Features - Storage Innovations:

IOMEGA UNVEILS PORTABLE STORAGE FOR NEW GENERATION OF DEVICES

Iomega Corp, a global leader in data storage, announced that its new Iomega Digital Capture Technology (DCT), which enables future consumer electronics products to use matchbook-sized 1.5GB disks for storage, will debut in prototype DCT-based products at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Iomega DCT technology will give consumer electronics companies the ability to break new ground in go-anywhere digital entertainment. The low-cost, highcapacity portable disks are ideal for capturing, viewing, archiving, sharing and managing digital audio and video files and other data easily. Camcorders, PDAs, audio and video players, televisions and personal video recorders are among the target applications for the new storage platform.

Iomega's DCT technology is now being evaluated by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers. The first consumer electronics products to incorporate Iomega DCT technology are planned for introduction in the second half of 2004. In addition, Iomega plans to introduce a DCT-based credit-card sized PC Card drive, an external USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed USB) drive, and an OEM drive.

DCT: Ideal Storage For Portable Electronic Devices

"The DCT storage solution is small, robust, energy efficient and significantly more affordable than flash-based solutions," said Werner Heid, president and CEO of Iomega Corp. "DCT drives have a slim form factor that can fit anywhere, and they have an ATA interface that is easy to engineer into new devices. Iomega's design goal with DCT is to make it easy and economical for consumers to share inexpensive disks and move data between popular entertainment devices and their PCs."

DCT Demonstration Products

Working DCT prototype products on display at Iomega's meeting space during CES will include a camcorder, PVR (personal video recorder), MP3 player, portable video capture and playback device, conventional TV with DCT compatibility, and external USB drives for PCs, as well as a DCT-based PC Card Drive for tablet PCs.

Why DCT? Consumer Electronics And The Storage Dilemma

Each of the four major media types in use today -- hard drives, tape, optical discs and solid state memory -- has limitations of cost, size, power usage or durability. Worse, consumers typically need a different storage format for each device. For anyone who just wants to share data easily, the proliferation of incompatible formats is a storage dilemma that drives up costs, slows adoption rates and frustrates users.

The DCT Solution

The DCT drive provides a simple alternative: a rugged, easy-to-use, and cost-effective drive that delivers true data portability among digital devices.

No other technology can boast as many consumer-friendly advantages as the DCT disk. At an estimated cost starting as low as $10 per disk in a multi-pack (final pricing to be announced at product launch), matchbook-sized 1.5GB DCT disks will combine the best features of flash memory -- low power consumption and shock and vibration resistance -- with the best features of removable hard drives -- low cost per gigabyte and high data transfer rates.

With the 1.5GB capacity of DCT disks, consumers will enjoy unprecedented freedom to transfer video clips, audio tracks and photos from device to device; to store data permanently on rugged, low-cost media; to erase and reuse disks whenever they need to; and to manage their digital lives, taking workplace files, movies, music, and videogames wherever work or play carries them.

Key benefits of the DCT disk design:

• Durability. DCT disks have a metal shell that protects against data loss caused by scratches, dust, fingerprints and accidental drops.
• Affordability. DCT disks redefine affordability, driving the cost of removable storage to under a penny per MB with a disk cost of approximately $10 per 1.5GB disk.
• Portability. DCT disks are matchbook sized and weigh less than half an ounce (9 grams), making them a truly pocketable portable solution.
• Speed. DCT disks will have a sustained transfer rate of up to 6.7 MBps.
• Efficiency. DCT drives use so little power that they can be USB powered, providing for longer battery life in portable devices compared to tape and hard drive alternatives.
• Capacity: a single DCT disk will be able to hold about two hours of video (Windows Media Player 9 format, 720x480 resolution, 24 frames per second, progressive scan), complete with high-quality stereo soundtrack. That's more than twice the screen resolution of today's best PDA devices, illustrating the tremendous potential for innovation in upcoming consumer electronics products.

"We think the OEM opportunity for DCT is significant," said Heid. "It can be the video storage platform for new camcorders and portable video devices and the data storage and data sharing platform for ultra-portable computers and portable music players. With a lower incremental cost of storage, a smaller form factor, and a more rugged design, DCT can become the removable storage solution of choice for a new generation of devices."

DCT Technology Alliances

Iomega's DCT platform incorporates key enabling technologies from leading companies, including Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd, Citizen and Texas Instruments. Such enabling technologies include a new magneto-resistive drive head designed and developed by Iomega and NANOCUBIC magnetic media coating technology developed by Fujifilm.

"Fujifilm is looking forward to CES and showing our high density recording media through Iomega's DCT platform," said Toshio Kawamata, general manager of Technical Div. Recording Media Products Div. Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd. "DCT utilizes NANOCUBIC technology, which makes the DCT media about 10 times higher in recording density than the magnetic disks that are available today. NANOCUBIC technology is a major technological advancement in round magnetic storage."