Sony has agreed to form a joint venture to design memory chips with the German firm Qimonda.

Memory chips are used to store information on products such as mobile phones and digital cameras.

Sony’s decision to agree a joint venture highlights the growing trend of chip makers sharing the large costs of design and manufacture.

The price of these processors has also been falling and this has squeezed the profits of manufacturers.

Samsung, the world’s largest supplier of memory chips, has been complaining about over-supply in the industry.

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