Re: The Competition
It's hard to keep track of what's out there or planned to be released - here's most of them for reference:
Not Backward Compatible with std floppy: Zip 100MB (Iomega), EZFlyer 230MB (Syquest), Shark 250MB (Avatar), Nomai 540MB (Nomai), SparQ 1000MB (Syquest)
Backward Compatible: LS-120 120MB (Imation, OR Tech), HiFD 200MB (Sony), UHC 130MB (Mitsumi, Swan), UHD 144MB (Caleb)
Mass Optical: DynaMO 230MB (Fujitsu), SYS 230MB (Olympus)
Others: Jaz, SyJet, Quest, PD drive, Apex, Larger MOs, CD rewritables, DVD rewritables, Magnetic tape products
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So where does leave the Zip in terms of competition? While each one of the above products will have sales in their niche, I think it's safe to assume at this point that the greatest competition for the Zip will come from a backward compatible product. In a way, this is probably good news for Iomega:
1) There will soon be four similar backward compatible competing drives that are not compatible with each other at the high end. This will be confusing for many customers.
2) With ship dates, pricing and quality still unknown for most of these products, it will be difficult for some time to come to determine which ones will be successful, much less which one would come out on top.
3) It would appear the LS-120 has some advantage simply because it is in production and has some OEM support. The Sony product looks very good however and has the specs and resources to compete. The Swan and Caleb drives appear weakest here, but all this ends up spelling "intense competition" (with each other).
4) Most OEMs require seeing customers demand a product before they will include it as a standard or option on their boxes. With four different backward compatible alternatives out there, it seems likely to me that they'll have to take a wait and see attitude until the customer can determine which one (if any) they want included in their systems.
5) Meanwhile, Iomega is concentrating its focus on OEM Zip sales, is introducing new Zip products, is growing Zip unit sales, is lowering Zip costs and is increasing its Zip customer base. By the time the backward compatible mess is sorted out, Iomega will have ensured its insurmountable lead.
If the Sony and Zip drives were both new and entering the market at the same time at near the same price, perhaps the HiFD would have won the battle. That's not reality however and something the Barron's writer doesn't appear to understand. The Zip may not ever become "the floppy replacement", however if it doesn't, it is unlikely IMO that any of the above products will do so either, Sony HiFD included.
Regards - Dale
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