is a DMCA protected document, illegal copying and/or reproduction of its contents are tracked on the Internet and reported to law enforcement for felony prosecution.

Copyright 2011 by Kal K. Korff - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form nor by any means without the express, written consent of Kal Korff. Fair use, does NOT apply. By reading this document, you willingly agree to be legally bound by its terms and conditions. Violators of this policy will have a felony DMCA Copyright infringement notice filed against them with law enforcement. First time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. This is a DMCA protected document, illegal copying and/or reproduction of its contents are tracked on the Internet and reported to law enforcement for felony prosecution.