Editorial Contacts:
Ann Barlow
Peppercom
212-931-6112
abarlow@peppercom.com

John P. Burnham
SDA/Panasonic201-348-7850
burnhamj@us.panasonic.com

Ray Creech
SD Card Association

831-636-7322
rcreech@sdcard.com

SD LEADS FLASH MEMORY INDUSTRY INTO 2004
DOMINATING MARKET SHARE AT 41.8 PERCENTSD Emerges as De Facto Standard and Builds on Broad Product Selection,
Strong Industry Support and Superior Technology
LAS VEGAS (January 8-11, 2004)

The SD Memory Card will demonstrate its

growing format dominance in 2004 as SD Card Association (SDA) member
companies introduce a wide variety of exciting new SD-enabled products at the 2004
International CES this week. Since its introduction, there have been 1,700 innovative
SD-enabled products brought to market, helping SD Memory Card sales surpass thoseof CompactFlash and claim a dominant 41.8 percent marketshare in November 2003,
according to sales data from The NPD Group. This year, new product offerings -- fromsuch leading companies as Panasonic, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and others -underscore these great strides made by the SD Memory Card in 2003.
“The key to SD’s growth lies not just in the format’s superior technology, but inthe ability of SDA member companies to provide consumers with products that enrichtheir personal and business lives,” said Ray Creech, President of the SD Card
Association. “We foresee SD continuing to grow, as even more products are added tolist of SD-enabled devices, many at this year’s International CES.“With more than 660 member companies supporting the format consumers canchoose from a wide array of products – including digital still cameras, camcorders, cell
phones ,MP3 players, laptop and handheld computers, and printers -- that let themquickly and easily store, transport and share documents, images and other content with

Page 2compatible devices. A wide variety of such devices will be showcased during 2004
International CES at the SDA Pavilion, Booth #15115, Central Hall, Las Vegas
Convention Center from January 8-11, 2004.

In November 2003, SD Memory Card controlled the top spot with 41.8 percent othe U.S. flash memory market, compared to 26.5 percent for the CompactFlash Card.
Memory Stick was third with 16.3 percent in November. According to leading analysts,
this news is not unexpected. In a July 2003 report by analyst firm IDC, it was projectedthat SD would rise to a 50% market share by 2005, and to 56.6% market share by 2007
to become the industry standard.

Analyst research firm Gartner also sees SD

becoming the dominant format as stated their August 2003 report, ”Worldwide Flash
Card Market History and Forecast Trends, 2001-2007", saying that SD's ability to meetthe needs of all applications from the point of view of size, performance, and security
are its greatest strengths.
“The developers of the SD technology envisioned a media that would enableconsumers to capture, store and move their favorite pictures, video and otherinformation quickly and easily,” said John P. Burnham, director, strategic alliance andbusiness development group for Panasonic and chair of the U.S. Marketing Committeeof the SD Card Association. “The fact that SD has become the number-one form offlash media means that we're achieving this vision. Panasonic and all the SDA
members are proud of this milestone and of helping consumers maximize theenjoyment and use of their consumer electronics.”###About the SDA
The SD Association (SDA) is an open industry standards organization established inJanuary 2000 by Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), SanDisk and Toshiba, and issupported by a consortium of over 660 companies. The SDA’s mission is to set
industry standards and promote SD Memory Card’s wide acceptance in a variety ofapplications. The SD Card is a highly sophisticated memory device about the size of a
postage stamp. SD stands to revolutionize information, entertainment andcommunications by putting advanced digital storage technology quite literally at users’
fingertips. SD Card standards are currently being built into a wide range of new digitalproducts such as cellular phones, audio players, automotive multimedia systems,
handheld PC’s and video and digital still cameras.

Page 3The Association’s Web site can be reached at www.sdcard.org for more information
about SDA membership, applications usage, member companies and upcoming
meetings. Parties interested in joining the SDA are encouraged to visit the Web site orcontact SDA President Ray Creech directly at 831-636-7322 or rcreech@sdcard.org.