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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) on Monday said it will prepay $1.25 billion in the next three months in a long-term deal to secure flash memory components used in its market-dominating iPod music players. Apple said the payment was part of a series of agreements reached with NAND flash memory suppliers Hynix Semiconductor Inc., (000660.KS) Intel Corp., (Nasdaq:INTC - news) Micron Technology Inc.,(NYSE:MU - news), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., (005930.KS) and Toshiba Corp. (6502.T) The agreements secure a supply of flash memory chips and components through 2010. Apple uses the chips in its portable iPod nano music player. "We want to be able to produce as many of our wildly popular iPods as the market demands," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. NAND memory chips are also widely used in digital cameras and photo-snapping cellular phones because they can retain data with little power. Industrywide growth in flash memory sales topped 30 percent in the latest quarter. (() | 
