Apple hoarding NAND flash memory, 32GB iPhone here I come!

DigiTimes reports that Apple has purchased 100 million 8GB NAND flash chips from Samsung and others and that it's constricting supply for other smaller players in the market. So much so that downstream suppliers are worried about a supply shortage.

What good are 8GB chips you ask? Simple. They're used to create 16, 32 and even 64GB devices.

Today's news all but confirms that Apple will offer a 32GB configuration of the next iPhone hardware which is widely expected to be announced at WWDC in June. The new video recording capability and higher-res 3.2MP camera expected to arrive in the iPhone 3.0 hardware are going to be memory intensive and Apple needs to address the new features with higher memory capacities.

CrunchGear also speculates that part of The Great NAND Hoard of 2009 may also be destined for a 64GB iPod touch, but I have my doubts.