SanDisk to Supply Compaq With Secure Digital Cards for Compaq's New iPAQ Pocket PC

Business Wire, Oct 4, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2001

SanDisk Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK) today announced that it will supply Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE:CPQ) with Secure Digital (SD) flash memory cards for the new H3800 member of the iPAQ Pocket PC family. The new iPAQ Pocket PC was introduced earlier today at the Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 launch in San Francisco. Compaq will offer the cards as an optional accessory.

The new iPAQ Pocket PC H3800 series features a standard SD memory card slot for virtually unlimited memory expansion. An expansion slot for removable SD cards is included so customers have an expandable storage option for data, backup files, digital music and other valuable content such as e-books, e-maps and video. Due to the broad acceptance of SD media, the cards can be shared among a variety of SD-enabled products, such as printers, digital cameras and MP3 players. More than 90 products have been introduced with slots for SD cards.

Compaq's expansion-card slot technology adds greatly to the flexibility of the iPAQ Pocket PC platform by providing the means to add future expansion modules, such as modems, Bluetooth, GPS, digital cameras, barcode scanners and MP3 players.

Cindy Box, Compaq's director of marketing for iPAQ Mobile Solutions, said, "The SD card has several characteristics that made it the best choice for our iPAQ Pocket PC expansion slot. These include its small size, broad adoption as an industry standard, power efficiency, low cost and fast transfer rates."

Nelson Chan, senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales at SanDisk, said, "The new addition to Compaq's iPAQ Pocket PC family will be very exciting for consumers, and I am proud of the relationship we have with Compaq. This is a thrilling moment for the handheld market and adds greatly to the momentum for the SD card as a universal card standard."

SD Card Background

The postage stamp-size SD card is available in 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128MB versions, with plans for significantly higher capacities in the future. Proprietary security functions have also been incorporated into the SD card that facilitate the secure exchange of content between host devices and the card. The security technology has been designed to comply with the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), making it an ideal solution for the transfer of digital content such as music and books.

The SD Memory Card was introduced in August, 1999, by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC), best known by its Panasonic brand name, SanDisk and Toshiba Corp. The SD Association, which already has more than 300 member companies, is an industry-wide association created to set industry standards for the card and promote its wide acceptance in digital applications including Internet music players, Internet appliances, cellular phones, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, handheld computers, automotive systems, set-top boxes and other products.

SanDisk Corporation, the world's largest supplier of flash data storage products, designs, manufactures and markets industry-standard, solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products using its patented, high density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale, CA.

The matters discussed in this news release contain forward looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties as described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the company's annual report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

All trade names are either registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

SanDisk's web site is located at http://www.sandisk.com.