From a recent report published by Trefis, it appears that SanDisk stock price might be a good buy right now. Now this article isn’t as much about buying the stock as it is about seeing the market share of SanDisk.
First, to be accurate for the article here is a quote from the full report:
“We currently have a Trefis price estimate of around $50 for SanDisk’s stock, about 11% above the current market price of around $45.”
Trefis goes on to report the market share SanDisk has for the flash memory market and in the retail space. It seems clear with the ever growing popularity of the Smartphones, the number one category SanDisk owns, will continue to grow. To me, it also indicates the relationship SanDisk has with retail segments is largely with the cell phone companies such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and others and this is a big driving force in that number one position.
Source: Trefis.
Lets start the clock ticking for when microSD media will take over the world for flash storage.
I am still amazed at the small size of the microSD media and it’s expansive ability to keep growing in GB capacity. Today SanDisk is officially selling the 32GB version of their microSD card. Sure, it’s $200 USD but when you are an overseas airplane ride and need hours and hours of video content to stream through your 3 inch screen, this will be very handy. I will forget the fact that a DVD player is less than that…but we’re talking cool factor here.
The new 32GB card makes use of SanDisk’s three-bit-per-cell storage technology and is able to hold around 7,000 songs. That translates into 19 solid days of listenting to music, without break, 24/7.
So forget the $200 price tag and maybe you can be lucky like me and find a microSD card, 2GB capacity for $3 off Amazon.com.
Yes, you read the title correct. We now have a dual processor on Compact Flash cards. The new SanDisk Extreme Pro clicks along at an impressive 90MB/s transfer rate.
Just what the doctor ordered for the professional photographer and photo analysis equipment applications.
So what does this mean for transfer rates? Well consider a typical [high performance] CF card runs at 45MB/s write speed. The new dual processor CF card runs [basically] twice as fast.
Of course the device itself is only half the equation, you still need a host who can accept such fast speeds, such as the Canon EOS 7D or Nikon D300s dSLRs to name a few.
For those who have the camera already, you might need the SanDisk Extreme Pro ExpressCard Adapter which plugs into the ExpressCard slot on laptops. Compared with typical card readers which offer up to 20MB/s transfer rates, the SanDisk adapter allows up to 90MB/s read and write speeds.
The Extreme Compact Flash series is targeted at enthusiasts and available in 8GB (S$139 (US$99.43)), 16GB (S$269 (US$192.43)) and 32GB (S$399 (US$285.43)) capacities.
For professional photographers who need fast, high-capacity media, the Extreme Pro comes in 16GB (S$413 (US$295.44)), 32GB (S$741 (US$530.08)) and 64GB (S$1,382 (US$988.63)) versions. The new cards are in retail stores now.
Intel and Micron are two of the primary NAND flash memory makers and are partners in such manufacturing. Earlier this month they announced new technology capable of 3-bit per cell storage which is based off 34-nanometer technology.
The 3-bit per cell concept allows for more storage in the same realestat of flash memory. This imporvement yields larger storage capacity of flash drives and SSD at a lower price.
However, the new technology doesn’t come without some draw backs. According to Kevin Kilbuck, Director of NAND marketing at Micron indicates the 3-bit per cell technology isn’t as stable as they’d like.
For example, Kevin indicates the 3-bit per cell NAND technology will be found in less mission critical devices like USB flash drives, SD memory and CF memory. The technology will not find it’s way into SolidState Disks until the manufacturing process is perfected.
“The companies explained that they need more experience in production volumes before they will be confident to position it as a chip suitable for the high-write environment of the SSD”
You can expect the 3-bit per cell to hit the streets sometime in Q1 of 2010.
However, as with most technology, it’s on the way out before it’s ever even in; SanDisk and Toshiba disclosed in February that they had developed 4-bit-per-cell technology, which the two companies said was the highest-capacity flash memory technology in the industry. (more…)
GetUSB.info posted a review article about 16GB USB flash drives. The benchmarking and testing was done by Test Freaks. Test Freaks is a website based specifically on review and testing of everyday technology so users can make an informed decision about their technology purchases. The review of 16GB flash drives is very in-depth and detailed so depending on what you look for in a flash drive, this review will have it summed up nicely for you.
The 16GB USB review includes the following drives:
I wont give away the full details on the 16GB USB review - please check with Test Freaks. However, it is painfully clear that Transcend Jetflash is a horrible drive. Which is funny as they spend a good amount of marketing time and money saying they are the best performing. Transcend must be taking Ford’s marketing philosophy and advertising their weakness. “Built Ford Tough” ha - those cars are anything but tough.
To get a bit of their approach Test Freaks considers:
…diskbench is nice in that it tells us the actual times and transfer rates to complete the tasks of Copy To or Write To the USB drives, Read From and Copy From as well. I run these three tests on my USB drives because they are the most common things people are going to be doing with their USB drives. First up is testing with the 350MB .AVI Video file, lower scores are better as they are shown in seconds. The first test is for Copy To or Write To the USB drives.
For the full 16GB USB Drive review please visit Test Freaks webpage.
Thanks Anton.
SanDisk and LG developed technology to lock data to a microSD card. Their goal was to data load information to a microSD card which could only be used with a specific device. This ability would insure content isn’t used with other devices or copied over to another user for unauthorized use.
These cards could help to make a particular handset or plan more attractive to a subscriber by offering songs, movies, maps for GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation or applications. However, locking the card will ensure consumers couldn’t use the content elsewhere.
SanDisk reports the data lock portion could be updated remotely via IP protocols which means a vendor could update music lists, content and video depending on the subscribers requirements, needs or membership.
Some critics believe this technology is coming at a bad time, since users enjoy cross platform sharing for their music, along with Apples move towards less DRM on their music. However, what these critics don’t see is the need to protect other types of intellectual property. Although music and video is the big numbers, mainstream target market, there is an infinite need in the pro-sumer and corporate world for data lock and protection. (more…)
SanDisk is all about SlotMusic these days. SlotMusic is the concept of pre-loaded microSD cards where your music can be played on MP3 players, mobile phones and PDAs. Complete interoperability and mobility with SlotMusic.
To soften the blow and increase adoption of the SlotMusic concept, SanDisk is offer a very inexpensive MP3 player at just $19.99. The SlotMusic player may also be purchased with pre-loaded microSD cards for a total price of $39.99. This price point gives a significant advantage of the iPod Shuffle as you get device and music for the same price of just the Shuffle hardware.
SanDisk put together a great demo presentation about the SlotMusic concept and I highly recommend checking out the link.
Now that we see music making the shift to pre-loaded mircoSD cards, the concept of a microSD duplicator makes a bit more sense doesn’t it?
With the backing of SanDisk and it being one of the largest flash memory retailers in the world, they have the channel and connections to make SlotMusic a success. It will be interesting to see what artists jump on the wagon and explore the digital distribution of music via microSD cards.
Samsung is looking to strengthen their digital memory storage line with a possible purchase of SanDisk. SanDisk is currently the #1 supplier of solid state flash memory, world wide [such as Secure Digital, miniSD, microSD and many more]. Samsung is the top producer of flash memory chips.
Through an acquisition, Samsung would strengthen it’s channel for supplying it’s flash chip to retail and channel sales of end-user flash memory.
With weak chip prices and fluctuating buyer habits, a move like this could strengthen Samsung’s position and would put Samsung at over 50% of world wide control of production, distribution and sales of NAND flash memory.
Avi Cohen of Avian Securities said it was an “unlikely prospect” due to SanDisk being unwilling to sell at the bottom of the cycle, and Samsung becoming a direct competitor to many of its customers and regulatory concerns. “Regulators in the US, Korea and Europe among others will likely have issue with one player controlling north of 50 per cent of NAND [Flash memory] supply,” he said.
Another option is Samsung reducing it’s royalty license to SanDisk to gain synergy with the top seller, reduce SanDisk’s bottom line and secure channel distribution of flash memory.
However if a deal goes ahead, it could block efforts by Samsung rivals Toshiba and Hynix Semiconductor to topple Samsung’s market leadership. Toshiba runs joint production lines with SanDisk and Hynix is also conducting joint re-search with the US group. Samsung controls 42.3 per cent of the NAND flash memory market, trailed by Toshiba with 27.5 per cent and Hynix with 13.4 per cent, says market researcher iSuppli.
Source: Financial Times.
DRAMeXchange published a market research paper stating that NAND flash memory will continue to flood the market at lower prices. NAND flash memory is primarily used for storing songs, photos and other data on gadget type devices like digital cameras, MP3 players and iPods. The biggest contributing factor on why the market will continue to see cheap NAND is lack of sales.
Since production forecasts run months ahead, the market has sitting inventory. To move this inventory prices are continueing to drop. For example, DRAMeXchange reported a drop of 20% in June for NAND memory related devices.
The NAND flash market has been so bad that the creator of the chips, SanDisk, on Monday reported a surprise loss of US$68 million for the second quarter. The company blamed the supply glut for its problems, pointing out that it sold a record amount of flash, 120 percent more than the same time last year, but that prices are down 55 percent compared to then.
SanDisk also reported the flash memory pricing might get worse [better for us] in the third quarter. So, it might be a good idea to start picking out your Christmas items now and make sure it’s some type of flash gadget.
On the flip side, with today’s surplus means these companies are cutting back production as well, so once this flood dries up, we could see a shortage for NAND and prices jumping up…and the cycle goes on.
Source: Network World.
SanDisk is going faster than fast with their new Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo product. This new Memory Stick line from SanDisk is the fastest format of it’s kind. So what kind of speed are we talking about? How about 30MBs per second. Yep, MBs not Mbts per second. The sustained transfer speed for both reading and writing is static at 30MBs and it’ll be interesting to see if the spec is the same as the street [experience].
To put this figure in perspective, the non-HG Extreme III Memory Stick from SanDisk is only able to achieve an 18MBps transfer speed. This new memory card represents an increase of over 50%.
If you want to put that into perspective, check out a dated benchmark from a couple years ago. Boy how times have changed.
The SanDisk Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is expected to become available late next month with 4GB and 8GB sizes at prices between $90 and $150 respectively.
Source: MobileMag.com.
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