Samsung to supply chips for next-gen iPods

Well, the other shoe has dropped. A week after PortalPlayer revealed the crushing news that the company wouldn't be providing chips for the next version of the iPod nano, Samsung has announced that it has won the business from Apple. Jon Kang, a Samsung exec, gloated that “I knew PortalPlayer would take a dive," adding, modestly, “I knew that we would win this design." According to Samsung -- which already provides flash memory for the nano -- the deal represents the company's largest LSI chip deal so far. “It’s a huge win for us," said Kang. Meanwhile, Apple has yet to comment on plans for the next-gen nanos, which are expected to offer increased capacity, and may be less prone to at-home engraving than current models.