What are the uses for the Hitachi DVD-RAM disks?
Michael,
The capacity and cost of the DVD-RAM disks is eye-catching, but only one end of the equation.
First, 80mm (diameter?) seems a bit large for use in an MP3 player or a cell phone. I doubt that these diskettes will fit in an CF slot or an MMC slot.
Second, the OEM cost for an empty CF slot is $1.50 and for MMC/SDMC the 50½ price tag is too good to be true. I don't see how adding a disk drive to a portable consumer device will go over well. Basically the "switching costs" for exiting from the CF/MMC design mold is too great. Many OEM's are unlikely to risk a newly released product line by adopting a new standard, especially one that adds complexity, cost and power consumption to the design.
BTW, I am just getting used to my CD burner and I guess it is already out-of-date. The truth is, 650 MB on a single CD is a lot of room for archiving pictures. In fact, it is really overkill. I do have one more purchase in mind for later in the year or next year. If I ever get around to buying a digital camcorder I will be looking for one using a digital tape (I understand these hold about 11 GB of data and cost about $10 each) and the capability to download directly to MMC or CF. My next camcorder may be a Panasonic or JVC. That is unless Epson offers a high resolution digital camera capable of recording digital video with sound.
[I am just curious, Michael, since you mentioned it, why you think this is threatening to SanDisk?]
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