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

To: Michael A. Gottesman who wrote (10773)	5/3/2000 3:18:00 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Mike, A re-emphasis on embedded flash would be a nice way of rounding out SanDisk's product line. Capacity constraints do not allow this currently. The original investor's package I received some two years ago has photos of their embedded technology. This has been largely overshadowed by their "miniature" flash card business as well as the PC Cards and flash disks for the telecommunications industry. Also, embedded flash is a much more crowded arena with the likes of Intel, AMD, SSTI, etc... slugging it out. If CF Assembly patents become profitable it would not be inconceivable for SanDisk to perhaps adjust production to meet demand from the growing MP3 or embedded IC markets and downshift the CF card production. I hate to say that, but it is not totally improbable. Once we start seeing 512 Mbit chips from the JV, SanDisk will have the opportunity to sell OEM's on the concept of MMC supplanting CF. There are already signs of this in the PDA market as mentioned in my post yesterday. Having said that, I am a huge fan of CompactFlash. I like the look and feel of CompactFlash. It is substantial. It has a wide range of capacities. It is attractive to behold. I would hate to see it phased out, but I am prepared for this eventuality. Also, if pursuing CF assembly royalties fizzles out (which I doubt), SNDK may accelerate the transition to MMC by enticing OEM's with smaller sized card slots, lower cost structure and floppy compatibility. With MMC capacity stuck in the 32 MB range this is not possible currently. Also, substantial 512Mbit and 1Gigabit chips will likely not be in production into late 2001, so SNDK has the luxury of time to plan their strategy. As a nascent market Gorilla they are afforded these options and others will be forced to follow suit. That is the beauty of SanDisk's unique position in the consumer flash market. All IMHO, Ausdauer