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

To: tejek who wrote (21315)	12/13/2001 6:05:33 PM
From: Art Bechhoefer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Ted, I believe AMD makes primarily embedded memory, and they may use SSTI products or incorporate them into their own products. Embedded memory might find some applications in digital cameras, but it seems that most camera manufacturers are interested in using one of four types of removable memory: Compact Flash, Secure Digital Memory Card, SmartMedia Card, or MemoryStick. Major competitors of SanDisk include Hitachi, Sony, Samsung, Lexar, and to a lesser extent Viking, Memorex, etc. SanDisk currently is involved with the Israeli company, Tower Semiconductor to make embedded flash, using Toshiba technology. SanDisk and Toshiba also have a joint venture in a factory in Virginia. The Tower Semi facility will produce embedded memory and will compete with AMD, SSTI, etc. While Toshiba makes some products that compete with SanDisk products, I think that this relationship between Toshiba and SanDisk is of mutual benefit. If I had to pinpoint what appears to be the most significant competition, it would be from Samsung, which is building one of the largest fabrication facilities in the world for producing removable flash cards. However, it is more than likely that at least some Samsung products will be subject to licensing and royalty agreements with SanDisk. Looking more broadly at the challenges SanDisk faces, I'd say number one is to find an application that is not consumer dependent. The health information cards are an example, but the competitors here include just about all other forms of storing health information. The challenge here is to get the approach being tested by SanDisk accepted within the industry. SanDisk is nowhere close to achieving this goal. Art

To: tejek who wrote (21315)	12/13/2001 8:10:26 PM
From: Ausdauer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Ted, SNDK's main competitors are Samsung, Hitachi, Toshiba and, perhaps, Intel in flash manufacturing. The flies in the ointment are the card assemblers like Viking, PNY, Lexar Media, Simple Tech, and a host of Taiwanese companies who are able to create CompactFlash knock-offs without any regard for US patents. The CompactFlash Association has a more detailed list. I don't see SSTI as a competitor. If anything their products are complimentary with relatively little overlap. SSTI does not have the capacity at present to manufacture ultra-high density flash. Most of their products are 4 Mbit density or below. Some of there higher margin products are 1 Mbit or below, if you can believe it. I used to view Sony as a competitor due to its hard push to make Memory Stick a standard. I also continue to view SmartMedia as a detractor as it can confuse the consumer and it depressed CompactFlash card sales. Given the relationship with Toshiba, however, SmartMedia is less threatening to SanDisk. They may even make some money on it now that Dominion is up. I no longer view IBM as a competitor. I no longer view IOM as a competitor. What ever happened to Dataplay? Not in time for Christmas two years running. tisk, tisk. Aus