SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2003--

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New Higher Performance and Highly Durable SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash and Extreme SD Cards Targeted at Advanced and Professional Photographers Operating under Severe Temperature Conditions
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SanDisk Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK) today introduced the SanDisk Extreme(TM) CompactFlash(R) and SD line of high performance, high durability digital film cards designed for professional photographers who demand the highest levels of reliability and performance under extreme conditions. The SanDisk Extreme cards deliver a minimum write speed of 9 megabytes per second (MB/sec.) and a minimum read speed of 10MB/sec. throughout their extended operating temperature range, making these the fastest flash memory cards in the world(1). These exceptionally fast write and read speeds are critical when shooting large numbers of high resolution images and transferring the images to a computer. SanDisk Extreme cards are exclusive to photo retailers in the North American market.

SanDisk Extreme cards are ideally suited for high performance digital cameras from Canon, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus and other companies, when operating in regions of extreme hot or cold weather conditions. The fast read speeds also allow very fast downloading of images from card to PC when connected to a SanDisk high-speed USB 2.0 compliant reader.

Josef Fogel, digital camera sales manager at B&H Photo, said, "The SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash and SD cards offer the highest level of reliability for our customers who are typically professional and advanced photographers. They expect the highest quality and performance and we are confident that the SanDisk Extreme cards, with their wide temperature range, rugged construction and high performance, will surpass their expectations."

Extended Operating Temperature Range For Highly Reliable Operation Under Extreme Environmental Conditions

For the utmost in reliability, SanDisk has used its expertise and more than a decade of experience in providing flash memory cards to the industrial market, to develop the SanDisk Extreme card, that features the industry's widest guaranteed operating temperature range to ensure flawless performance in extreme temperatures -- from well below freezing (minus 13 degrees F/minus 25 degrees C) to near boiling (185 degrees F/85 degrees C). For further protection against accidental drops or rough handling, each SanDisk Extreme CF card is ruggedized with a layer of heavy duty RTV silicone to withstand 3000 G-forces. These features are important since many professional photographers must shoot pictures in harsh environments and store their equipment under grueling conditions.

Fast Performance For Virtually All Digital Cameras

Performance for the SanDisk Extreme cards has been achieved through SanDisk's new high performance ARC-based microcontrollers, advanced firmware and high performance 0.13 micron NAND flash memory. While actual performance increases vary by camera model, improving the overall performance of the card leads to increased performance in all digital cameras, rather than optimizing the card to benefit only a specific handful of cameras.

"Our research has shown that the write speed of a digital film card is increasingly important to the professional photographer since it may mean the difference between capturing the shot or not," said Tanya Chuang, SanDisk's retail product marketing manager. "In addition, fast read speeds are becoming equally important since shaving precious time from transferring hundreds of megabytes of images to the computer can significantly improve workflow efficiency. The SanDisk Extreme cards are designed to provide the highest levels of performance."

Chuang added, "SanDisk Extreme cards are highly reliable and give professional photographers peace of mind when they know their digital film cards can handle sub-freezing temperatures to the blazing heat of a desert. Professional photographers who currently use the more delicate rotating storage drives that have a narrow operating temperature range will appreciate the vast improvement delivered with these SanDisk Extreme cards."

Each SanDisk Extreme card includes RescuePRO(TM) software to allow photographers to easily recover accidentally deleted images, lost digital images or data from SanDisk Extreme or any other CF- or SD-certified cards. RescuePRO is compatible with both Windows and Mac and requires no driver download or special card reader.

SanDisk Extreme cards have a dedicated, toll-free number for technical support calls and are backed with a lifetime guarantee. Each card is fully compatible and interchangeable with all CompactFlash or SD digital cameras, card readers and adapters, and includes a protective carrying case.

The SanDisk Extreme CF cards are available at retailers now in capacities of 256 and 512MB and 1 gigabyte, with suggested retail prices of $109.99, $229.99 and $439.99 respectively.

The 256MB SanDisk Extreme SD card is expected to ship in October with a suggested retail price of $134.99. The 512MB is expected to ship in November with a price of $299.99.