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

To: sditto who wrote (14603)	9/8/2000 8:52:29 AM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

As a partial response to your question about 1G product availability, SanDisk has indicated some time ago that its higher density products would be made in the new plant under construction (50% owned by Toshiba) in Manassas, Virginia. SNDK has also indicated that 1G capacity is feasible, but I suspect that an actual product will not be available in any quantities until early 2002. It takes time to work all the bugs out of a new factory and get blemish free product at sufficiently high efficiency rates to warrant marketing the product. Ultimately the high capacity flash cards should become the technology of choice for individuals interested in obtaining full length movies online. That spells not only profits for SNDK and Toshiba but is the beginning of the end for the corner video rental store.

To: sditto who wrote (14603)	9/8/2000 9:40:37 AM
From: Ausdauer	Respond to of 60323

Ditto, The trek to 1 gigabit flash: I think I posted incorrectly here... Message 13746037 Clearly 256 Mbit was accomplished in 1999. By the end of the year I hope that the intial transition to 512 Mbit technology is underway with volume production in 2001. Most importantly this will allow 64 MB MMC/SDMC on a single flash chip. This will be a major breakthrough. As you inquired, I think 1 gigabit flash may come in late 2001 or 2002. The remainder of the time table (to multi-gigabit flash) is in the above post. Obstacles In the 1999 SanDisk Annual Report it is mentioned that Toshiba can manufacture their 256 Mbit NAND less expensively than SanDisk 256/D2 because of their advanced lithography skills. If SanDisk and Toshiba can perfect NAND/MLC using Toshiba's lithographic expertise it would seem that 1 gigabit flash chips are probably less than 2 years away. The obstacles include the fact that SanDisk is in the middle of its first die shrink and the results are not yet known. Second, I don't know from a technical standpoint how easily NAND and MLC can be melded together. Further die shrinks are undoubtedly forthcoming, but it would be premature to comment on feasability until Dr. Harari reports SanDisk's progress in October. Although I am excited about FlashVision's potential, I am also excited to see how well SanDisk's engineering prowess and the INVOX patents can be integrated with Toshiba's manufacturing expertise. Only time will tell. Ausdauer