Last year the "Apple effect" grew the market for flash memory 25 percent. This year things didn't look as rosy -- until Apple's latest mega-order

Apple is hogging all the flash, it seems. But don't worry, that's a good thing. (Unless you're another tech company trying to buy large quantities of OEM flash memory.)

According to Digitimes, Samsung Electronics has told its customers that their supplies will be reduced in July because Apple has placed an order for 50 million of 8Gb-equivalent flash chips, on top of a 25-million chip order last month.

In fact, Apple buys so much flash (which is used in tons of products, including the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, SSD-equipped MacBook Air, and of course that wacky iPhone doohickey that the kids love so much), the industry enjoyed an "Apple effect" that led to 25 percent growth in revenues in 2007.

This year, things haven't been as rosy. Prices are dropping: 8Gb of NAND flash cost just $2.32 as of mid June, down from $8.25 a year earlier. A couple of days before the news of Apple's huge order, research company Semico said it expected just a 13 percent growth in flash memory revenue in 2008, along with still-weakening prices. Now, Apple's order could stabilize prices by reducing the supply available to other companies.

What does this mean for you, the consumer? That Apple plans to sell a crazy number of iPhones this year, since it keeps boosting its order. If prices stay good and the supply can keep up, we might see that 32GB iPhone sooner than later. The Mac|Life office is guessing by Christmas 2008, but that's just our guess. Let us know yours in the comments.