iPod Mini Flash drives from Apple soon Flash from Samsung to power iPod Minis. BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT 26 August, 2005: iPod Mini with flash drives are expected this year, with Apple Computer agreeing to buy 40% of the entire flash memory stock from Samsung, the world leader in flash memory drives. iPod Mini 4GB models are expected to come with flash. iPod Mini Flash price tag is not public yet.  iPod Mini flash has been the subject of speculation for some time, with the obvious advantages offered by the flash drive. Conventional hard disk drives are bulkier, and carry significantly less data than flash drives, but come cheaper. Flash drives are superior in terms of data storage space and have no moving parts. Since moving parts are completely dome away with, the iPod Mini Flash will have less scope for problem associated with wear and tear. The user experience is expected to be far superior with iPod Mini Flash. iPods with higher data storage space may not come with flash yet, since flash is about twice as expensive. This would make iPods over 10GB in size too expensive with flash, putting them out of the reach of the iPod target market. iPod Mini Flash may not be marketed promoting its flash feature. This is because many potential iPod buyers are unaware of the advantages of flash over others. Hence, Apple may market the iPod Mini Flash on the basis of the new iPod Mini features rather than the flash facility, feel analysts. Samsung, which has bagged the iPod Mini Flash deal now dominates in the dominated the global flash memory market, controlling 55 per cent. It is the world's biggest manufacturer of NAND flash memory, an advanced kind of flash which significantly increases the memory density possible for flash format. Sony has recently unveiled the Sony Walkman beans, in an attempt to take on Apple's iconic iPods. As of now, Apple dominates the market for digital music players, having shipped 6.2 million iPods in the third quarter. The iPod Mini Flash launch is expected to give a further boost to the rising iPod sales. BY OUR TECH CORRESPONDENT