Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: DWalmsley who wrote (9435)	3/2/2000 9:22:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

Doug, Thanks for your kind words. SanDisk is a "king of kings" in my books and a class act. I recommend the following 2.1 megapixel CF cameras... Canon Powershot S10 buy.com Epson PhotoPC 850Z buy.com Nikon Coolpix 800 buy.com Kodak DC 280 buy.com I think it would be best to consider buying a moderate-sized CF card (at least 32MB) and a CF reader (USB ImageMate) and trying each of these cameras out in a store. Then take the card home and compare the results. When you are talking about a $600 dollar investment I think you owe it to yourself to make sure you like the "form and function" of the camera. I believe that 2.1 megapixels does an excellent job in most settings. buy.com buy.com Cameras I have personally purchased for myself and family members include the Epson PhotoPC 600 & 850Z, the Canon A50 and the Nikon Coolpix 800. I am partial to the Fuji and Olympus lines also, but as a SanDisk investor I could not bring myself to buying a SmartMedia digital camera. Also, I like the fact that CF offers cross-platform compatibility with nearly all laptops and most handheld PC's. Ausdauer Digital Photography...habit forming, highly contagious, totally incurable

To: DWalmsley who wrote (9435)	3/2/2000 9:56:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Respond to of 60323

Doug and Thread, Some consideration of market segmentation. If you run out to the store this week to do some grocery shopping, then stop at the newstand and look at the cover of Premiere magazine. The cover has two concurrent editions for March. One features a seductive photo of actress Julianne Moore. The other features Jude Law, a teenage heartthrob. The content of the magazine is identical. The magazine publisher is trying to appeal to two target markets with a single issue. I tend to think of the market for SanDisk's products similarly. A while back we discussed whether the packaging for SanDisk CF should have one side dedicated to the digital photography market with the flip side dedicated to the mp3 market. That way retailers could display either side depending on the display case. As it stands now, the packaging is "unisex" or "unimarket" (to be more exact). At BestBuy they have SanDisk SmartMedia cards both at the digital camera display and the mp3 end-cap display. I like the packaging and find it appealing with the color tones and the product presentation. However, I feel that making more individualized approaches to the target market could be a better situation. In addition to marketing a single product (such as CF or SM) with a "flippable" packaging I think SanDisk needs to look hard at an even greater market segmentation that is occuring right now. *CF is being accepted as a standard for digital photography. MMC and SDMC are being accepted as standards for Internet audio and mobile applications. **SmartMedia sales will likely contract over time and continue to straddle multiple market segments. I think you can make a strong case that CF offers outstanding value to digital camera users. I like to think of CF as the "Everlasting Gobstopper" of the digital film world offering upto 300,000 read/write cycles. Also, target prices for medium to high-end digital cameras remain in the $300 to $800 range. These facts justify a higher price to the end-user for a CF card. I think it is fair to assume that the consumer who has a digital camera purchase in mind is prepared to pay a fair and reasonable price for the necessary storage media. CompactFlash is in a value driven market. I think the case for SM, MMC, and SDMC is a weaker for continued price support. Prices for devices used in this market will vary. Most Internet Audio devices will fall to the $149.99 to $99.99 range making current removable memory prices a bit spendy. Also, many users are younger with more limited budgets. SM, MMC and SDMC will be a volume driven market. This cannot occur until prices fall substantially. The segmentation of the various markets for SanDisk products needs to be reflected in packaging and labelling. Ausdauer