SanDisk has launched a barrage of new “memory” products at this years CES in Las Vegas including two new lines of MP3 players. The Company has also said that it will take Apple head on in the flash MP3 market.
SanDisk has launched a barrage of new “memory” products at this years CES in Las Vegas including two new lines of MP3 players. The Company has also said that it will take Apple head on in the flash MP3 market.
All of the new products will be available in Australia within 3 months according to Josh Veiling SanDisk General Manager for Australia who was at the US launch.The new high end Sansa e200 line come in 2, 4 and 6 GB versions, promising to hold 960, 1920 and 3,840 songs respectively. SanDisk EVP and general manager Nelson Chan claimed that in the year the company has been in the flash MP3 player market, it has a solid grasp on the number two position in the U.S. with 29% share, trailing only Apple’s 49%.
The e200 also boasts a 1.8-inch color LCD, FM tuner, a microSD expansion slot and a slideshow function for viewing photos and playing music at the same time. The product will be available in March and will be priced at $200, $250 and $300. “The e200 is the most exciting product we are introducing at the show,” Chan said.
SanDisk also introduced the Sans c100 value MP3 player, which comes in 1 and 2 GB models and will sell for $120 and $170.
The other markets SanDisk is focusing with new products includes gaming, USB slots, and handsets. Last year, these markets for SanDisk grew 144%, 27% and 67%, respectively, according to Chan.
The new Cruzer Crossfire USB line addresses the gaming market and is comprised four modules with capacities of 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB. Prices range from $65 to $330 and the units will be sold at SanDisk’s 135,000 retails outlets worldwide, Chan said.
On the flash drive side, SanDisk introduced the Cruzer Micro and Cruzer Titanium. Because each supports U3 technology allowing applications to be securely launched, each drive is bundled with four applications including Avast! antivirus, SKYPE VoIP, the SignUp Shield password vault and CruzerSynch to synch Outlook data.
Titanium comes with 1 or 2 GB while Micro has four flavors ranging from 512 MB to 4 GB. Pricing starts at $50 and reaches $300.
Finally, SanDisk rolled out two handset cards – the 1 GB microSD which it claims is world’s smallest flash card and the SanDisk 2 GB miniSD card. Prices range from $120 to $200. Chan claimed the 125 million handsets with memory slots today will shortly grow to 500 million.
Chan opened the press conference touting SanDisk’s accomplishments in its 18-year history and as one of the fastest growing tech companies in the U.S., they are formidable. The Silicon Valley company is nearing $2 billion in revenues and will announce fourth quarter earnings on Jan. 26.
“We are the only company in the world that with the [ownership] rights to make every [flash] memory format in the world under our own brand name,” Chan said.
SanDisk Cruzer USB drive – U3 software – “The Cruzer Micro and Titanium raise the bar for USB flash drives,” said Carlos Gonzalez, senior director of SanDisk’s USB flash drive business unit. “These new drives offer a higher level of freedom and flexibility because they allow you to carry U3-compliant programs and content together on a single U3 smart drive and access them on most Windows-based PCs. The ability to bring your personal workspace with you is very convenient and a great way to boost your productivity when you’re on the go.”
SanDisk Cruzer micro drive – Portable storage – The new Cruzers are small, 1.875 x 0.75 inches (4.76 cm x 1.91 cm) and easily fit on a keychain. Each features a retractable USB port for protection from dust and damage. The Cruzer Micro easily slips into a pocket or purse or can be worn around the neck with the included lanyard. With capacities of up to 4GB, it can hold the equivalent up to five data CDs, the equivalent of approximately 2,800 floppy disks, or hours of digital music, video or other personal data.
SanDisk Cruzer Titanium – Durable and Speed – The Cruzer Titanium USB flash drive combines high performance with extreme ruggedness and durability. It has read and write speeds of 15MB/second, among the fastest available, for speedy data transfers of large files. To physically protect the valuable data of business and power users, its high-strength case is mechanically crush-proof to more than 2000 pounds. It is manufactured with an advanced titanium alloy from Liquidmetal Technologies that is pound-for-pound stronger than steel. The light weight, superior strength, hardness, high corrosion and wear resistance of this unique alloy make it ideal for the Cruzer Titanium.
U3 Smart – Security software – U3 Technology. U3 is a powerful new platform that offers a private, securely protected experience on any PC with Microsoft Windows XP or 2000. These smart drives will be able to launch a variety of U3-compatible (called “U3 Smart”) software programs, including anti-virus, security, synchronization, communications, audio, video, gaming and photo-editing, to name a few. The catalog of U3-compatible software is growing quickly.
SanDisk Cruzer preloaded software
– Skype for Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities
– Avast! Antivirus software
– SignUp Shield password vault
– CruzerSync, which synchronizes with Outlook data
SanDisk Cruzer Micro U3 drive – Skype communication – Rather than installing Skype on each computer to make phone calls, a consumer merely plugs the Cruzer Micro U3 drive into the USB port of a Web-connected PC and clicks on Skype from a program menu in the U3 Launchpad. It takes just moments for first-time users to set up a Skype caller name and password. Then, using a headset that connects to another USB port or to the computer’s microphone and earphone sockets, a consumer can make free calls to any other Skype user’s PC on the planet. With SkypeOut, calls to landlines and mobile phones also can be made for a fraction of the normal costs. (Cruzer customers will receive 30 free SkypeOut minutes for free PC to landline calls worldwide to any phone at any time)
SanDisk Cruzer USB flash drive – Windows and Macintosh – The Cruzer Micro and Titanium are “plug-and-play” with PCs and the Macintosh due to USB Mass Storage Class (MSC) compliance when used with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Mac OS 10.1.2+ and Mac OS 9.2.1+.
All pricing is in US dollars. Australian pricing is not yet available.
