London, UK—Based on its recent global memory card market report, Technavio announced the top eight vendors in the category. The research report, which projects through 2021, also lists seven other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period.
Moreover, Technavio believes important factors that impede market growth are enhanced built-in memory capacity in smartphones and also the proliferation of the cloud. In addition, the report indicates that the decrease in the average selling price of memory cards contributes to market deceleration.
However, technology advances like faster read/write speed, enhanced durability, smaller form factors and improved cost efficiency help sustain the use of memory cards in smartphones and cameras.
Global Memory Card Market Overview
Research analysis on the global memory card market identifies the rising requirement for storage devices in cameras and camcorders as one of the major factors having a positive impact on growth prospects.
In addition, with the rise in the number of social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, consumers are learning tips to improve their photography skills to gain “likes.” Technavio believes this is driving the demand for high-pixel digital cameras and camcorders. Moreover, since the built-in memory in these imaging devices hold only a few best-quality shots, this further drives the need for a memory card to store images. As a result, Technavio’s market research analysts predict this category will post revenue of about $9 billion by 2021.
The memory card category consists of players that are well established globally. However, apart from storage capacity, compatibility and reliability of stored data, the vendors cannot showcase any other major variation in their products, according to Technavio.
“Vendors supply memory cards in a highly customized manner to gain an edge over competitors in terms of market share,” explained Chetan Mohan, an industry expert at Technavio for embedded systems. “For instance, memory cards with storage capacities ranging from megabytes to gigabytes are sold in the market. Vendors are interested in providing extremely high-capacity cards with high data-transfer rates.”
Market Segmentation by Card Type
The memory card market is segmented into the follow solutions.
• Multimedia
• Memory Stick
• CompactFlash
• SD (SecureDigital)
According to Technavio’s research, the SD card segment held the maximum shares of the market during 2016. “This segment will retain its lead due to the higher internal memory and faster read/write speed offered for storing UHD content in cameras and camcorders,” the report states. SD cards are also widely used in smartphones, media players and gaming consoles, which additionally drives growth of this segment.
Top Eight Memory Card Vendors
SanDisk
SanDisk manufactures and distributes hardware storage products. It offers flash storage cards for a broad range of electronic systems and digital devices. Technologies used for developing flash storage card products include flash memory, controller and also firmware. The company provides its products to the mobile phone, consumer electronics, photo-imaging and computing markets.
Kingston Technology
Kingston Technology is one of the top manufacturers of memory modules, such as printed circuit boards with dynamic RAM. These modules increase the speed and capacity of computers and printers. The company focuses on capitalizing potential markets by developing better products following a sustainable growth strategy. In the consumer segment, it offers USB drives, photo/video SD cards, microSD cards and card readers.
Lexar (Micron Consumer Products Group)
Lexar is a fully owned subsidiary of Micron Consumer Products Group. Micron is the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the world. Lexar’s product lineup includes memory cards, USB flash drives, readers and storage devices for original equipment manufacturers and retailers.
ADATA Technology
ADATA Technology is a Taiwanese storage and memory device manufacturer. Its product portfolio includes USB drives, dynamic RAM modules as well as memory cards. It also caters to the express card, solid-state drive (SSD) and digital frame markets.
Transcend Information
Transcend Information designs, develops, manufactures and sells memory modules, flash cards, USB drives, external hard drives, multimedia products as well as accessories. The company also makes consumer products like memory cards, adapters, portable devices, USB flash drives, external hard drives, SSDs, digital photo frames, memory modules, digital music players, card readers and wireless as well as multimedia products.
Samsung Group
Samsung is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers and the leading electronics company in South Korea. A subsidiary of Samsung Group, Samsung Electronics is a pioneer in electronic products. It manufactures consumer devices that include DVD players, digital cameras, TVs, color monitors, computers, printers and LCD panels. It offers semiconductors like static RAM, dynamic RAM, display drivers and also flash memory.
Sony
Sony is a major vendor in the memory card market. It focuses on consumer and professional electronics in divisions such as entertainment, gaming and financial service. It is among the top 20 worldwide semiconductor sales leaders. Sony has segmented itself into three sectors: growth drivers; stable profit generators; and laggards.
Toshiba
Toshiba is involved in the R&D, sales and manufacture of electronic as well as electric products. It sells storage devices under the electronic devices business domain. The company’s technology, product diversification and broad customer portfolio enabled it to become one of the leading players in the global memory card market. One of the major growth strategies of the company is continuously to expand its product portfolio. Toshiba primarily focuses on its R&D and engineering. Moreover, it constantly invests to leverage its technology for better sales.
Seven other prominent vendors in the market identified by Technavio are Cactus Technologies, Delkin Devices, Eyefi, KingMax Technology, PNY Technologies, Starline International Group and Team Group.
Technavio
Technavio is a global technology research and advisory company. Its research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends. The company’s goal is to provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities as well as develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.
With more than 500 specialized analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of 10,000+ reports covering 800 technologies and spanning 50 countries. Furthermore, their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies. technavio.com
