Sansa Nation

SanDisk shares rose 25% today due to speculation that Toshiba Corp. will be buying out SanDisk.  SanDisk shares ended the day at $9.02. Prior to today, there were already rumors circulating around that Toshiba, which is Japan’s largest chip maker. Those initial rumors slowly diminished, but now they have resurfaced. Over a month ago, Sandisk stocks fell when Samsung decided to forego their bid to buy SanDisk. Many people questioned the stability of the SanDisk company due to the declining economy and the market glut in NAND Flash memory products. Although the speculation has raise the share of SanDisk, many analysts still believe that Toshiba does not have the financial backing to make such a bid for SanDisk. SanDisk Corp. has yet to give a comment on the situation.

- Geoff

[Source: MarketWatch]

That 8GB SanDisk MicroSD card not doing it for you? Well don’t worry because SanDisk has a 128GB MicroSD card on the way, that that’s right, 128GB! SanDisk has been marketing their MicroSD cards for the cell phone and MP3 market which accounted for about $1.4 billion in revenue for SanDisk in 2007 alone. Many cell phones have expansion slots for MicroSD cards and many more are expected to include this feature in the future. 128GB is about how most modern notebook computers come with, but SanDisk hopes to bring that storage capacity to cell phones.

-Ray

[Source: physorg]

For all who were kept in the dark, SanDisk was currently in a legal battle with Alcatel-Lucent, one of the world’s leaders in telecommunications. SanDisk was suing Alcatel-Lucent over one of their patents, and Alcatel-Lucent countered with claims asking SanDisk for royalties over their MP3 players. The case was put on hold because Alcatel-Lucent is currently fighting a similar case with Microsoft. Today, both Alcatel-Lucent and SanDisk filed a joint request to drop the lawsuit at the San Jose Federal Court. Milpitas-based SanDisk has stated that their media players, such as the Connect, Clip, View, Fuze, SlotMusic, etc. don’t use the process that is covered by the Alcatel-Lucent patent. Alcatel-Lucent agreed “not to sue or otherwise seek to hold SanDisk liable” for infringement of the patent.

- Geoff

[Source: MercuryNews]

SanDisk released an upgraded version of their Sansa Clip MP3 player, they bumped the Sansa Clip to 8GB and increased battery life to 15 hours. The new and improved Sansa Clip will go for $99. The Sansa Clip supports MP3, WMA, WAV as well as Audible audio book files. It also features an FM radio and well as a voice recorder and support for music download programs like Napster and Rhapsody. Check out the new Sansa Clip online or at your local retailer.

-Ray

[Source: cnet]

For those who need a small music playing the device while at the gym or on the go many buy the Apple iPod Shuffle, but why? There is no screen and the storage capacity is pretty small. Many reviewers say the alternative to the iPod Shuffle, the Sansa Clip, is the way to go. It is similar to the iPod Shuffle in that it’s small in size and can clip onto your belt or clothing. It has one main advantage however, a screen! It also has more storage capacity and a built-in FM tuner. It is $30 more than an iPod Shuffle but the increased storage capacity alone makes the $99 Sansa Clip a better deal.

-Ray

Sansa do get a lot of attention from consumers. Some say that the SanDisk Sansa players are irrelevant in the MP3 market, but it does not seem the case. According to reports, a man in a Boston Red Sox cap in Concord, New Hampshire stole a $100 Sansa MP3 player and punched the security in the process. More details about the robbery have yet to be announced, but it happened on November 7 at 2:05pm. They must do nothing around Concord, New Hampshire if a petty theft makes the news. But oh well, its Sansa News.

- Geoff

[Source: