Storage: pplies Thomson With 32MB CompactFlash Memory Card to Bundle With New RCA LYRA Personal Digital Audio Player. Worrld's First CompactFlash Based Product or the Internet Music Player Market - Product Announcement

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, May 10, 1999

SanDisk Corporation announced Monday that it will supply Thomson Consumer Electronics with its 32 megabyte (MB) CompactFlash (CF) memory card for use with the new RCA LYRA personal digital audio player, the world's first CompactFlash based product for the Internet music player market.

"We are pleased to be a hardware partner with Thomson, one of the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers," said Ed Cuellar, product manager at SanDisk. "This is a tremendous endorsement for our CompactFlash memory cards. As SanDisk's flash memory has provided a solid-state storage solution for major digital camera and handheld PC manufacturers, it is now providing the same kind of solution for digital audio manufacturers with the emergence of the portable Internet music player market."

The new RCA LYRA personal digital audio player is a pocket-sized digital audio player which allows consumers to play back near CD quality music compressed in MP3 and Real Networks G2 formats. The RCA LYRA player operates on two "AA" batteries that provide up to 20 hours of continuous playback. A backlit 6-line alphanumeric display includes a table of contents for all songs stored on SanDisk's 32MB CompactFlash memory card.

The RCA LYRA player will be available at retail in the beginning of the third quarter this year. The price is yet to be determined. A parallel port reader/writer for fast and convenient downloading of music to the CompactFlash memory card, is also included with the sale of each RCA LYRA personal digital audio player sold.

Tim DiGioia, business manager, Advanced Audio at Thomson Consumer Electronics, said, "We chose SanDisk as a hardware partner for the new LYRA personal digital audio player because of their flash technology leadership, ability to deliver large volumes, product compatibility and quality. By choosing SanDisk's CompactFlash memory cards, consumers have the flexibility to increase capacity up to 96MB for over one and a half hours of playing time. SanDisk will introduce even larger capacities in both CompactFlash Type I and Type II form factors in the near future."

SanDisk CompactFlash memory cards are available at more than 7000 retail stores worldwide. SanDisk also sells products through an extensive worldwide industrial distribution network. SanDisk his shipping a wide range of CF capacities between 4 and 96MB. Its 160MB CompactFlash Type II memory card will be shipping in the third quarter of this year.

DiGioia added, "CompactFlash already has the largest installed base of more than 3 million units which are primarily used as film for digital cameras. Those same CF cards can be used with the new LYRA personal digital audio player."

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.