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Apple Signs Long-Term Deals With iPod Flash Memory Card Makers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 22, 2005 - 11:19am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple announced that it plans to invest $1.25 billion in the development of NAND flash memory for its iPod media players, having signed agreements with a group of flash memory producers -- Hynix, Intel, Micron, Samsung and Toshiba -- through the year 2010. Recent demand increases for NAND flash memory for portable consumer electronics devices like MP3 players have caused shortages among the world's manufacturers. Apple has now sold more than 30 million iPods, with its new Shuffle and Nano models relying on flash memory cards to store music. Some $500 million of Apple's investment will go to a new joint venture between Intel and Micron Technology; the two flash producers will themselves invest $5.2 billion in development of NAND flash memory for Apple. The Semiconductor Industry Association trade group expects the NAND flash memory market to grow 15.9% to $21 billion in 2006, reaching $35 billion by 2009.
tags: Deals | iPod | Apple | Memory Card |

Sony Car CD Player Includes USB Port for 1GB Flash Memory Card

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2005 - 4:30am.
Las Vegas - Sony Electronics on Tuesday introduced a car stereo receiver that features a USB port engineered into the faceplate, which can accept a 1GB flash memory card filled with digital music tracks loaded from a PC. The $350 Xplod MEX-1GP AM/FM receiver also plays CDs and MP3 CDs.
tags: Sony | CD | Player | 1GB | USB | Memory Card |

Memory Card Firm SanDisk Introduces Sansa Line of MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 4, 2005 - 3:04am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - SanDisk, a maker of flash memory storage products used in consumer electronics -- including Apple's iPod Nano -- on Tuesday introduced its own line of portable MP3 players. The Sansa m200 series includes models in 512MB ($79), 1GB ($119), 2GB ($159) and 4GB ($199) capacities. The devices, which are compatible with Microsoft-supported portable subscription services from Napster, Yahoo and RealNetworks, are slated to ship in November. RealNetworks said it will offer an $80 rebate on the devices -- essentially giving users the $79 model for free -- when they sign up for a six-month subscription to Rhapsody.
tags: SanDisk | MP3 Players | Memory Card | Sansa Line |

SanDisk, Motorola Team on New Tiny Memory Card for Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 27, 2004 - 7:26am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- SanDisk, a manufacturer of portable storage media, has announced the release of what it says is the world's smallest flash memory format, T-Flash, designed primarily for use in cell phones. Capable of storing data such as music, images and video, the fingernail-sized memory cards will be available in capacities of between 32MB and 128MB and will cost $14 to $39. Cell phone maker Motorola will be the first to feature T-Flash cards, in new handset models scheduled to hit the market in the second half of 2004.
tags: Motorola | SanDisk | Cell Phones | Memory Card |

Atlantic to Offer Prerecorded Albums on Cell Phone Memory Card Format

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2003 - 8:26am.
New York -- The Atlantic Group, a record label division of Time Warner that includes Atlantic, Lava Records and Nonesuch, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Fearless Entertainment to begin distributing prerecorded music on the MMC (MultiMedia Card), a postage stamp-sized recordable media used in cell phones and other portable devices. Fearless Entertainment created a compilation of Atlantic and Lava artists' songs for a promotional MMC that will be distributed with new Nokia 3300 handsets. The companies will also distribute four full-length albums by the same Atlantic and Lava artists in MMC format, which will be sold exclusively at AT&T Wireless stores. The releases mark the first albums to be released by a major label using the format, which holds up to one hour of music. "With the launch of the prerecorded MMC for music releases, we are introducing another cutting- edge, high-quality digital experience which makes our artists and their music an integral part of the listener's daily life," said Lee Stimmel, senior vice president of strategic marketing and business development for Atlantic.
tags: Cell Phone | Memory Card | Albums | Atlantic | Prerecorded |