Digital storage makers SanDisk unveiled their latest products to be released for the African market. The company, who makes USB flash drives, Solid State hard drives and memory cards, has a 27% USB market share in South Africa and enjoys a 71% share in imaging cards in the country.
During a press briefing Brad Bennett, SanDisk’s Head of Marketing for Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa regions said that the South African market will heavily focus on USB drives.
“A lot of focus will be put on USB and image cards going forward. We have also expanded our presence in Egypt and Kenya, and started to drive that market now, because there is a big demand for flash drives in these markets,” he said. He also added that SanDisk globally ships over two million units on a daily basis.
The newest products that SanDisk will release in Africa include:
* Cruzer Pop
The Pop is aimed at the younger generation and features a flash drive that pops open in the middle of the unit. At the moment it features colourful designs, such as splashes of paint or plain red, but more designs
* Cruzer Glide
The Cruzer Glide is for everyday and business use and comes in capacities up to 128GB. It has a sleek black and red design, with a nub that is pushed forward to expose the business end of the unit.
* Cruzer Facet
The Facet is a bit bolder, and definitely for fashion-conscious data users. In certain markets it will be available with capacities up to 32GB, and features a unique, faceted design and vibrant blue, red or silver finish.
* Ultra Android products
The latest memory cards for Android-based smartphones have been optimised for the OS, making it ideal for performance-orientated smartphone and tablet users. The cards include SanDisk Memory Zone, which is an Android memory manager, and is available from 4GB up to 64GB. It’s also UHS compatible, has faster writing speeds (up to 30MB/s), and can back up data.
* Extreme Pro Mobile
The Extreme Pro Mobile is the world’s fastest micro SDHC card, and is perfect for uninterrupted memory-intensive activities such as app usage, multi-tasking, and video recording. It makes use of UHS-I data speeds of up to 95MB/s, can record in Full HD and 3-D video and is shock and waterproof.
“Two years ago SanDisk had only four products, but now we have over 13 products in the market. We have seen a lot of success with the Edge and Blade models, but the new products will give users exactly what they are looking for,” Bennett concluded.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
