The American company SanDisk is famous for its design and production of the flash memory cards. For the past few years the company has also been making MPEG-1 layer III products, better known as MP3 players. Just like with all electronic consumer products, big developments have been made in the MP3 player market in the past decade. Large memory capacities, lower prices and smaller dimensions are some of the features which result in these developments. Additionally, there is a current trend of putting as many features as possible into one device. The difference between MP3 players, USB sticks, digital cameras and mobile phones become smaller every day.

SanDisk announced the opening of its production facility in Shanghai, the company’s first in the People’s Republic of China. Based in Zizhu Industrial-based Science Park, SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (SDSS) is expected to play a critical role in SanDisk’s worldwide operations as the plant will focus on the assembly and test of its advanced flash memory products for mobile and other consumers in markets worldwide. SanDisk’s worldwide operations function will also reside at the Shanghai facility. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the flash memory facility.

SanDisk Corporation launched the SanDisk Express line of high-performance flash memory products, based on the ExpressCard technology standard. SanDisk Express products aim to deliver best-of-class solutions for professional videographers and photographers who demand speed, durability and reliability. The first product in the SanDisk Express line is the SanDisk ExpressCard, a flash memory card designed for a new generation of professional camcorders that record to ExpressCards rather than magnetic tape, hard discs or optical discs. The SanDisk ExpressCard memory card for professional camcorders is expected to be available in November, in 8 gigabyte (GB) and 16 gigabyte capacities.

SanDisk Corporation, the second largest seller of MP3 players in the United States, announced the new SanDisk Sansa View - a video MP3 player with a vast array of features and generous capacity, at an unbeatable price. The sleek-looking SanDisk Sansa View marries the finest MP3 player attributes with full-motion video support (typically found in larger portable media players (PMPs)), a larger screen, long battery life and generous capacity - all in a thin, easy-to-carry package. Expected to be available in October, the SanDisk Sansa View will carry a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $199.99 MSRP for a 16GB flash-based player and $149.99 for the 8GB, far surpassing the competition with respect to value and price.

Toshiba Corporation and SanDisk Corporation celebrated with a traditional ceremony and reception the opening of Fab 4, the latest 300mm wafer fabrication facility at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi Operations, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Responding to continuous rising demand for NAND flash memory used in a wide range of digital applications, including digital media players, mobile phones, PCs and memory cards, Toshiba started construction of Fab 4 in August 2006. Fab 4 is expected to start mass production in December 2007 and reach a production capacity of 80,000 wafers a month in the second half of CY2008.

SanDisk announced that it is shipping the SanDisk 8GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) flash memory cards to phone manufacturers and mobile network operators (MNOs) for testing and evaluation purposes. Primarily used in Sony Ericsson mobile phones, the 8GB SanDisk M2 cards are ideal for the growing number of consumers who make their mobile Phone - with its built-in music player, digital camera and video player/recorder - the centerpiece of their digital lifestyle. At 8GB, SanDisk offers the largest capacity M2 card in the world. The new SanDisk M2 8GB card will allow consumers to listen to more than 2,000 digital songs, or store more than 5,000 high-resolution pictures, or up to 5 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 videos.

SanDisk Corporation announced that its line of microSDHC flash memory cards has received the 2007 Best of Show award in the Application category from the Flash Memory Summit. With growing interest by consumers to enjoy media such as music, pictures and video on advanced mobile phones, microSDHC provides higher capacity storage to help them get more out of these devices. “Flash memory applications are currently pushing the envelope of innovation, making a real difference in solving customer challenges,” said Jay Kramer, chairman of the awards program for the Flash Memory Summit, and vice president of worldwide marketing for iStor Networks Inc.

SanDisk introduced a new capacity in its high-performance SanDisk Ultra II line: a 4GB SDHC Plus card. The SanDisk Ultra II SDHC Plus 4GB card offers fast read and write speeds of 10 megabytes per second (10MB/sec), reducing the waiting time between camera shots and the download time when transferring photos and video to a computer. “With video recording becoming a standard feature on digital still cameras, memory cards need more capacity and speed to capture not only high-quality photos, but also video” said Susan Park, senior product marketing manager for SanDisk Ultra II cards. The 4GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC Plus card has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States of $79.99.

SanDisk launched the SanDisk Multi Card ExpressCard Adapter, offering fast transfer speeds from memory cards to notebook computers without the need to carry cables or external card readers. The new SanDisk adapter fits into the ExpressCard slot now found in most new notebook computers, and accepts six card formats: SD, SDHC, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo. Many competing ExpressCard adapters only accept the full size Memory Stick format, running counter to the swing in market momentum toward the smaller Duo form factor. The SanDisk Multi Card ExpressCard Adapter is expected to available in North America and Europe in September.

SanDisk Corporation announced an 8 gigabyte (GB) model of its popular Cruzer Micro USB flash drive, double the largest capacity previously available in the Cruzer Micro line. Only two inches long, a half-inch thick and weighing less than half an ounce, the 8GB Cruzer Micro nonetheless can hold a massive personal library - 1,600 ultra-high-resolution digital pictures, 2,000 digital songs or five hours of high-quality home video. Cruzer Micro 8GB is expected to be available worldwide in mid-September with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price in the United States of $129.99. Cruzer Micro also continues to be available in four smaller capacities.