FYI - Computer Reseller News article which discusses Syquest:
August 18, 1997, Issue: 750 Section: Hardware
Upgrades, new accessories, higher capacities at Macworld
By Kelly Spang
Boston -- While announcements from Microsoft Corp. turned Macworld Expo on its head, hardware vendors were not left in the dust at this year's exposition.
Hardware vendors had their own news at the show, even if it was a bit overshadowed by the announcement from Microsoft and struggling Apple Computer Inc. that the two would work together on future products and technology.
Component manufacturers displayed upgrades of all sorts for the Mac platform, and new accessories were abundant. Storage vendors in particular continued to keep pace with the ever-growing demand for capacity, introducing devices in a variety of form factors.
Kingston Technology Co. added a boost to PC Card storage capacity with its DataPak 520, storing 520 Mbytes in a 1.8-inch form factor. With data compression, VARs can offer up to 1 Gbyte of storage on this PC Card Type III hard-disk drive. Pricing for the DataPak 520 is $549.
Storage devices also increased the functionality of traditional peripherals, like color scanners. Verbatim Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., introduced its SS600 Storage Scanner at Macworld. This single pass, full-color scanner features an integrated 3.5-inch magneto-optical or CD-Recordable drive. Pricing on the new storage scanner ranges from $2,299 to $2,499.
Aside from product announcements, Macworld was also a time for new images in the storage arena.
In conjunction with the show, SyQuest Technology Inc. launched a new marketing campaign, adding pizzazz to the company's image and hopefully boosting business for the channel.
As the tides seem to turn in favor of the Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturer, the intent of the new look is to shed the old image and tout the company's success with its new products, including the 1.5-Gbyte SyJet removable cartridge hard drive.
The new image comes at a time when SyQuest's financial picture-while not rosy-is improving, and new products loom on the horizon.
The company reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $31.7 million for the period ended June 30, up from $29.5 million last year. It lost $10.7 million, or 80 cents per share, compared with a $41.3-million loss, or $3.61 a share, last year.
Meanwhile, the company is feeling pressure from its chief competitor Iomega Corp., which filed suit recently claiming patent and trademark infringements against SyQuest. Without disclosing the type of action SyQuest will take to counter Iomega's claims, company officials dismissed the suit as "meritless."
SyQuest may have further provoked Iomega's ire when it announced last month that it had hired John Moran as director of North and South American distribution sales. Moran had been U.S. distribution manager for Roy, Utah-based Iomega.
The move to bolster SyQuest's sales through stepped-up marketing, as well as through traditional and emerging distribution channels, is in keeping with announcements last month that it had retained the services of The Silakhan Route Inc.
The Silakhan Route is a global marketing firm under the direction of Paul Losee, one of the original 13 IBM executives who founded Iomega. It is developing a marketing campaign designed to reposition SyQuest.
Copyright (c) 1997 CMP Media Inc. |
