Samsung Electronics' move to no longer manufacture Micro SD cards in-house will eventually benefit Taiwan-based memory module firms and related packaging and testing houses, according to industry sources.

　　US-based Kingston Technology recently expanded its output for Micro SD cards, and has therefore grown its orders to backend houses including Powertech Technology (PTI) and Orient Semiconductor Electronics (OSE), the sources indicated.

　　In addition, Taiwan IC Packaging (TICP) has landed a pull-in of orders for Micro SD cards from Transcend Information, a Taiwan-based memory module maker, the sources said.

　　Speculation has been circulating that Samsung Electronics would phase out from the Micro SD card market in a move to channel its resources into the production of embedded solutions, such as eMMC and SSD devices. Samsung used to supply Micro SD cards directly to its customers, with its in-house produced NAND Flash chips, controller ICs and backend services.

　　Samsung has placed more emphasis on embedded memory solutions used in smartphones and other mobile devices, which yield higher profits, the sources noted.

　　Fellow NAND Flash chip firms Toshiba, SK Hynix and Micron Technology have also stepped into manufacturing embedded memory solutions for mobile devices.