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To: Dealer who wrote (7536)	10/12/2000 9:41:22 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

SNDK--M'shita , Toppan tie up on SD memory cards TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd , the world's largest consumer electronics maker, said on Thursday it will provide Toppan Printing Co Ltd with information needed to adapt SD (secure digital) memory cards. The move is aimed at expanding usage of the new postage stamp-sized memory devices, and ultimately making them the standard device used for storing audio, video and computer files for easy transfer from one electronic device to another. The postage stamp-sized SD Memory Card was jointly developed by Matsushita, Toshiba Corp and SanDisk Corp (NasdaqNM:SNDK - news). That consortium of companies is competing with Sony Corp , the world's second-largest consumer electronics manufacturer, which wants to make its chewing gum-size Memory Stick the new industry standard. The competition is similar to the titanic battle waged three decades ago between Sony and a Matsushita-led consortium over which audio-video tape storage medium would become the global standard -- Sony's Betamax or the Matsushita-developed VHS. In sharing the technology behind the new SD memory card with companies like Toppan, Japan's second-largest printing company which in recent years has diversified into making electronic precision components such as photomasks and printed circuit boards, Matsushita is employing the same strategy that helped it win the Betamax/VHS battle. Matsushita will provide Toppan with design information for chips used in equipment compatible with the SD cards, a Matsushita spokesman said. Toppan will offer services on designing and making LSI (large-scale integrated) circuits from October to electronic appliance makers. The information will help shorten the chip development process from six months to 2-3 months, reducing costs. Toppan aims at sales of about 200 million yen ($1.86 million) in the first year to September 2001, a Toppan spokesman said.