Kingston and PNY using cheaper components after good reviews
This sort of thing isn't unique to the storage business. In the auto industry, they call it "decontenting":http://www.autoweek.com/car-shopping/articles/2012/01/decont...... but it works pretty much the same way: early models of a particular car, the ones that make that car's reputation, come loaded with all sorts of nice touches. Then as time passes the manufacturer slowly strips those touches out, replacing them with cheaper alternatives or just dropping them altogether. The price of the car stays the same, though, so the manufacturer gets to keep the difference as extra profit. (Or the price actually goes up, when the dropped features that used to be standard become optional add-ons instead.)