Maria, On 4/22 "IOMG: Let's Talk technology" (#14) I posed the scenario for discussion about the potential revenues impact of the Network-PC sector for IOMEGA.
Just Monday, 5/20, IBM, Oracle, Apple, Netscape and Sun unveiled the general technology profile for the Network-PC. While Acer may be the first to include the ZIP as a standard, built-in product, the profile for the Network-PC listed only that a *persistent local storage* would not be required. To me, this probably implies that there will be a capability of adding *non-persistent* (i.e. "portable") capability. With the Acer announcement, the other prospective manufacturers will *have* to promote -- one after another, in a series of successive news releases -- a similar capability to use ZIP drives on the manufacturer's respective products.
This scenario seems like an entire new level of revenues for IOMEGA, especially if the Network-PC is sucessfully marketed as an "appliance," easy-to-use and easy-to-buy. I suggest that the co-marketing of the ZIP drive with the Network-PC will be mandatory for *effective* linking of the "appliance" with the household's other main PC. *ONE* Zip will service multiple PCs and Network-PCs in the household. I think the impact on *additional* or *accelerated* revenues from ZIP sales can be dramatic and substantial, if the marketers of prospective Network-PC's milk the symbiotic advantages of both products. We could eventually see the two products -- ZIP and Network-PC -- bundled together by manufacturers who choose differently than Acer and leave the ZIP as an external option.
(Perhaps Syquest's stock move is in anticipation of IOMEGA *not* being able to meet the *extra* demand for portable, "non-persistent" storage devices that the accelerated introduction of Network-PCs might cause. Low-end buyers of the "appliance" may be indifferent to industry media standards and simply choose "cheap.")
eric
Oops! I forgot to mention that it has been commented that cable companies and Internet Providers may eventually *give away* these low-cost "appliances," just to get your monthly service subscription. This marketing gimmick would probably also have an effect of enhancing ZIP sales. |
