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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gary Kao who wrote (9110)	2/7/2000 1:58:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Gary, re: SNDK vs. Lexar I was disappointed to hear that Nikon decided to switch to Lexar for a source of its private label CF for the newest CoolPix camera. Personally, I wonder if SNDK is not overwhelmed by demand for CF and MMC. It is possible that they were not able to guarantee adequate volume for upcoming shipments. Also, it is possible that Lexar is not the sole supplier to Nikon. My understanding is that Lexar purchases NAND memory from Toshiba or has other sources of flash wafer on the open market. Some refer to this as the "spot market" for flash chips. In contrast to this, SanDisk has been incorporating their own advances into product manufactured with their fab partners primarily at UMC. They are also positioned to significantly increase their own production of flash wafers during 2000 and beyond as has been outlined by Dr. Harari. I feel that any company that relies on others (competitors?) for core supply/manufacturing of flash wafer is very vulnerable given the remarkable increase in demand for all varieties of flash memory. For example, Toshiba supplies Lexar and FLSH. Hitachi and Samsung deliver flash memory to other CF fabricators/assemblers. These suppliers will be in the driver's seat. Lexar may be looking to increase its exposure at the OEM level. They have retail agreements with CompUSA (who also sell PNY and Viking CF products) and BestBuy. At BestBuy, they compete head-to-head with SNDK and SimpleTechnology. I do not know how much success they have had with retail sales. CompUSA has not had the greatest year. go2net.newsalert.com In any case, I see SanDisk to be in a very enviable situation. They wish to control their destiny by breaking out of the fab-less model. They have core IP's that Lexar has reportedly infringed. They have a far greater network of OEM and retail agreements. They have the cash on hand to carry out their plans. Ausdauer