The technological world is evolving every day. The market for Flash Memory is changing just as quickly. The term we use for products that go out of trend is “End of Line” or “EOL”. More and more flash memory products are going EOL, and smaller gigabyte storage is hard to find. You may remember when a 4GB flash drive was a high capacity drive. Read through to learn replacements for EOL products that we recommend.
How does a product go EOL?
Besides failure to perform, there are 4 main reasons a company might retire a product or service they offer. Sometimes, a lot of the reasons have to do with time or progression of technology. But there are different reasons a company might end the production of their commodity.
Market Decline
Sometimes, outside of the technology world, the market for a product can dry out. Some products are only meant to be purchased once and are not consumable, others people realize they never needed in the first place.
Competitive Pressure
The best way to advance a product line and move a market is competitive pressure. Unfortunately, the sacrifice made is often the product itself. Competitive pressure from business to business can end a product that isn’t making enough profit or is being outperformed by another company’s product.
New Tech
Probably the biggest reason a product would go EOL is the technology that it uses advances. Vinyl Records, Phone Booths, Highway Maps, Floppy disks, Pagers, DVDs, and most Light Bulbs have all been replaced or are being overrun by a newer technology. In some cases, old technology can coexist in a very minimized state with it’s successor. Postal mail and eMail are both actively used. But most products die out with the new product coming into the market.
End of a Technology
Finally, the end of a technology can be another reason that a product goes EOL. This is often a second step to new tech coming out. But what makes it different is that people who don’t adopt the new technology are forced to move on. The cassette tape is a great example. In 2010, Lexus produced the last car to have a factory installed cassette player. This forced people to stop listening to their cassette collections in their car, ending the cassette tape era.
Replacements for EOL Products
EBS sells a lot of flash memory. We are always keeping up with new products to have ready for you to help your business succeed. Here’s what we recommend from our best selling products in the past.
EOL: 8GB SanDisk Class 4 SD Card (SDSDB-008G-B35)
REPLACEMENT: 8GB SD EBS-8SD-U1
This card is a fast, durable SDHC card that is great for photographers, IT professionals, trail cameras, and more! This card is the same storage and is always available!
EOL: 8GB SanDisk Class 4 MicroSD Card (SDSDQM-008G-B35)
REPLACEMENT: 8GB TF EBS U1
8GB MicroSD Class 10 Everything But Stromboli Memory Card with Adapter. This card is ideal for picture and video recording, with the quality of Everything But Stromboli! This card is the same storage and is always available!
EOL: 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Blade Flash Drive (SDCZ50-008G-B35)
REPLACEMENT: 16GB FD Blade SDCZ50-016G-B35
Unfortunately, many manufacturers have discontinued smaller capacity flash memory. In 2021, most memory is 64GB and up. While you can’t get an 8GB capacity flash drive, SanDisk offers the same form factor with a 16GB capacity.
EOL Products and the Future
We are keeping our website up to date so that you can guarantee the product you are getting is in stock and at the best price. Finally, head over to our shop page where you can look at the best wholesale options for you or your company.