Geneva, August 12, 2003 - Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a global leader in data storage, today announced that working prototypes of its new Iomega® Removable Rigid Disk (RRD) technology, with an expected native capacity of
35 gigabytes (70 gigabytes compressed) per cartridge at product launch, are now being evaluated by potential Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Based on Iomega's development schedule and product launch goals, server and desktop products incorporating the RRD drive are expected to be available for shipment in early 2004.
A Versatile New Storage Standard
Iomega's RRD technology is expected to provide state-of-the-art backup for small and medium-sized businesses and enterprise workgroups at a lower total cost of ownership than traditional tape backup solutions. Key benefits include a unique combination of hard-drive performance, superior data integrity and low media cost. Other potential uses of RRD technology range from medical imaging and professional digital video capturing, editing and archiving tasks to use in engineering workstations, video surveillance systems and other high performance desktop applications that involve managing large volumes of data.
"RRD-based products are being designed to solve many of the problems encountered with tape solutions, making RRD a very viable alternative or replacement solution where tape is being used today," said Werner Heid, president and CEO of Iomega Corporation. "Tape is a fragile, slow and expensive linear-access technology. RRD technology offers robust, high-speed data transfers with random access capability, transforming the backup process. With Iomega RRD technology, backup and system or file recovery tasks can be faster, easier and less costly in terms of both labor and network downtime."
RRD Technology Alliances
Iomega's RRD platform incorporates key enabling technologies and manufacturing resources from leading companies, including Texas Instruments, TDK and ExcelStor.
"Texas Instruments is excited to contribute real-time digital signal processing technology to the new Iomega RRD drive," said Doug Rasor, vice president of strategic marketing, TI. "DSP solutions from TI will help the RRD drive maintain data integrity, providing Iomega's customers with leading-edge reliability and performance in removable storage."
Raymond Leung, president of SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd., a subsidiary of TDK, Iomega's strategic provider for development of the magnetic heads for both RRD and Iomega's previously announced DCT removable storage technology, commented, "Iomega has been recognized as an innovator in removable storage technology and SAE has been a development partner since first supplying magnetic heads to Iomega in 1987. With TDK's GMR heads enabling areal densities of 70 Gigabits per square inch in the new RRD drive, and our advanced AMR heads in the new DCT drive, TDK is proud to be contributing to the next two technology milestones in Iomega's product history."
Eddie Lui, president and CEO, ExcelStor Technology Ltd., said, "The RRD drive is a technology breakthrough on several fronts, making it an exciting new storage product with many possibilities. ExcelStor is pleased to be contributing to this outstanding product as the manufacturer of the drive and cartridge."
RRD Durability and Versatility
The high-performance RRD cartridge is smaller than a deck of playing cards, more durable than tape (RRD media is rated for over one million rewrites versus a few thousand for tape) and assures data integrity by performing write verification at hard disk speeds. In addition, stand-alone RRD drives and autoloaders, when available, are expected to cost significantly less than tape drive alternatives, including Travan40, DDS, DAT-72, VXA®, AIT-1, DLT® and DLT VS80.
The RRD system is being designed to work with popular backup and disaster recovery software and will appear to the host computer as a regular drive letter. Home and business users will also be able to use an RRD disk as an emergency "boot and restore" disk, or store both operating system and data on the same disk to create a true "boot and run" computing environment.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of an RRD drive is its virtually unlimited storage expandability. Cost-effective RRD cartridges will give PC users a new and practical alternative to filling the primary system disk with user data.
RRD Performance
Iomega RRD drives and disks are based on proven hard disk technology, transferring data up to seven times faster than DDS tape. With a native maximum transfer rate of 22 MB/sec, the effective data throughput of RRD technology approaches 44 MB/sec (with 2:1 data compression). For example, based on average data rates, a backup of an entire 20GB system image takes only 10 minutes ? the same operation would take over an hour with DDS tape.
Since data is instantly accessible from any location on the cartridge, users can back up incremental changes and copy or restore individual files in seconds.
RRD Reliability
Iomega's patented and patent-pending RRD technology is designed to create a "clean room" environment for the rotating disk, giving RRD systems the robustness of a sealed hard drive and virtually eliminating the effects of dust contamination. The planned key features of the RRD drive and cartridge
include:
· The RRD cartridge is a rugged enclosure holding both a 2.5 inch rigid
disk and an ultra-quiet fluid dynamic bearing motor. The motor is sealed inside the cartridge to eliminate the spindle hole, a potential source of dust contamination.
· The RRD drive, which fits a standard half-height 3.5 inch drive slot,
contains the read/write heads and associated drive hardware. The read/write heads are protected from dust contamination by an advanced airlock. When a cartridge is inserted, sophisticated air filtration clears any airborne contamination.
· The RRD cartridge is sealed when not in use and sealed in operation;
drive and cartridge form a sealed unit around the disk media and drive heads.
· Advanced two-stage error correction circuitry ensures data integrity.
· Automatic internal head cleaning maintains top read/write
performance.
Price and Availability
Iomega RRD drives and cartridges are expected to be available in the U.S.
in the first quarter of 2004, with prices to be announced at product launch.
About Iomega
Iomega Corporation provides easy-to-use, high value storage solutions to help people protect, secure, capture and share their valuable digital information. Iomega's award-winning storage products include the popular Zip® 100MB, 250MB and 750MB drives, high-performance Iomega HDD Portable Hard Drives, Iomega HDD Desktop Hard Drives, Iomega Mini USB Drives, Iomega external CD-RW drives, Iomega DVD drives and the Iomega Floppy USB-Powered Drive. Iomega simplifies data protection and sharing at home and in the workplace with Iomega Automatic Backup software, Iomega Sync software, HotBurn® CD-recording software, and Active Disk? technology. For networks, Iomega NAS servers offer capacities of 160GB to 1.4TB. For unlimited capacity and anytime, anywhere access, Iomega offers iStorage? secure online storage. Iomega also offers businesses and consumers a comprehensive data recovery services solution for recovering lost data due to hardware failure, file corruption or media damage. The Company can be reached at 1-888-4-IOMEGA (888-446-6342), or on the Web at http://www.iomega.com.