In the U.S With Unit Volumes Growing, Flash Media is Becoming
Increasingly Inexpensive and Offers the Fast Read/Write Capabilities
of a Hard Drive under the USB 2.0 Technology--a Standard on PCs in
2005

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 2005--Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27422) has announced the
addition of Flash Memory and Other Removable Data Storage in the
United States to their offering.


Flash media and other removable data storage products continue to grow
alongside technological innovations in the media and an increasing
consumer demand for data capacity. Flash media and removable storage
products have been quickly adopted because the technology represents a
giant technological step forward over predecessors like hard drives,
CDs and floppy disks. The portability of these devices is also a
benefit, particularly as flash media contain no moving parts. With
unit volumes growing, flash media is becoming increasingly
inexpensive, and offers the fast read/write capabilities of a hard
drive under the USB 2.0 technology--a standard on PCs in 2005.

Flash memory, furthermore, has partially grow in tandem with--and has
partially enabled--the introduction of popular consumer products such
as digital cameras, portable music (MP3) players, mobile handsets,
video games, PDAs, further driving sales of the technology. Fueled by
new enhancements and innovations, these and other new consumer
products are expected to enjoy continued robust growth through 2010,
creating additional demand for flash and other removable storage
media.

As flash media and other removable storage media can be used
interchangeably, the growth of the flash media market has an obvious
impact on other technologies such as writeable CD and DVD technology.

The flash market is composed of a number of different types of
products, including:

USB Drives: Durable, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive, USB
drives allow consumers to store data and transfer information between
computers at different locations using the computers built in USB
port.

Compact Flash Cards: About the size of a matchbook and weighing half
an ounce, compact flash Cards are used to store data from digital
cameras, digital music players, desktop computers, handheld PCs,
personal communicators, handheld PCs, digital voice recorders, and
photo printers.

Memory Stick: Created by Sony licensed to a select group of consumer
electronics manufacturers, the proprietary platform is used to store
and transfer data among compatible products, including digital
cameras, mobile phones, music players, and notebook computers. Memory
Stick technology has been licensed by Sony to Aiwa, Kenwood, Pioneer,
Sharp, and Sanyo.

Micro Hard Drives: Ultra-small hard drives used in digital cameras,
notebook PCs, digital media players, pocket PCs and other portable
devices.

MultiMedia Cards: About the size of a postage stamp, MultiMedia memory
is an small, high storage solution used with MP3 music players,
digital video devices, cellular phones, and global positioning
systems. The technology was created by SanDisk Corporation and Siemens
AG/Infineon Technologies.

Secure Digital Cards: Developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, and Toshiba,
the Secure Digital card enables portable storage between and for car
navigation systems, cellular phones, PDAs, smartphones, digital
cameras, music players, camcorders, and personal computers. It
features a high data transfer rate, low battery consumption, and is
about the size of a postage stamp. The technology also supports
encryption capabilities for protected content to ensure secure
distribution of copyrighted material, such as digital music, video,
and financial transactions.

SmartMedia Cards: About half the size of a business card, the
technology provides users with fast read/write speeds, SmartMedia
cards are high-performance devices and are typically used in
camcorders, voice recorders, PCs, PDAs, MP3 players, and digital
cameras.

The content in this report also discusses the host technology for the
removable media, such as digital cameras, PDAs, and other devices in
order to provide a complete perspective on how the technology is used.
However, these devices are not included in market size data or
forecast estimates.

Coverage of other media formats, such as DVD, CD and external hard
drive technology are included in this report, but are not the focus,
as the analysis incorporates these devices as they are relevant to
understanding consumer uptake of flash media devices.

Companies Mentioned:

-- Best Buy

-- Circuit City

-- RadioShack

-- Wal-Mart

-- Target

-- CompUSA/Good Guys

-- Dell

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27422.