Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) today announced the HB288448E5  type 2 (5 mm thick) 
CompactFlash(TM) *1 (CF) with the industry's largest capacity of 448 Mbytes, and the 
HB2881000A5 type 2 (5 mm thick) PC-ATA card*2 with the industry's largest level 
capacity of a 1-Gbyte for use as large-capacity storage media for digital cameras and 
portable music players, and communication and industrial applications as a replacement 
for small hard disk drives (HDDs).  Sample shipments will begin in July 2000 in Japan.

These products achieve large capacity through the use of a Double Density Package 
(DDP) containing two Hitachi 256-Mbit flash memory chips.  The 448-Mbyte CF 
provides 7 hours, and the 1-Gbyte PC-ATA card 16 hours, of CD-quality recording and 
playback.  In addition, the maximum programming speed of 2 Mbytes/second has made it 
possible to cut the programming time for large volumes of data.
The HB288320E5 320-Mbyte type 2 CF and HB288256E5 256-Mbyte type 2 CF have 
also been developed concurrently, and sample shipments of these models will also begin 
in July 2000 in Japan.

Recently, the use of flash cards has increased dramatically as a storage medium in 
various kinds of portable devices and information products, and the rapid growth of the 
market for digital cameras, portable music players, and handheld PCs, in particular, has 
led to an increasing demand for CF and PC-ATA cards.  At the same time, the increasing 
capacity of flash memory has brought a growing demand for its use in place of the small 
HDDs previously used in the communication and industrial equipment fields.  In the 
point of  its numerous advantages over former HDDs, including less system maintenance, 
smaller size, lower power consumption, and excellent shock resistance, flash memory is 
replacing  HDDs in the 32- to 640-Mbyte capacity range.


To meet the needs of this flash memory market, Hitachi currently offers a lineup of
8- to 192-Mbyte type 1 (3.3 mm thick) CF products and 8- to 640-Mbyte PC-ATA cards. 
Hitachi has now developed the 448-/320-/256-Mbyte type 2 CF and 1-Gbyte PC-ATA 
flash cards in response to the demand for even greater capacity.

These flash cards incorporate HN29W25611 256-Mbit AND-type flash memories 
employing Hitachi's Multi Level Cell technology and 0.25um process.  A 512-Mbit 
capacity is provided through the use of a DDP (Double Density Package) containing two 
stacked HN29W25611 256-Mbit flash memory chips, enabling a PC-ATA capacity of 1 
Gbyte to be achieved by incorporating 16 of these packages.  Also, to increase CF 
capacity, a new 5.0 mm thick type 2 cards standard has been formulated by the CFA 
(CompactFlash? Association), as opposed to the previous 3.3 mm thick type 1 cards, 
enabling the industry's largest CF capacity of 448 Mbytes to be achieved by incorporating 
seven of the 512-Mbit capacity Double Density Packages described above.

The same Hitachi AND-type flash memory controller as used with previous products 
implements interleaved operation of multiple chips, enabling a maximum programming 
speed of 2-Mbyte/second to be achieved.  This makes it possible to cut the programming 
time for large volumes of data.
Future plans include the development of even larger-capacity flash memories, together 
with large-capacity flash cards incorporating these memories and new flash memory 
application products.

Notes:	1. CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation of the USA, and is licensed to 
           the CFA (CompactFlash(TM) Association).  Hitachi is a member of the CFA. 
	2. PC-ATA: PC card ATA specifications.  The ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) 
           specifications within the card specifications formulated by the PCMCIA (Personal 
           Computer Memory Card International Association).


< Applications >
External storage devices for industrial and communication applications 
Portable information devices, including handheld PCs and PDAs
Solid-state recorders
Digital cameras and camcorders


< Prices in Japan >	 
Part Number                                 Capacity            Sample Price      
   Type 2            HB288448E5             448-Mbytes           Open price
CompactFlash(TM)     HB288320E5             320-Mbytes   
                     HB288256E5             256-Mbytes                            
PC-ATA card          HB2881000A5            1-Gbyte              Open price       

* CompactFlash(TM): CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation and is licensed to 
  the CFA (CompactFlash(TM) Association).  Hitachi is a member of the CFA