SD Cards should be getting cheaper

[Curious Cat]

SD Cards should be getting cheaper. Here's a news release.

Here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=2&u=/nm/20040524/tc_nm/tech_chips_dc)

[bguy]

And on that note, 512MB Sandisk for $74 after a $25 rebate:
www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-180-609&depa=0)

[terrier]

Originally posted by bguy
And on that note, 512MB Sandisk for $74 after a $25 rebate:
www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-180-609&depa=0)


It shows $99 after the rebate. Was the price lower earlier?

Terrier

[bguy]

Ooopss... sorry. Went up. $99 is only a so-so price.

[jonasolof]

The article says that Samsung and Toshiba control 90 percent of the market. Where is San Disk and Matsushita/Panasonic in that picture??

[Bokkie]

Originally posted by jonasolof
Where is San Disk...

Allow me to put on my tin helmet, Jonas!

If it's anything like my S*nD**k, you can see them all over pavements and parks. For some reason wherever a dog goes for a walk, I see a S*nD**k. Fortunately, I've not stepped in one for a long time.:D

[Curious Cat]

Originally posted by jonasolof
The article says that Samsung and Toshiba control 90 percent of the market. Where is San Disk and Matsushita/Panasonic in that picture??

I was wondering that too when I read it. Here’s my guess and a guess it is: Samsung and Toshiba are the 2 main manufacturers of the main ingredient, the chips themselves. Toshiba, Panasonic and SanDisk are the 3 main players that manufacture the end product that we see as an SD card for instance and these are in turn often re-branded by other companies as their own. The best analogy might be an engine supplier that makes engines that are in turn used by different automobile manufacturers. Perhaps the main differences between the big 3 are in something akin to a low level format and the logic systems they use in getting the chips to function. I’m thinking that the chips supplied by Samsung and Toshiba merely have the potential for memory use. This would mean that Toshiba is the only major player starting and finishing the process.

[chorlton]

An SD card is nothing more than a chip bonded out in a plastic package. What matters is the design of the chip

If Samsung and Toshiba make 90% of the "silicon" used in SD cards, that does not mean that they are all their own design.

The likes of Sandisk are probably using the Toshiba or Samsung fab purely as a foundary for their designs.

[bguy]

ok, well, here's a 256M chip for $32 after rebate:
www.buy.com (http://www.buy.com/retail/clearance/todays_deals.asp?loc=33448&dcaid=1688)

It's a one day sale.

[apollo 8]

PNY 512 are available on ebay buy it now for $99. I just received mine and am very happy with its VFS mark of 513 with a 1/2 full card.