>>Now three years later Clik! is finally rolling along, albeit slowly, due to not having a single camera maker signed up with a live product<<
John -
I guess this is just as good a place to jump in and respond as any.
I did make it to PC Expo yesterday, and spoke to three people in the Iomega booth. Two of them gave me an ETA of September/October for the AGFA camera with Clik!
At the AGFA booth, the woman I spoke to didn't know much, and wouldn't commit to a specific time frame, but said the camera was definitely coming. She did say that early fall is Prime Time for introducing new consumer products.
Overall, PC Expo was smaller and less crowded than in previous years. The Iomega space was smaller than last year, but so were most, including those of the very biggest names.
People seemed to be reacting very well to the PCMCIA Clik! drive and the CD-RW product.
Over at the Castlewood booth, which was sort of in the back, though still on the main floor, and quite small, I got some news I don't think even what's his name knows. They said that the SCSI Orb was shipping as of Monday. They also said that they have probably sold about one hundred thousand Orbs so far.
I heard the people in the Castlewood booth claim that their drive is faster than Jaz. However, when I asked if it was still faster with Write Verify enabled, they said it wasn't. I then asked if they recommended that all users enable Write Verify, and they said yes. So, I asked them, in real-world use, the drive isn't actually faster than Jaz, is it? No, they said, it isn't. But they continued to tell other people who stopped by that it was.
The Castlewood reps say that they are selling as many drives as their manufacturers can make, and that they can't fill all orders. They also say they're shooting for taking the company public next year.
Back in Iomegaland, the reps were as positive as ever. They seemed particularly convinced that they have a hit in Clik! PCMCIA, and also that the CD-RW product will do well. BTW, I asked if the ZipCD is being manufactured by Phillips, and they said that they actually have a few different manufacturing partners for it.
Very interesting, all in all.
- Allen |
