Iomega announces 1.5-gigabyte removable storage technology

New Delhi: Iomega Corporation (www.iomega.com), a global leader in data storage, today announced a new 1.5 GB digital capture technology (DCT) platform designed for a new generation of digital entertainment products, including camcorders and portable video players, as well as portable PCs and smart handheld devices.

Working samples of Iomega's new breakthrough DCT drive and fully rewritable cartridge are now being evaluated by a select group of premier original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The DCT cartridge is five centimetres in length and weighs only nine grams and employs a rugged stainless steel cartridge designed to protect important digital content from data loss, enabling truly mobile digital devices.

Iomega's DCT platform partners include Fuji Photo Film Co, Citizen Watch Co and Texas Instruments (TI). Iomega is working with other innovative companies with the goal to integrate DCT technology into their future products and is progressing on a DCT development timeline that would enable potential OEMs to bring DCT-integrated products to market in the second quarter of 2004.

"Existing portable storage solutions in today's consumer electronics products are too expensive, too slow, too fragile or too power-hungry for the coming generation of mobile devices," says Jim Payne, president and managing director for Asia Pacific, Iomega Corporation. "Iomega's exciting new DCT platform is different. It is being designed to offer the industry a low-cost drive with high capacity in a convenient form factor. It is a product designer's dream because it can provide high capacity, rugged, shock resistant storage at low power consumption for small portable devices such as next generation camcorders, personal video recorders and tablet PCs."

DCT technology alliances
Iomega's DCT platform incorporates key enabling technologies from leading companies including Fujifilm, Citizen and TI. Such enabling technologies include a new magneto-resistive (MR) drive head design developed by Iomega and Nanocubic magnetic media coating technology developed by Fujifilm.

Says Fujifilm general manager (technical and recording media products division) Toshio Kawamata: "The media will provide potential recording capacity of up to 6Gb/square inch by applying Fujifilm's new Nanocubic technology, which will be about 10 times higher in recording density than magnetic disks that are currently available. Fujifilm is looking forward to the presentation of this high density recording media through the introduction of Iomega's DCT platform."

Says Citizen senior general manager (information and communication, products division) Toshihiko Nakai: "Consumers want lower power consumption for long battery life; they want higher data transfer rates for exciting new digital video applications; and they want higher data capacity for a new cross-platform media standard. DCT delivers on all counts."

Says TI vice-president (strategic marketing) Doug Rasor: "TI is excited to be working with Iomega to drive its new DCT technology. We are looking forward to augmenting DCT with TI's real-time digital signal processing solutions to bring richer content, higher resolution and longer battery life to consumers."