Top reasons why the LS120 can not compete with the Zip...
1. Much more expensive to manufacture vs. Zip.
2. 40% slower than 100-MB Zip.
3. No migration path. Anyone hears of plans for LS-240, LS-480?
4. Compag 's association, partnership, or sponsorship (what is it officially
now?). No other PC makers will want to make the LS120 successful
and help Compag to be a stronger No. 1 PC makers. Main reason
why PC makers are rushing to sign up with Iomega as soon as possible.
5. Too little, too late to market vs. Zip. And with no advantages to Zip,
who want to buy for a higher price?
In addition to above reasons, the key catalyst for the LS120 failure
is the LS120 partnership. A three-way partnership like LS120 's Compag,
3M, Matsushita can only succeed under the best business circumstances
and environment. When facing superior conmpetitions, and when financial
losses are incurred or little money is being made by one or more
of the partners, the relationship will come apart. In this particular deal,
apparently only 3M stands to make lots of money from the disks. Matsushita
will lose money on the drive, and Compag stands to lose market share
and its No.1 ranking.
When Iomega reduces Zip price to $99 as planned, and when the 200-MB
Zip are announced, then the 400MB Zip -- the LS120 will be history, just
like the EZ135.
But hey, according to WSJ, after the LS120 battle, next will come the
formidable optical read/write drive. We all know that the WSJ really knows
what they are talking about here (are you kidding me?). I guess they just love
see IOMG investors get panic and sell their shares --- like people did
when Dan Dorfman did his most famost piece on IOMG a few months
ago --- just to prove to the world that they are right all along. |
