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SanDisk launches Shoot & Store cards in Europe
Mark Peters : September 29th 2004 - 09:00 CET
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 SanDisk today announced that it is introducing its Shoot & Store line of budget-priced flash memory cards in Europe through a variety of stores that offer film and processing services. The announcement was made during a press conference at Photokina 2004, where SanDisk is exhibiting at Hall 1.2, Aisle A, Booth 059 of the Cologne Exhibition Center. The cards, which are rewritable and function just like standard cards, are offered in capacities of 32 megabytes (MB), which holds up to 50 photos, and 64MB, which holds up to 100 photos, when used at a resolution setting of 1 megapixel (Actual number of photos may vary depending upon camera model, resolution and compression).
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 Shoot & Store is aimed at consumers who want the convenience of leaving their flash cards with professional photo finishers, as they were accustomed to doing with traditional analog film, or who don't have time or inclination to download their images to a computer or burn them to a disk. The line is sold in four formats: CompactFlash, SD, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card.
Shoot & Store cards started shipping to the United Kingdom this month and by October will be sent to other countries in Europe. Retail channels vary from country to country, but range from photo specialty stores to large discount department stores. In the United States, the line is offered in more than 10,000 stores, including major drug stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and large, value-oriented department stores.
In the U.S., suggested retail prices range from $9.99 for the 32MB card to $14.99 for the 64MB card. European prices are expected to range from approximately ?10 for 32MB to approximately ?15 for 64MB, both excluding VAT.
With their affordable low prices and convenient availability, the cards can be viewed as "consumable" - just like traditional 35millimeter analog film - and used for archiving digital pictures. Consumers can delete unwanted images, use the cards as "digital negatives" to permanently store treasured images just as in the "old shoe box" system, and purchase new cards when travelling. They can also leave their cards with one-hour photo finishers and order prints in the same way they’ve been doing with rolls of film. Digital images on Shoot & Store cards will not deteriorate over time and are expected to last indefinitely as long as the cards are kept in a dry place at room temperature.
To make it easier for consumers to determine the number of images they might get with a Shoot & Store card, the packages and card labels give approximate capacities. For instance, a 64MB card offers up to 100 images at a resolution of 1 megapixel and 11 images at 5 Megapixels (Actual number of photos may vary depending upon camera model, resolution and compression). |
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