Flash Memory Settlement – Just How Much Are You Saving?
If you’ve purchased a Flash Memory device manufactured, branded, or sold by SanDisk, Lexar Media, PNY Technologies Inc, Fujifilm or Kodak, I hate to say it but you’ve been duped. Well, that’s what the plaintiffs of the Flash Memory Settlement case feel. They alleged that defendants overstate the useable storage capacity by about 4%. The companies marketed the memory capacity of the products by assuming that 1MB equals 1 million bytes and 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. The plaintiffs defined 1MB as equal to 1,048,576 bytes, and 1GB is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes. So, the 256MB Flash Memory only has 244MB capacity. That leaves you 12MB less capacity that could’ve been used to store 3 songs or a couple of homebrew games, or just one huge office document.
If that’s really the case, then buying a cheaper brand doesn’t really constitute big savings. When you think about it, you’re just paying a lower price for a storage capacity that’s lower than what you are led to believe. So, where’s the savings? You can do the math and come up with the price per MB and end up with a slightly lower price than the popular brands, but in the end, there’s still nagging feeling that you’ve been had. If it’s any consolation, you can receive a refund of 5% of the price you paid for the Flash Memory device, or opt for a 10% discount for a new device. That is if the settlement agreement is approved by the court.
If you’ve purchased a Flash Memory device manufactured, branded, or sold by SanDisk, Lexar Media, PNY Technologies Inc, Fujifilm or Kodak, I hate to say it but you’ve been duped. Well, that’s what the plaintiffs of the Flash Memory Settlement case feel. They alleged that defendants overstate the useable storage capacity by about 4%. The companies marketed the memory capacity of the products by assuming that 1MB equals 1 million bytes and 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. The plaintiffs defined 1MB as equal to 1,048,576 bytes, and 1GB is equal to 1,073,741,824 bytes. So, the 256MB Flash Memory only has 244MB capacity. That leaves you 12MB less capacity that could’ve been used to store 3 songs or a couple of homebrew games, or just one huge office document.
If that’s really the case, then buying a cheaper brand doesn’t really constitute big savings. When you think about it, you’re just paying a lower price for a storage capacity that’s lower than what you are led to believe. So, where’s the savings? You can do the math and come up with the price per MB and end up with a slightly lower price than the popular brands, but in the end, there’s still nagging feeling that you’ve been had. If it’s any consolation, you can receive a refund of 5% of the price you paid for the Flash Memory device, or opt for a 10% discount for a new device. That is if the settlement agreement is approved by the court.
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