SanDisk has an innovative approach to lowering costs on new memory products

SanDisk will soon offer read-only memory cards in an effort to rejuvenate its business and expand its product line. The read-only cards, which SanDisk has currently not officially announced yet, will be able to last and store data for over 100 years. The new product category, according to PC Magazine, is expected to cost less than existing flash disks and will serve a variety of purposes and uses. The long lifespan of the products will make them ideal candidates for archival use. In addition, the new cards will also be used with digital cameras as low-cost memory cards that can easily be replaced.

Samsung is purporting the cards as the "new digital film." SanDisk executives claim the new memory cards, which use "3D memory,” are currently being tested by a single retailer. Other retailers, however, including Wal-Mart and Walgreen's are also enthusiastic about the new technology because it will help bring customers back to their in-store photo development services, a business which has been severely impaired by the rise of digital cameras. SanDisk seems to also have this in mind, as PC Magazine reports Greg Rhine, president of SanDisk worldwide sales, quoted as saying, "It eliminates the computer from the equation. It doesn't need the computer for usage. You shoot it once, develop it, and then store it.

It's permanently stored on the card, and not rewriteable." The new cards come at a time when SanDisk has begun hitting turbulence in its business operations. Recently, SanDisk announced that it would be slashing jobs in order to make the company more competitive. Despite this, SanDisk still leads the market in retail flash memory, boasting over 50 percent market share in all but one month of 2006. The 3D memory technology SanDisk refers to is likely similar to the technology announced last year by Samsung, though NEC has also made similar claims. Samsung is a large manufacturing partner with SanDisk.