All Things Digital

Turns out Apple (AAPL) isn’t the only company whose smart phones are in short supply this spring. According to Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt, Research in Motion (RIMM) and Palm (PALM) are suffering shortages as well.

In a research note, McCourt says RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl is pretty tough to find these days–online and off. And Palm’s Treo 755p has disappeared from Sprint’s shelves entirely. Customers looking for one must either settle for the Palm Centro or wait until the company releases the next iteration of the Treo 755p or the Treo 800w.

As McCourt notes, shortages like these are bad news for RIM and awful news for the downtrodden Palm. “The abrupt disappearance of the Treo 755p at Sprint is somewhat concerning,” observes McCourt. “This product was selling reasonably well and, although we expect its contribution to be marginal following the 800w’s launch this summer, the 755p’s absence at Sprint clearly means Palm is foregoing some near-term sales opportunities.”

It’s worth noting here as well that Apple is still dealing with a pretty lean inventory of iPhones. McCourt says about half of the Apple stores he contacted had the device in stock. Said McCourt, “While we believe this is related to a product transition, current iPhone shortages are almost certainly causing some degree of missed sales opportunities.”

Want to put a Nintendo Wii under the Christmas tree this year? Then follow a delivery truck. Otherwise you’re going to have to make do with a slip of paper, which is slightly better than nothing, but not much.

Unable to keep store shelves stocked with the highly sought video game console, Nintendo today said it will issue a raincheck to customers who aren’t able to purchase one in time for the holidays. Rainchecks, which can be purchased from GameStop, are available for the full $249 price of the system. “The system has remained a sellout virtually everywhere in America nonstop from the day it launched,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo’s U.S. business. “There was no way for us to stockpile systems over the summer to meet the holiday rush. … [T]his shortfall benefits no one. Enough systems would make everyone, including me, happier.”

It certainly would. Analysts believe Nintendo has lost an estimated $1 billion in potential sales this holiday season because of the Wii shortage. “It’s staggering,” MDB Capital Group analyst James Lin told the New York Times. “They could easily sell double what they’re selling.”

Thanks to its iPod Shuffle and Nano, Apple’s appetite for NAND flash memory is akin to McDonald’s for potatoes–near insatiable and market moving. Back in 2005, Apple made headlines for a reported agreement to buy 40% of Samsung Electronics’ NAND flash-memory chip output and rumored plans for a joint foundry with the South Korean company.

Today, the company is in the headlines again–this time because it’s on track to consume 25% of the world supply of flash memory in the third quarter. And according to Taiwan-based online chip clearinghouse DRAMeXchange, that will lead to a chip shortage. “According to DRAMeXchange’s figures, in the wake of the expected hot iPod sales and chip inventory buildup for 4Q07, the iPhone and iPod will take up roughly 25% of worldwide NAND flash production in 3Q07,” the company said. “As a huge portion of the capacity is being allocated to Apple in meeting the anticipated demand in 2H07, many downstream vendors have been unable to secure enough flash chips. … A flash chip shortage will occur in the third quarter. Flash prices are thus projected to continue rising.”

Seems Apple’s not only reshaping the music and cellphone industries, but the memory industry as well.