Features - Storage Innovations:

IOMEGA LAUNCHES LINE OF HIGH-CAPACITY DEVICES

Iomega Corp unveiled a new line of high-capacity devices aimed primarily at offering a low-cost option to small businesses that need to save critical data. The computer storage company, best known for its "Zip" drives, said it was shipping the REV drive and related REV disks, which can store 35GB of data or more, using compression software. The drive will sell for about $400, with disks at about $60.

An Iomega spokesman said the REV line is the San Diego-based company's most important new product this year, and added that it expects to see solid revenue and margins returns in the second quarter from the products.

The spokesman said the products will appeal to companies that need portable storage options, as well as those that are still using tape drives -- a slower, older technology.

"(That market) is pretty large," he said. "The tape drive replacement market is over a million drives annually and we expect to get a good of that market," the spokesman said.

The REV drive is available as an external, portable device as well as a version that can be installed inside a personal computer.

Iomega's other products include network attached storage systems, which are used by companies with large capacity storage needs, as well as portable hard drives, CD and ZIP drive. Iomega also sells still high-capacity tape drives.