SanDisk Announces CompactFlash Now Supported by Microsoft Windows CE Operating System
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — January 27, 1997 — CompactFlash (CF), the small form factor flash storage card developed by SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) and supported by the rapidly growing membership of the CompactFlash Association, has received a boost with the announcement that the new Microsoft Windows CE operating system for handheld PCs supports CompactFlash for removable flash data storage.
The announcement means that CompactFlash storage cards produced by SanDisk will be "plug and play" in handheld PCs (HPCs) that use Windows CE. Windows CE also supports SanDisk's Type II PC Cards and all other SanDisk storage products. "We are pleased to have SanDisk committed to supporting our Windows CE platform," said Jim Floyd, Handheld product manager, PCs, consumer appliance group, at Microsoft.
"Microsoft has included support for CompactFlash in Windows CE because CompactFlash uses the industry-standard ATA storage interface which is an integral part of nearly all handheld PCs in production or being developed today."
Leon Malmed, SanDisk senior vice president of marketing and sales, said: "Because of this built-in CF support in Windows CE, users and OEMs won't need to develop and load special software drivers to install and use their CompactFlash cards. Since its introduction in October 1994, CompactFlash has become the de facto global standard for small form factor storage cards.
"The Microsoft inclusion of CF support in Windows CE is further validation of CompactFlash. SanDisk's CompactFlash cards currently are available in several capacities including 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20MB. The base prices of handheld PCs with Windows CE can be minimized because the units can be sold with as little as 2MB of internal memory. Then consumers can later purchase CF cards which both expand the memory and offer removable backup capability.
"With their ATA compatibility, CF cards also are compatible with the film being used in most digital cameras which means that images captured on a CF card in a digital camera can be easily moved to a Windows CE computer and be viewed on its display."
CompactFlash cards, and other SanDisk flash storage products, use the industry standard ATA (AT Attachment) interface, the mobile equivalent of the IDE disk drive storage interface for desktop PCs. The ATA standard is supported by most system manufacturers including Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Dell, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Apple and by numerous operating systems including Windows 95, OS/2, Apple System 7, UNIX, GEOS and NEC DOS.
CompactFlash cards, which weigh a half ounce and are the size of a matchbook, are very rugged and reliable and are based on solid-state flash semiconductor technology. They are supported by the 61-member companies of the CompactFlash Association.
SanDisk Corp., the world's largest supplier of flash data storage products, designs, manufacturers and markets industry-standard, solid-state data, image and audio storage products using proprietary, high density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk has strategic alliances with Seagate Technology, Matsushita Electronics Corp., NEC Corp. and LG Semicon. Seagate holds a 25 percent equity stake in SanDisk.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com .
NOTE TO EDITORS: CompactFlash and CF are trademarks of SanDisk Corp. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
CONTACT:
SanDisk Corp., Sunnyvale
Nelson Chan, 408/542-0456
Bob Goligoski, 408/542-0463