This IDC study forecasts both the short-term and long-term NAND market by unit and bit demand, average selling price (ASP), and revenue. NAND bit demand is segmented by application where IDC forecasts both unit shipments and NAND content per system on a quarterly basis.

"IDC predicts that the 2006 NAND market will grow a strong 27% after a market correction in 1H06. Multilevel-cell (MLC) delay, capacity adjustment to DRAM, and price elasticity during a recession will create another balance with demand in 2H06. In the long term, NAND market revenue will increase to $18.7 billion, for an 8% CAGR with more than 80% bit growth. The mobile phone market will replace digital still cameras (DSCs) as a key demand driver. The NAND market is in a steep growth stage of its product life cycle, and we expect to see new applications continuing to drive demand," said Soo-Kyoum Kim, program director for Semiconductors at IDC.