Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: steve berman who wrote (1293)	11/5/1997 8:52:00 AM
From: Michael A. Gottesman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 60323

Here's the IBD article: SanDisk, Siemens Deal Cards For New Cell-Phone Features Date: 11/5/97 Author: Reinhardt Krause Two chipmakers today will unveil a standard format for a stamp-sized storage card that will plug into future mobile phones to give the devices more capabilities. The card will let cellular phone users do such things as record voice mail, retrieve information and e-mail from the Internet, and store more personal data, such as electronic address books. Chipmakers SanDisk Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif., and Germany's Siemens AG will make the product, called the Multimedia Card. The leading makers of cell phones - Finland's Nokia Corp., San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola Inc. and Sweden's L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. - plan to announce they'll make phones with slots that fit the Multimedia Card format. ''Most of the new smart phones coming to market are built around the concept of having an ability to access the Internet,'' said Gerry Purdy, president of Mobile Insights Inc., a market research firm in Mountain View, Calif. ''It takes storage to be able to do that.'' The cards slide into tiny slots built into phones. Phones that support the format are expected to be out in '98. Pager makers also might adopt the format, analysts say. Earlier versions of these cards used a chip technology called read-only memory. ROM chips can't be altered. SanDisk plans to make the modules using its flash chips, which retain data even when power is cut off. Data in flash chips can be updated or erased. Digital-camera makers already use SanDisk's matchbook-sized cards to store images. Hand-held computers store data using credit-card-sized flash cards. SanDisk says its Multimedia Cards will hit the market by second-quarter '98. Cards storing 2 megabytes of data will be priced under $50 retail. Many cell operators provide data services, such as stock quotes or weather information, which appear on phones' text screens. Users, however, access the data on computer servers that reside on the operator's network. The cards will increase the storage capability of the phones themselves, analysts say. Subscribers will be able to download data and then store it in their phones for later use. For example, instead of having to listen immediately to a long voice-mail message, users will be able to store it and play it later. ''These modules will enable ubscribers) to store longer text messages, voice mail or even a graphics message like a map,'' said Allen Leibovitch, an analyst with International Data Corp. in San Francisco. Cellular operators have been adding features such as call waiting and call forwarding to their phones. By preloading software onto Multimedia Cards, cell firms will be able to let subscribers easily add features. The Multimedia Cards are just one feature of increasingly complex phone designs. Phones are being equipped with electronic organizers, analysts say. And Canada-based Northern Telecom Ltd. plans to roll out a digital phone with voice-activated dialing next year. Mobile-phone makers also plan to make phones with larger text screens, says Phillip Redman, an analyst at Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research firm. Phone makers also are trying to make it easier to compose e-mail. Since phones lack full keyboards, their current text-input capabilities are limited. (C) Copyright 1997 Investors Business Daily, Inc. Metadata: SNDK NOKA QCOM MOT ERICY NT I/3578 I/4890 I/3675 E/IBD E/SN1 E/TECH Although the indication is that products will be out in the later part of 1998, I like the estimated cost of the card - $50.00!! Thats right in the consumer range.

To: steve berman who wrote (1293)	11/5/1997 8:54:00 AM
From: robert Schwartz	Respond to of 60323

From an article in November's Electronic Business describing Kopin Corp .24 in. flat-panel display: "... Siemens is developing an accessory display device for its cellular phones using Cyberdisplay, explains Al McGrath, senior manager of production planning for Siemens Wireless Terminals, Richardson, TX, a division of Siemens Business Communications. The company plans to offer high-resolution data, graphics and other information on such a screen. The company expects to introduce a product by mid-year or third q. of next year. Motorola is developing a module for its next-generation cellular phones that will enable viewing of text, email, graphics and video ..." The article has a photo of a woman holding a cell phone to her right ear and looking into a small scope with her right eye.