SanDisk Corporation supplies flash-based data storage products for the consumer, mobile communications, and industrial markets. The company develops technologies and products, as well as delivers products through both original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, and retail channels.
The company designs, develops, markets and manufactures products and solutions in a variety of form factors using flash memory, controller, and firmware technologies. It sources the majority of flash memory supply through significant venture relationships with Toshiba.
The company’s products are used in a range of consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, Universal Serial Bus drives, or USB drives, gaming consoles, MP3 players and other digital devices. Its products are also embedded in a variety of systems for the enterprise, industrial, military and other markets.
The company, in North America, sells products principally through retailers, such as Best Buy Co., Inc. (Best Buy), Circuit City Stores, Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corporation. In North America and the rest of the world, the company manages a network of distributors who sell to other retailers and dealers. The company also sells directly and through distributors, to OEM customers, which include mobile phone manufacturers, and digital camera manufacturers, who include its products with their products when sold to end users.
Primary Markets
Consumer: The company makes and sells flash storage cards that address multiple consumer markets. Certain flash storage cards are used as the film for all major brands of digital cameras. Its cards are also used to store video in solid-state digital camcorders and to store digital data in many other devices including maps in global positioning system devices, or GPS, and personal data in personal digital assistants, or PDAs. In addition, portable game consoles includes features and functionality, including storage of game results, digital audio, video playback and photo viewing. The company manufactures brightly colored SD and Memory Stick PRO Duo cards for use in gaming devices such as the Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft xBox. Its Cruzer CrossFire line of USB drives are geared toward the PC gaming market. Primary card formats for consumer devices include CF, SD, Memory Stick and xD-Picture Card.
Computing: The company provides multiple flash storage devices and solutions for a variety of computing, industrial and enterprise markets. USB flash drives allow consumers to store computer files on keychain-sized devices and then transfer these files between laptops, desktops and other devices. NAND flash memory-based data storage allows industrial customers and PC manufacturers to offer systems with solid state drives in lieu of traditional magnetic disk-based drives. In January 2007, the company introduced 32 gigabyte solid state drive in a 1.8 inch form factor for the notebook PC market.
Mobile Phones: The company provides embedded, semi-removable and removable storage for mobile phones. It also supplies microSD, miniSD, SD and Memory Stick PRO Duo removable storage cards used in mobile phones. These features require additional storage capacity in the mobile phone and transferability of data to and from other devices.
Digital Audio and Video Players: Digital audio players allow consumers to download, store and play music. The company sells a line of digital audio players with both embedded and removable memory under Sansa brand. It has also launched digital video player under the Sansa brand.
Products
The company’s products are sold under the SanDisk brand in a variety of form factors and include the following:
Removable Cards: Removable data storage solutions are available in every major form factor in the company’s primary markets. Its CompactFlash removable cards, available in capacities up to 16 gigabytes, are suited for a range of consumer applications, including digital cameras. Its professional products include the SanDisk Ultra and SanDisk Extreme product lines which are designed with additional performance. Ultra-small microSD removable cards are available in capacities up to 4 gigabytes, are designed for use in mobile phones.
USB Drives: The company’s Cruzer line of USB drives are available in capacities up to 8 gigabytes. USB Flash Drives, or UFDs, are used in the computing and consumer markets. Also, Cruzer Crossfire USB Flash Drives are specially designed to make console or PC gaming experience portable. Using USB flash drives, gamers can save game data, download portable games and demos and save game replays.
Embedded: The company’s embedded products are a set of reliable, embedded flash memory drive, or EFD, solutions for both data and code storage. Ranging in capacities from 128 megabytes to 8 gigabytes, these products are designed to respond to the demand for embedded storage for mobile phones and other portable devices. It also offers high-capacity solid-state drives targeted for the personal computing market in capacities up to 32 gigabytes.
MP3: The Sansa is the company’s branded line of flash-based MP3 players for the digital audio and video player market. Sansa models offer a removable card slot for transportability of music between devices and storage capacity expansion. The Sansa MP3 players also feature built-in FM tuning for non-European models and voice recording capabilities. Sansa is available in capacities ranging from 256 megabytes to 8 gigabytes.
Agreements
The company and Microsoft Corp. have entered into an agreement to offer a software and hardware solution to place application programs and personal customization on USB flash drives and flash memory cards, expanding on and replacing SanDisk's existing U3 Smart Technology. Microsoft would develop a new software experience and SanDisk would develop new hardware capabilities, including the addition of TrustedFlash security technology. SanDisk would incorporate the combined software and hardware solution on removable flash memory cards and Cruzer USB flash drives.
Joint Ventures
The company and Toshiba has entered into various business ventures that include: FlashVision venture, and Flash Partners Ltd. (Flash Partners).
The company, in July 2006, and Toshiba formed Flash Alliance Ltd., or Flash Alliance, to build Fab 4, a 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facility, at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi, Japan operations. The company holds a 49.9 percent ownership position in each venture entity. The company and Toshiba, with these ventures, collaborate in the development and manufacture of NAND flash memory products. These NAND flash memory products are manufactured by Toshiba at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi, Japan operations using the semiconductor manufacturing equipment owned or leased by FlashVision, Flash Partners or Flash Alliance.
The company assumed msystems’ ownership interest in its venture with Toshiba, TwinSys Data Storage Limited Partnership, or TwinSys. As of December 31, 2006, the company had a 50.1% beneficial ownership in TwinSys.
The company and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines a joint venture contemplated between the two companies which would manufacture memory components and sell NAND memory system solutions.
Sales Offices
The company has sales offices located in Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, Japan and non-Japan Asia/Pacific.
Customers
The company’s OEM customers include manufacturers of mobile phones, digital cameras and other digital consumer devices, such as GPS. Its products are sold directly to OEMs and through distributors.
Competition
Semiconductor Manufacturers: The company’s primary semiconductor competitors include Samsung, Toshiba, Hynix, IM Flash Technologies, LLC, or IM Flash (a company formed by Micron and Intel), Micron, and STMicroelectronics N.V., or STMicro.
Flash Memory Card and USB Drive Manufacturers: The company’s primary competitors include A-Data Technology Co., Ltd., Buffalo Technology, FUJIFILM Corporation, Hagiwara Sys-Com Co., Ltd., Hama Corporation, Inc., I/O Data Device, Inc., Kingmax, Inc., Kingston Technology Company, Inc., Eastman Kodak Company, Lexar, Matsushita, Micron, Netac Technology, Co., Panasonic, PNY Technologies, Inc., RITEK Corporation, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Tradebrands International, and Transcend Information, Inc.
Digital Audio Player Manufacturers: The company competes with Apple Inc., Creative Technologies, Ltd., Microsoft Corporation, and Samsung.
History
SanDisk Corporation was founded in 1988.
