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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (25253)	5/24/2000 1:53:00 AM
From: tekboy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

This has been a continuing source of concern for many around here, and the skeptics have never received a definitive answer. Until one is forthcoming, therefore, many (most?) feel that SNDK is playing a royalty game rather than a gorilla game. This is not to say it's a bad investment--hell, a lot of thread favorites are kings, and flash seems to be in the early stages of one mother tornado--just not a sure thing. Before we rehash this for the umpteenth time, btw, you might want to search the thread archives for previous debates on the topic... tekboy/Ares@sorryAuspleasedon'thitmepleaseplease.org

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (25253)	5/24/2000 11:15:00 AM
From: John Stichnoth	Respond to of 54805

Hi, Jacob. Sandisk's protection comes largely from its sponsorship, and ownership, of several form factors that appear to be becoming standards. CompactFlash is about a 1.5x1.5 inch card that has been specified for various cameras for instance. The MultiMediaCard is a postage stamp card that has begun to be designed into internet-capable cell phones. They have additional patents that solve basic issues, such as how to access data, how to protect the data's reliability, etc. It's unclear whether these basic patents provide any substantial barriers to entry for competitors. I believe that AMD and Intel both concentrate on a slightly different type of flash, for use in PC's, where things like the bios is stored when the computers are turned off. They are not primarily focusing on the portable side. (I don't understand enough about it to understand why their flash can't be used in portables, or what the difference is). It is true that more patents show up for Intel when you search for "flash memory", in the patent Office's data base. tekboy is right--There is some good discussion on this thread. Also, take a look at sandisk thread. Best, JS