Can anyone tell me some important considerations about manufacturing
flash memory? Who has the most efficient processes? Will the big asian
manufacturers dominate this business? Do Sandisk and Lexar and other
pure-plays have sustainable competitive advantages? Who stands to gain
the most from flash memory in mobile phones, and other handheld
devices?

AZpectratio --

This is a pretty tough business to decipher and identify the specific
competitive differentiators that will cause one manufacturer or
another to emerge.  Some vendors (including both Lexar and SanDisk)
are spending heavily to develop retail distribution, as an example,
though it's never proven to be a successful strategy for semiconductor
manufacturers in the past.

A suggestion for you: visit the companies websites and take a detailed
look at their investor relations pages; their analysts presentations;
and listen to the quarterly earnings calls (many of which occurred
last week or are occurring this week).

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA